Ownership Matters: Recent Episodes
ROC USA
Ownership Matters is a podcast for homeowners in Resident Owned Communities featuring conversations with people who live in, work with, and advocate for ROCs. Hosts Paul Bradley and Mike Bullard share conversations with people at the heart of the resident ownership movement.
When her community started the process of becoming a co-op, Allie Lechner was skeptical. With her background in property management, she wasn’t sure it was going to work out. Flash forward six years, she is now on the board at the flourishing Zumbro Ridge Estates in Rochester, Minn. and has taken many steps to ensure the community is successful and thriving.
In this episode, Allie takes Paul and Mike through her work with infill, fundraising for a playground, and creating a community pantry. She started this journey on the sidelines and with a change of mindset became a deeply involved member of her community. It took work, perseverance, and hope, but Allie’s experiences at Zumbro Ridge Estates can serve as encouragement for other communities and individuals looking to make improvements and wanting to become more involved.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
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When Mary O'Hara joined ROC USA, it was just getting started as a national organization trying to scale the success of Resident Owned Communities nationwide. Fourteen years later, Mary has been promoted to Executive Vice President for ROC Movement and is empowering ROC leaders to become movement leaders. In this episode of Ownership Matters, Mary takes a look back at 14 years of history and tells us more about her new role supporting the ROC Association!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Learn More about the ROC Association at rocassociation.org
You've probably heard it before, but the very first Resident Owned Community came about as the result of a graduate student project. Today, we're joined by the professor of that class, Michael Swack! Michael is a professor at the University of New Hampshire and directs the Center for Impact Finance and the master's program in community development, which he designed for adult practitioners. Michael has also been involved in the design, implementation, and management of a number of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), including the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund! He's a proud member of the ROC USA Board of Directors, and he joins us on Ownership Matters to talk about the history and importance of CDFIs, and why the resident ownership movement is so important.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
On today's episode of Ownership Matters, Mike checks in with ROC Association Board President Marjory Gilsrud from Madelia Mobile Village in Madelia, Minnesota. Marjory is fresh back from a trip to Washington, D.C., where she attended the ROC USA Board of Directors meeting, held some strategic planning meetings for the ROC Association, and made two visits to Capitol Hill to meet with policymakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In those meetings, she advocated for infrastructure funding for Resident Owned Communities nationwide. We also talk about ways other ROC Members can get involved through two ROC Association committees.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Learn More about the ROC Association at rocassociation.org
"When housing on the lowest rung of the American Dream is being devoured by the wealthiest of the wealthy, whose dream are we serving?" This is the question documentary filmmaker Sara Terry seeks to answer in her latest film, A DECENT HOME. A DECENT HOME is a feature length documentary that addresses the urgent issues of class and economic inequity through the lives of residents of manufactured home communities. Sara Terry joins the podcast to talk about her career, the film, her experiences visiting a resident owned community (featured in the film!) the documentary film festival circuit, and more.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow A DECENT HOME: Twitter: @adecenthomefilm Facebook: @adecenthomefilm Instagram: @decenthomefilm adecenthomefilm.com
Last fall, Devynn Fetter came home to find papers stuck in the door of her home in Columbia Falls, Montana. The paperwork let her know that her community of 30 homes was for sale - and that she and her neighbors had the opportunity to buy it for themselves. Once things were in motion, Hideaway Community was on its way to becoming a Resident Owned Community with Dev at the helm as interim Board President, a role she now permanently holds. Her story was featured in a recent article in the Flathead Beacon talking about the growing affordable housing crisis in the area - Hideaway is now permanently affordable in an area where the average home price has soared to over half a million dollars. We talk about a little bit of everything in this episode with Dev - rapid population growth in Flathead County, how her dad helped her decide to take a leadership role at Hideaway, going door-to-door to answer her neighbors' questions, the unique skills of Hideaway's Board, and what's in store for the new ROC's future!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Earlier this year, Courtney Berner, the Executive Director of the Center for Cooperatives at the University of Wisconsin, wrote an article called "Where are New Co-ops Emerging? The Changing Map of Co-op Development" for Nonprofit Quarterly. In the article, Courtney writes how Resident Owned Communities are a sector-specific strategy that is changing where new cooperatives emerge. Courtney joins today's episode talk about the article and to provide a brief history of cooperatives!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow the UW Center for Cooperatives: Twitter: @centerforcoops Facebook: @UWCenterforCoops
Does your Resident Owned Community have vacant lots? Are there homes that need replacing? Have you considered how additional site fees from new homes could impact your community's bottom line? If any of these questions ring a bell, then this conversation is for you. We're joined by Alan Blake of ROC-NH to talk about his new position as an infill specialist. In his position, he's a resource for New Hampshire's 140+ ROCs who are considering bringing new homes into their communities but don't know where to start. While his position is state-specific, his ideas are not - ROCs from all over the country can benefit from Alan's tips!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund's ROC-NH Program: Twitter: @NHCommLoanFund Facebook: @NHCommunityLoanFund
