Park West, I’On and Port Royal Plantation community management company, Southern Community Services, earns top industry credentials
February 22, 2016
International accrediting organization, Community Associations Institute, awards PCAM and AMS designations to SCS team
The highest credential status in the international homeowner association management industry has been awarded to two members of the senior leadership team at Southern Community Services (SCS), whose Lowcountry clients include Park West, I’On, Dunes West, Hamlin Plantation and Port Royal Plantation in Hilton Head.
Larry Ridlehoover, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, president and co-principal of SCS, and Mary Helen Settle, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, vice president, Upstate region, are two of only three individuals in South Carolina to earn the designation of Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) from the Community Associations Institute (CAI) between July and December of 2015.
Based in Virginia near Washington, D.C., CAI is an international organization with almost 34,000 members that provides information, education and resources to community associations and the professionals who support them. The organization awarded 243 career-enhancing designations worldwide – including only 77 PCAM credentials – between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2015. Additionally, the Association Management Specialist (AMS) credential was awarded to two of SCS’ community managers, Stacy Foster of Florence, S.C., and Mike Meadows of Columbia, S.C.
“We’re very proud of our team,” says Ridlehoover. “SCS takes professional development very seriously. The knowledge we’re able to gain from the accreditation process enables us to fulfill CAI’s mission to inspire professionalism, effective leadership and responsible citizenship within our own ranks, ensuring that our clients receive the best community management services in the Carolinas.”
Southern Community Services (SCS) is one of only six HOA management firms in S.C. with CAI’s Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC) designation. The firm is celebrating its 15th anniversary of providing professional business, governance, and community management services to more than 160 communities across the Carolinas, including Lake Carolina, Wildewood, Cobblestone Park, Ascot, The Summit, Lake Frances and Crickentree in the Midlands; Park West, I’On, Dunes West, Hamlin Plantation, Belle Hall and Tanner Plantation in Charleston; Port Royal Plantation in Hilton Head; The Reserve at Lake Keowee and Foxwood Hills in the Upstate; and Ayrsley in Charlotte, N.C.
SCS is led by the ownership team of Larry Ridlehoover, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, president and co-principal, and Chuck Munn, vice president and co-principal. The firm employs 37 accredited professionals, managed by Steven Wagner, CMCA®, vice president of operations and finance; Mary Helen Settle, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, vice president, Upstate region; and Jessica Turner, CMCA®, AMS®, vice president, Charleston region. The company has corporate headquarters in the capital city of Columbia, S.C.; a Lowcountry office in Mount Pleasant, S.C.; and an Upstate office in Spartanburg, S.C.; as well as more than 10 staffed, onsite offices in communities throughout the Charleston and Columbia areas.
SCS offers a full range of association management services, including billing and collections; newsletter publishing; architectural review; financial reporting and accounting; CC&R enforcement; oversight of landscaping, pool and other amenity maintenance vendors; budget preparation and more.
More than 30 associations are celebrating their 15th anniversary with the firm, which has commemorated the occasion with a full brand refresh, a redesigned website at www.TrustSCS.com, innovative new back office technologies and more.
About Southern Community Services (SCS)
Southern Community Services (SCS) has specialized in the management of homeowners associations throughout the Carolinas and beyond since the year 2000. Awarded the prestigious Accredited Association Management (AAMC) designation by the Community Association Institute (CAI), SCS currently serves more than 160 communities, from multi-tiered master-planned communities to small, single family neighborhoods. Staffed with accredited professionals who work diligently to accommodate the unique needs of each community, SCS provides turnkey solutions, state-of-the-art technology and decades of association management experience to boards, with senior-level involvement in every aspect of the business. Learn more at www.TrustSCS.com.
