Executive Director’s Message — ????????????????

A Season of Change

By daVid J. Cordero exeCutiVe direCtor

One of the privileges of serving as AAOC Executive Director is having the opportunity to lead a talented team of individuals who share a commitment to serving our association members and working for the betterment of the rental-housing industry. I am grateful for each member of my team, for the skills and talents they possess, for the contributions that they make, for the camaraderie that exists among us, and so much more.

As we know, however, change is inevitable, and the composition of all teams will inevitably change as individual members pursue other opportunities, enter new stages in life, or move on for any number of reasons. Such is the case with our AAOC team, which is presently going through its own season of change.

This month AAOC bids a fond farewell (for a second time) to longtime controller Janet Proctor, who retired in 2017 but was quickly called back to active duty less than a year later. What she and AAOC anticipated being a shortterm arrangement while the association searched for a new controller, turned into an additional three years of dedicated service being provided by Janet to

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AAOC. In early November, Janet informed me that the time had come for her to resume retirement with her husband. I’m sorry to be losing Janet but I’m also happy knowing that she will soon be having new adventures and making new memories. Thank you, Janet, for your dedicated service and unnumberable contributions to AAOC over the years. I will always appreciate your wise counsel, your support and encouragement, and your great sense of humor.

With Janet’s departure now just a few weeks away, I am pleased to announce the hiring of Van Vo as AAOC’s new bookkeeper. In addition to her background as a professional accountant and bookkeeper, Van also holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting. I look forward to having Van as part of our newly configured AAOC team and having her get to know our members in the months ahead.

I am also pleased to announce that Chip Ahlswede has officially joined the AAOC team as Vice President of External Affairs. Chip was brought on board in September to manage the dayto-day operations of the association’s government affairs program, on an interim basis, while a search was conducted to fill the staff position held previously by Bill Christiansen. When AAOC and its housing industry partners found themselves engaged in an unanticipated, high stakes rent control and just cause eviction battle in Santa Ana, however, that process got tossed on its head. It became evident through his outstanding work and representation of AAOC and its members over the past three months that Chip was the right person — at the right time — to move the association’s government affairs, advocacy, outreach, and communications efforts forward. In so doing, Chip will be engaging with elected officials, community leaders and influencers, organizations, real estate industry interests, the business community, and others to build and maintain support for the association and its efforts.

Chip previously served as CEO of the Greater Los Angeles Association of REALTORS® and brings to AAOC more than 20 years of advocacy and trade association experience, having worked with many local, state, regional, national, and international organizations during that time. He looks forward to working on behalf of the AAOC membership, as well as keeping you apprised of emerging issues and engaged in the advocacy and defense of your interests and that of the rental-housing industry. You can reach Chip at (714) 245-9500 and chip@aaoc.com.

Finally, in closing, I want to wish you a warm and festive holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year. The entire AAOC team thanks you for your continued support of the association and we look forward to continuing to serve you in the coming year.