Art Stauch: Firefighter, EMT

Who were Art’s mentors?

Art and his wife lived at Colonial Square right after getting married. They stayed in this community for 8 years and their first son was born while they lived there. Art shares that Jan Caroll really influenced him to go into this career. Jan was the manager of Colonial Square while Art lived there. In fact, Jan hired Art and encouraged him to go to school for a variety of classes to prepare him for such a job. Art learned a lot at her side, much like an internship experience. He doesn’t have a formal degree in this area but adds that there is always lots to learn, from business management courses to new tax codes and laws pertaining to cooperative housing complexes.

What does Art like the best about his job?

Art loves helping people. He shares that affordable housing is hard to come by in Ann Arbor. He believes Colonial Square is a “jewel” in Ann Arbor. He likes how diverse the community is — his residents include singles, young married couples, families, and retirees. As it is a cooperative, Art serves his residents, and, by working together, they form a tight-knit community within the city.

What experiences can teach you more about this field?

At the core of this job is having a sense of civic responsibility. Therefore, Art recommends that you get involved in helping others in your own community. Help the elderly with lawn care or minor repairs, join groups that do outreach in your area, and generally experience being a committed volunteer for some concern that really matters to you.

What challenges and exciting changes are coming in the near future?

Art is working with his board of directors to pay off the mortgage for the townhouse complex. Like a single homeowner, the board and the residents have to address choices and decisions as they arise. Art is the key person to provide information and to lead discussions about decisions on things like mortgages, getting loans for building and property improvements, and selecting priorities for projects — from community or holiday events to providing after-school or summer programs for children. People, tax laws, city ordinances, and resident needs are always changing. Art has to keep up with everything and everyone!

What training and education is needed for a job in this field?

A wide range of training and experience is needed for managing residential complexes, including business management skills, human resources background, leadership skills, and updating knowledge about tax laws and city policies. Many managers have associate or bachelor degrees. In addition, Art shares that managers must have highly effective “people skills” spanning written and oral communication, problem-solving, and mediation or conflict resolution.

What other careers are related and use similar kinds of skills?

Small business ownership, politicians, community advocates.

How does this job impact personal and family life?

Art controls his schedule, which allows him the flexibility to tend to his children. He likes being able to go to their school and to after-school extracurricular events. Art has a special-needs child and, with this job, he is able to go and help out in his son’s classroom and take him to the doctor’s office when needed. The down side of this job is that he is in charge of everything 24-7 at Colonial Square. So, he is on call pretty much 24 hours a day to serve his board of directors, his staff, and the homeowners. Overall, Art loves this job and the diverse roles that he gets to play to help a group of people have their own 𔃈small community” in the midst of the city of Ann Arbor.