Nearly 40 years go, 13 homeowners in Meredith Center, New Hampshire banded together to purchase the land beneath their homes with the help of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, becoming the first Resident Owned Community. Jason and Jeff Sirles grew up in the cooperative, and their father, Bob, was the ROC's first Board President. In this episode, Jason and Jeff reflect on the sense of community and the generosity of the community sellers. Tune in to hear their perspectives on how growing up in a ROC shaped their childhoods, and how it set them up for success in life.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
When Bev Adrian met host Paul Bradley in the early 2000s at an event called the Meredith Institute, she had no idea she was on a long path to resident ownership. Fast forward nearly 20 years and Bev is the Board President at Woodlawn Terrace Cooperative in Richfield, Minnesota, one of the newest resident-owned communities in the country. In this episode, Bev walks us through her long crazy journey to resident ownership - a journey that includes a community closure, statewide advocacy work, a "leap of faith" - purchasing a new home in a privately-owned manufactured home community - and leading her new neighbors through the cooperative purchase.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Happy New Year! In our first episode of the new year, hosts Paul Bradley and Mike Bullard look back on the successes of the resident ownership movement in 2021 and look ahead to what's to come in 2022. Paul and Mike talk about a little bit of everything in this episode - consolidation in the manufactured housing industry, new ROC purchases, the retirements of a few important people, changes at ROC USA, highlights from the first year of Ownership Matters, and more!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
A lot about manufactured housing has changed over the years thanks to innovations in construction techniques, changing customer preferences and tastes, building codes and more. But at least one thing has remained a constant: Manufactured homes provide the most affordable entry into homeownership. Ramsey Cohen from Clayton Homes joins Ownership Matters to tell us about everything from the cutting-edge features of today’s new homes to the finer points of the purchase process. Ramsey also talks about the partnership with ROC USA and Family Promise that helped deliver a brand new home to a ROC Member in Colorado. More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Clayton Homes: claytonhomes.com Facebook: @ClaytonHomes Insta: @clayton Twitter: @claytonhomes
This week, we had the opportunity to sit down with Cranberry Village’s own Board President, Brenda Bakal. While Brenda moved in a few years after Cranberry Village became a ROC, she has navigated the community during the pandemic, its refinance and some major infrastructure projects. In the episode, she will share with us what attracted her to the community, what motivated her to run for the cooperative presidency, and more!
In addition to increasing monthly site fees, residents of private- and investor-owned manufactured home communities often face another looming threat - community closure. Ten years ago, Esther Sullivan, author of "Manufactured Insecurity: Mobile Home Parks and Americans' Tenuous Right to Place," moved into two communities facing shut down to study the sociological impacts on the homeowners who lived there. She joins Ownership Matters to tell us about her experiences in those two communities, shares some stories about the residents she stayed connected with, and tells us more about what she's working on these days (like testifying to the Federal Housing Finance Authority in July) as an advocate for homeowners in manufactured home communities.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Esther Sullivan: esthersullivan.net Twitter: @sullivan_esther
At the 2019 ROC Leadership Institute, a new committee was formed to serve as a peer-to-peer support network for Resident Owned Communities. Two years later, the ROC Association Outreach & Education Committee is well underway - in the past year alone, they have hosted sessions at the ROC Leadership Institute, have run sessions at regional trainings, and have provided first-hand knowledge about resident ownership to resident groups considering purchasing their own communities. In today's episode, we're joined by committee chairs Bobbie Grubb (Pammel Creek Estates, Wisconsin) and Carol Hodgkins (Wardtown Mobile Home Cooperative, Maine) to learn more about what the committee has been up to.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Learn more about the ROC Association: rocusa.org/roc-association
Energy savings for Resident Owned Communities is an important topic that all community leaders can benefit from. In this episode, we're joined by ROC USA Capital's Kevin Porter. Kevin is passionate about energy efficiency and serves on the Board of Directors for Clean Energy NH. In this conversation, Kevin tells about the many ways ROCs can invest in clean energy - everything from solar and battery storage to lightbulb replacement and community power. He even offers some tips for homeowners to help cut costs on their own energy bills!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Clean Energy NH: Twitter: @CleanEnergyNH
All across the country, Resident Owned Communities are doing powerful things! On this episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Ron Palmer, Board President at Lakeville Village in Geneseo, N.Y., to talk about his ROC's new solar array. Tune in to find out what motivated the residents of Lakeville Village to peruse a solar array, how much income it will generate for their ROC each year, and how much it cost the community to install (spoiler alert: $0). This is an electrifying conversation that you don't want to miss!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Technical Assistance is crucial to the ongoing success of Resident Owned Communities - but what is it, exactly? In this episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Tory Clark, the Executive Director of Northcountry Cooperative Foundation, to talk about all things technical assistance, from problem-solving and governance to supporting community leaders through educational and leadership opportunities! Tory has worked closely with ROCs since 2016 and brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Northcountry Cooperative Foundation: Twitter: @NCF_MN Facebook: @NorthcountryCooperativeFoundation
