On April 20, Joy Davis was awarded the 2010 Site Manager of the Year Award for her work with Westview Apartments.

When Davis received the award, she and other members of Diamond Management, Davis’ employers, were attending a conference hosted by the Washington State Council for Affordable and Rural Housing and AHMA northwest in Wenatchee. There, Laurie Jordon, vice president of Diamond Management, stood up on stage and Davis thought it was to present an award to another couple in the group.

“I had no idea,then she called my name, I was totally blindsighted,” says Davis. “Everyone knew except me.”

Davis, resident of Lopez for three years, has been credited with greatly improving the quality of life for those at Westview Apartments. Jordon, in addition to Diamond’s President Gene Bouma and employee Jo Johnson, state that Davis stepped in at a time when “problems at Westview were escalating out of control.”

Where once there were issues with behavior and tenancy rates, now 11 out of 18 of the apartments have been renovated. There is also a garden, with soil and labor donated by the Lopez Land Trust and Lopez Thrift Store, and a true sense of community. “This is my home, and I want it to be comfortable for everyone,” Davis says.