2021 May 5 Star Champion: Cathy Vail

Nomination by Kris Marceca: Much of what we do on a daily basis when dealing with the homeowners and board has us interacting with people who do not want to deal with us. More often than not, our interactions are dealing with people prepared to be frustrated and angry even. Nothings seems to bring out the ire more than architectural applications of getting a violation letter and fine.

Cathy Vail is a huge asset to the team here in Virginia and I feel lucky every day that I get a chance to work with her. Cathy is one of those types that just puts her head down and does a solid job every time. She gets to know all of the managers, all of the properties and even gets to know the cases and residents.

I have never seen Cathy get angry or upset even when she is the recipient of a nasty call or message. She even takes the time to stop in and cheer us up when she sees someone having a bad day.

Cathy works with most every manager on various properties and she has developed a working relationship with everyone. I am amazed that when she comes to speak with managers, she has her materials and notes and has always done the background work instead of asking me to look things up that are obvious. As a result, I know that when Cathy has a question, the answer is not otherwise available.

I have never seen a letter that was misspelled or had the wrong address or information that Cathy had something to do with. 

Cathy responds to all of my messages either by Skype or email and tells me exactly when I can expect for her end of the work to be completed. That gives me the confidence to speak to the board with confidence and I know that I will not have to go back and check up with Cathy and wonder if she did complete her end of things.

Cathy leads me by example. She is steady, productive, effective, empathetic, pleasant and she double checks her work every time. Her confidence gives me confidence and in turn, that is all projected to the board and the residents. Cathy makes me better at what I do and to me, that is really what a team is all about.

5 Star Principle: Build Relationships