HOUSING WORKS STAFFER HONORED WITH MULTIPLE AWARDS
Housing Works' Diane Romero was honored at the 2008 Oregon Council for Affordable and Rural Housing Conference as the Site Manager of the Year on May 15 in Eugene. At the awards ceremony, the award was presented to Romero by Oregon CARH Board President Dough Schultz. A second award was presented to Romero by the USDA-Rural Development's Barb Fenili, Multifamily Housing Specialist in Redmond, as the 2008 Farm Labor Site Manager of the Year for Oregon.
"It all came as a surprise, especially the second award," says Romero, Housing Works' Program Manager. "I didn't know I had been nominated until our Executive Director told me I had been selected the CARH Site Manager of the Year. I didn't know about the USDA award at all until the ceremony."
Romero received the awards for her efforts at Menta Park, an affordable 20-unit farm worker community in Madras. Made up of duplexes and triplexes, Menta Park units are scattered throughout various neighborhoods, offering well-maintained attractive homes for farm workers.
The Oregon CARH and the USDA-Rural development awards are given annually for excellence to Oregon multifamily site managers. Nominations from across the state are made based on tenant satisfaction, curb appeal of the property, and exceeding job requirements.
In addition to managing Menta Park, Romero is the Program Manager for Housing Works' Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and housing inspection team along with overseeing the Public Housing program.
Housing Works, the assumed business name of the regional housing authority, just celebrated its 30th year of providing affordable housing options, from homelessness to homeownership, in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties.
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Attached Picture: Diane Romero (right) receives 2008 Site Manager of the Year for Farm Labor Housing from USDA-Rural Development's Barb Fenili.