On today's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Kim Capen, the ROC Association Director for the New England Region. Kim is currently wrapping up his third and final term representing Resident Owned Communities in New England. He moved into the Medvil Cooperative in 2006 just weeks after they finalized the purchase of the neighborhood and later became Board President. He was first elected to the ROC Association Board in 2015 and is often invited to speak at pre-purchase meetings, post-purchase celebrations and conferences around the New England area. He joins the podcast to talk about his work on the ROC Association, including specific initiatives regarding stigma and branding.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
In the spring of 2021, ROC USA was featured in a report by Transform Finance titled "Grassroots Community Engaged Investment: Making the Case for Community Engagement, Grassroots Participation, Democratization, and Shared Governance in Capital Interventions." The report highlights nonprofits engaging in Grassroots Community Engaged Investing, which they describe as a "power-building approach to investment." In today's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Curt Lyons, co-author of the report, to learn more about Transform Finance, talk about community engaged investing, and hear this thoughts on what stands out about ROC USA and Resident Owned Communities nationwide.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Transform Finance: Twitter: @TransformFin Facebook: @TransformFin
En este episodio de Ser Propietario Importa, invitadas Esthela Garza y Blanca Vega comparten su experiencia capeando heladas, un huracán y más como comunidad cooperativa. Aunque la cooperativa Pasadena Trails ha sido una comunidad ROC muy exitosa por más de 12 años, recientemente por la pandemia y temperaturas extremas, han tenido que colaborar entre la comunidad y con otras comunidades ROC para estar más fuertes que nunca. En el episodio de hoy, Blanca y Esthela explican exactamente lo que les ayudó a capear múltiples tormentas y porqué su ROC es tan atractiva para las familias de Pasadena, Texas.
On this week's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by industry pioneer George Allen to talk about the history and the future of manufactured housing. George is a widely respected manufactured home industry expert who was inducted into the RV/MH Heritage Hall of Fame in 2011. To date, he has trained and certified nearly 1,500 Manufactured Housing Managers and is the author of a book title Land Lease Community Management.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
In this episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Tom Powers, the Board President at Clackamas River Community Cooperative in Clackamas, Oregon. If this Resident Owned Community sounds familiar, Rana Foroohar, our guest in episode four, talked about her visit to the community as part of research for two articles in the Financial Times. In today's episode, Tom tells us all about their little slice of heaven on the Clackamas River, providing insight on the decision to purchase back in 2012, improvements the community has made since then, and the challenges the community faced over the last year.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
On this week's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Roberta McDonald, the Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy at Cabot, a co-operative of farm families that has been around since 1919. Cabot is well-known on the east coast for its sharp cheddar cheese - but did you know it's also a cooperative? Roberta has a rich knowledge of cooperatives - take a listen!
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
On today's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Financial Times' Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor Rana Foroohar to talk about two articles she wrote about manufactured housing communities for the Financial Times. In this episode, Rana shares her perspective on Resident Owned Communities and talks about her visits to two ROCs as part of the research she did for her articles.
More information including, show notes and links to Rana's articles, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Follow Rana Foroohar: Twitter: @RanaForoohar https://www.ranaforoohar.com/
On today's episode of Ownership Matters, we're joined by Dennis Jakubowski, Board President of Marilla Country Village, a resident-owned community in Alden, New York. The community is in its 10th year of resident ownership and has 154 lots. Dennis tells us all about Marilla Country Village's successes: paving 1.5 miles of road, a new playground, a new tractor for snow emergencies and new homes installed in the community!
More information including show notes and links at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
In today's episode of Ownership Matters, we welcome Natividad Seefeld, Board President of Park Plaza Cooperative in Fridley, Minnesota. Natividad is an amazing community leader who lives and breathes the success of the Park Plaza Cooperative. Hosts Paul Bradley and Mike Bullard kick off this episode by introducing Natividad and her amazing successes—leading to her election to the ROC USA Board of Directors. Natividad provides a little personal background and what brought her to Park Plaza before it was a co-op. She talks about the dramatic changes that have happened since she first moved in. Learn about their neighbor helping neighbor experience that is present today, their pandemic projects, and even the food service she sought for their community!
More information including show notes and links at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Follow ROC USA: Twitter: @rocusaorg Facebook: @rocusa.bettertogether
Julie Eades spent 36 years as the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, where she championed resident ownership and helped build a program that helped 130 manufactured home communities transition to resident ownership. In the first episode of Ownership Matters, Julie walks us through the history of resident ownership in New Hampshire and nationally, and shares some of her favorite stories from cooperatives and cooperative leaders.
More information, including show notes and links, at rocusa.org/ownershipmatters
Introducing Ownership Matters, a new podcast for homeowners in Resident Owned Communities, brought to you by ROC USA! Hosts Paul Bradley and Mike Bullard are excited to highlight the stories of people at the heart of the resident ownership movement. New episodes coming soon.