Being bored while living at Stepping Stone is simply not going to happen on Kimberly Aikens’ watch. Kimberly is Stepping Stone’s Community Manager/quasi-Lifestyle Director, and she’s busy helping to create the traditions that make a new community feel as though it’s been there forever.
Right now, residents can find Kimberly at the Lantern House three days a week. (As the community grows, so too will her job—into one that’s five days a week.) Kimberly helps new residents by answering questions, giving them community access cards, and planning special events, like the Easter Egg-stravaganza, Dive-in Movies, and the Fall Pumpkin Patch. She welcomes everyone at Stepping Stone to stop by the Lantern House—which she describes as a community living room—and hang out, watch a sports game on TV, socialize at the pool, and share ideas on what activities they’d like to see in the community.
“I adore our buyers,” she says. “They tend to be very community-minded, so we already have a spirit of inclusiveness here.” One previous event, the holiday potluck, came directly from homeowners who requested a way to get together during the winter, when everyone tends to be hunkered down inside—not out gardening, taking walks, or playing at the park, which naturally spark friendly conversations.
Kimberly is also the Homeowners Association (HOA) contact for residents seeking approval for their landscaping plans. In case you’re new to HOAs, they help manage neighborhood concerns, such as adherence to covenants. Basically, covenants are guidelines and restrictions, such as exterior paint colors and yard maintenance, that help maintain and enhance the value of the neighborhood for everyone. (Sorry, folks, no chartreuse polka-dot siding.) Currently, the Stepping Stone HOA is made up of five Shea employees, but as the community grows the positions will be filled by elected residents.
“This is my dream job,” says Kimberly. After owning her own business for years, she started a new career as a community manager six years ago and hasn’t looked back. “I love helping people and adding to the value of living at Stepping Stone,” she says. Kimberly welcomes ideas as to what that value looks like: “Would residents like to see bunco parties? Poker nights? Wine tastings and book clubs? I would love to get everyone’s input on what they’d like to see in in their community.”
As a point of reference, here’s what’s on tap for residents for the rest of the year. But feel free to share your ideas at Kimberly.Aiken@advancehoa.com, call her at 303-482-2213 x500, or meet with Kimberly at the Lantern House on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays from 9am-3pm.
Dive-in Movie: Despicable Me -July 25, Sunset
Come watch a family-friendly movie on a big, inflatable screen by the pool.
Dive-in Movie: Finding Nemo-August 29, Sunset
Pumpkin Patch-October 24, 10am-1pm
Pick your pumpkin and sip lattes and hot cocoa with the neighbors.
Visit with Santa-December 5, 10am-1pm
Little ones can meet the big man and munch a cookie, fireside the Lantern House.
