Welcome, Kara Robinson

New Compliance Supervisor Brings Years of Experience to Stonebridge Ranch

In the spring of this year, just as the country was issuing shelter in place orders and our professional staff began to work from home as required by state and local guidelines, the Stonebridge Ranch Community Association (SRCA) welcomed Kara Robinson in the role of Compliance Supervisor.

Kara oversees four compliance coordinators and an administrative assistant on behalf of our homeowners. Her team performs a vital task by helping our residents maintain premier design standards across more than 70 unique villages. They assist homeowners through the Modification Application process, review all property exteriors in Stonebridge Ranch on a two-week rotating schedule to address curb appeal maintenance, and answer homeowner questions regarding the SRCA governing documents and Modification Design Guidelines.

Beginning a supervisory role in an unexpectedly

remote work environment provided unique challenges for Kara, but luckily, she has significant experience in property management. She also worked at the corporate headquarters for Community Management Associates (CMA), our professional management company, for several years. Though she is new to our onsite Stonebridge Ranch office at 6201 Virginia Parkway, she has already been able to put her knowledge to good use.

Stonebridge Ranch News sat down with Kara to learn more about her career and family.

How did you get your start in association management? I have been in the association management industry for 11 years, but how I got my start is a rather funny story. I am the kind of person who firmly believes that all things happen for a reason!

I was born and raised in Florida, living in Jacksonville. I was working as a temp for a company, and on a Monday, they told me I was going to be laid off that Friday. I had no idea what to do. A friend gave me the Sunday edition of the newspaper to look in the classified ads, something I had never done before.

I saw an ad for a receptionist at an association management company, so I applied on Tuesday and went in for an interview that Wednesday. They hired me that Thursday; I was laid off from my temp job that Friday; and then I started my new position the next Monday. I never went a day without a job. From there, I rose through the ranks to become an Administrative Assistant, Association Manager, Marketing Analyst, and then Systems Training Analyst.

Years later I told the CEO the story of how I got hired, and it was amazing. She told me the only advertising they had done for my receptionist position—my start in the industry—was placing that one classified ad in that Sunday newspaper.

How did you get your start at CMA? Back in Jacksonville, I was dating Dustin. (He is now my husband, and we have a son, Mark.) In 2012, I was transferred to Dallas to work in a satellite office, and he followed me to Texas. He landed a job at the same management company, but in a different office. Later, after he switched companies and joined CMA, I followed him to work as the Customer Care manager at CMA headquarters in Plano.

Dustin has changed me. I used to be a very anxious person, but he is one of the most even-keeled people I know. We’ve been together for 11 years, married for six. I used to get super stressed, but he is always just very calm. He’s good about asking questions: “What can you do to help this situation?” He’s definitely rubbed off on me.

What did you learn as CMA’s Customer Care Manager that you can apply here to Stonebridge Ranch? The CMA Customer Care team provides customer support for hundreds of associations managed by CMA. Some of them are small, with just hundreds of homes. Some are large and have onsite offices which serve thousands of residents. Customer Care is the nerve center where people who have questions can call and get help.

During my time there, I learned that a big part of our job is simply educating people on what they agreed to when they moved into their HOA. Not everyone understands their own governing documents or the operations and processes that a management company puts in place to support their communities. When people call in frustrated, they often simply need information, and we are there to provide it to them.

Now that I’m onsite at Stonebridge Ranch, I’m delving deep into the processes and guidelines that are unique to this community and which are determined by your own Board of Directors and committee volunteers. I can tell you—it’s a lot to learn! For me, it’s been really nice to see what Stonebridge Ranch has to offer.

One thing I can tell homeowners: staff members are here to absorb a ton of information so they can simplify answers for you when you call with a question. Even if we can’t give someone the answer they want to hear, we can help translate the ‘why’ or ‘how’ behind the answer. ◀