Ed Juengst
Vickie Hamilton
Ed Juengst likes to make a difference, so it is no surprise that when he and his wife Claire moved to PebbleCreek in 2004, he brought his guiding principle of community service with him. His contributions to PebbleCreek are varied and many and have touched everyone in the community. His departure this fall, to return to the town he moved from, Peterborough, New Hampshire, brings mixed feelings and much reflection about his time in a community he loves. But he can definitely leave knowing he made a difference in the way PebbleCreek has grown and developed into the wonderful community we all share today.
Ed and Claire discovered PebbleCreek when their son and his family moved to the Phoenix area in 1999. After several visits, they bought and moved into their first home in Unit 36 in 2004, then built their second home in Unit 51 in 2006. In Peterborough Ed had been active in local government serving on several citizen committees such as finance and city planning. He ran for office and was elected to serve as a selectman, which run the town meetings and appoint the town administrator.
In PebbleCreek Ed continued his service to his community by becoming the first Unit Rep for Unit 36. Sandy Hertz, who was on the PCHOA Board of Directors, was the liaison to Unit Reps and became a mentor to Ed teaching him about the HOA and how it functions. Ed attended Unit gatherings to meet residents, ALC and Rules meetings and HOA Chairman Meetings to learn more about the community. He met the other Board members including President John Spooler. All the Board members were generous in passing on their knowledge and experience in managing the community and the HOA.
In 2006 he became a member of the ALC Committee and in 2007 at the urging of mentor Sandy Hertz, he ran for the PCHOA Board of Directors. He lost by a slim margin but did not become discouraged or negative, instead continuing to serve on committees, attending meetings and talking with residents to learn all he could about the community. In early 2008 he became Chairman the Rules Compliance Committee at the request of Board member Jerry Younker. This enabled him to learn more about the governing documents of PebbleCreek. There he met committee member John Kiekbusch, who would later succeed John Spooler as President of the HOA.
In late 2009 Ed ran for the Board again, this time successfully, and became a member serving in 2009/2010. “It was tough back then without a general manager,” recalls Ed. “The Board members not only performed Board functions but also managed assigned departments of the HOA.” Ed managed Food & Beverage, Recreation and Facilities. He enjoyed the challenges and working with the staff. “The job became bigger and bigger as the community continued to grow,” he recalls. Ed was re-elected to serve for the term beginning 2011 but with mixed feelings decided to take some time off to just enjoy retirement. When Ed resigned, John Kiekbusch, the current President of the PCHOA, was appointed to fill his position.
In 2012 John Spooler appointed Ed to be a member of a committee to study how the community should be managed in the future. Due to the increasing size and complexity of the community, the committee recommended the Board appoint a General Manager to oversee day to day operations so the Board could focus on long term planning and a vision for the future.
In 2012, when Board member Nancy Wilson Smith formed a committee to revamp the HOA website, Ed was asked to be the chairman. Improving the website was a long time vision of Ed’s so this was the perfect opportunity for him to contribute to that effort. After the basic work was completed, Ed remained as coordinator of the HOA web team.
In 2014, HOA President John Kiekbusch asked Ed to chair the Strategic Planning Committee consisting of residents who would evaluate PebbleCreek operations and activities and make planning recommendations to the Board relative to long term sustainability and enhancements. Ed was the first to lead this new committee that will help chart the path to PebbleCreek’s future.
Ed has always enjoyed being involved, planning, problem solving and most of all, meeting and working with people of all backgrounds and experiences. What he and Claire will miss most about PebbleCreek are the people. “This has been our home for 10 years and there are so many things we will miss – meals at Toscana’s, shows in the Renaissance Theatre, all the clubs and organizations we enjoyed, our church friends, the list is endless. We have had a great opportunity here to make great friends, learn new things and have new experiences,” recalls Ed, “but what Claire and I will miss most are the wonderful people in this great community.” We thank Ed for all the contributions he has made to PebbleCreek. We will miss Ed and Claire and wish them well in their next step in life’s journey.