Ken Unger Addresses Board Following Appointment To HSVPOA General Manager

The following is the acceptance speech made by incoming HSVPOA GM Ken Unger at the December 18, 2024 Board meeting.

Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the Board, and our community. First, I’d like to thank the Board for having confidence in my ability to help the POA continue on the path charted over three years ago. As a 13-year member of the community myself, I appreciate your commitment, and I look forward to working with you and our community to continue to make Hot Springs Village the great place it is to live and work.

I’d also like to take a little time to publicly thank a few others who have or continue to make our community so special. And that starts with Kelly. I’ve had the pleasure of watching Kelly close up over these past few years giving his heart and soul to make our community a better place when he could have easily just enjoyed his retirement. Most people will never realize just how significant his contribution has been to help lead our community in the path that it is on. So Kelly, as a fellow employee and resident, I want to say thank you for all that you’ve done. I hope you enjoy your retirement. I’d also like to thank his wife, Mary Ann, who I’m sure you would say played an integral role in your efforts.

On that note, I’d also like to thank my lovely wife Susan, who has selflessly supported me in my efforts over the last several years, as she has throughout our 40-plus year of life together. She has been my rock while I’ve pursued helping to improve the community within my area of responsibility. Without her support, I would not be here today, so thank you Susan.

As Kelly said so eloquently, I’d also like to thank the many volunteers that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with over the last several years, whether it’s board members, committee members, club members, or just random residents who use their precious free time to help improve the Village every single day. Without these selfless community members, we certainly would not be where we are today. I applaud and thank all of them and I encourage everyone in our community, especially those who are not happy with some aspect, to stop complaining and get involved somehow to help improve things. That is how you make things better.

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank our POA employees. I can honestly say that I have never worked with a more dedicated group of individuals who genuinely care about their work and go out every day trying to do their best to make our home and, in many cases, their home a better place. I encourage all residents to support them however you can as I look forward to continuing to support them in my new role.

Regarding the GM role, my primary goal is simple: to continue on the path that the Board established over 3 years ago, which I wholeheartedly agree with, or I wouldn’t be here. As I discussed with the Board in my interview, for me, that means striving to continue to ensure that Hot Springs Village is a welcoming, fun, premier active lifestyle community where residents, prospective residents, and visitors are confident in our fiscal reliability, sustainability, and efficiency of how the community is operated. While we have made tremendous strides toward these goals over the past several years, there is still more to do, and that’s why I’m here.

My commitment is that with the help of everyone I’ve mentioned above and God, I will work tirelessly to fulfill these goals as quickly as possible. In addition, I commit that the POA will strive to listen and be fair in addressing member concerns, consistent with our governing documents. In conclusion, as a resident, I don’t think we have ever been in a better space. I believe this is a very exciting time for Hot Springs Village and it is time for us to come together and continue to make progress like we have over the last three years, because frankly, this is the greatest place I have found in this country, and I think it is the greatest place on earth right now.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to continuing to work with you on our path.