OCEAN PINES – After a lengthy nationwide search, Ocean Pines Association officials announced Thursday that a new general manager has been chosen.
The Ocean Pines Association (OPA) has hired John Bailey to fill the general manager position that has been vacant since Bob Thompson was fired last year.
“The board of directors appreciates the patience of the community as we completed this search,” said Dave Stevens, president of the board.
The selection of Bailey to serve as general manager comes after a months-long, nationwide search conducted by the Novak Consulting Group. According to OPA, Bailey will come to the Pines with more than 10 years of experience managing two large homeowners associations.
During Friday’s meeting of the board, Stevens said that in addition to that, Bailey had worked in municipal government and as a golf professional.
“This was a very long and very thorough search process,” Stevens said. “After a nationwide search of approximately 100 candidates, the board of directors came to the conclusion that John would be the best fit for our association.”
Stevens said Bailey would be ideal for Ocean Pines because during his time managing other communities, he’d managed multiple amenities. The poor financial performance of the Ocean Pines amenities has long been a cause of concern for many residents.
Thompson, who’d served as general manager for six years, was terminated in August 2016 just weeks after three new members were elected to the board. Several of the 12 candidates in last year’s election had been critical of Thompson’s management of the association and advocated for more board oversight.
According to OPA, Bailey will officially take on the role of general manager Sept. 11. He’ll be moving to the area with his wife Meredith and his two children, Chase, 21, and Augusta, 15.
