Gina Marie VanHorn

I attribute my success to prioritizing people, maintaining strong personal discipline, and staying grounded in accountability and perspective. I have always believed that employees and tenants are equally important, and that taking care of people is central to doing the job well. I also hold myself to core values of honesty, punctuality, and attention to detail, while learning to step back and see the bigger picture when needed. A key influence in my career has been my mentor Steve Sessions, who taught me the importance of listening, supporting your team, and solving problems collaboratively with staff and clients to achieve the best outcomes.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is the importance of patience and self-directed learning, especially early in my professional journey. I’ve learned that growth does not happen overnight, and taking the time to truly understand each aspect of the work builds a stronger foundation for long-term success. By staying patient with myself, remaining open to learning, and taking initiative to seek out knowledge and solutions independently, I have been able to develop greater confidence, improve my decision-making, and advance more intentionally in my career.

You need be able to love what you do. It's will not be easy. You know, it will take time to learn and gain experience. You need to have patience and understand how to manage properties. Take time to listen to coworkers, supervisors and vendors. Doing a little research on your own helps you learn. And try! Don't always expect others to do it for you. You have to try and solve issues yourself. Remember that no one is perfect. You learn by your mistakes. And if you're corrected, you're corrected. It doesn't mean you're not good, it's how you learn and how you gain experience.

The challenges are problems at properties. When you have after-hour emergencies or issues on site you need to handle it right away by calling a vendor, maintenance personnel or going out to the property yourself. I work with industrial buildings, and when you're not on site, you have to conduct site visits to make sure properties are good. As far as opportunities, if you get professional licenses up first, you will have a lot more opportunities. Start with your education, then start with your experience. When you do this, the opportunities should come to you.

The values most important to me in both my work and personal life center around people, integrity, and balance. I believe employees and tenants are equally important, and that taking care of people is the foundation of doing any job well. I also value honesty, punctuality, and strong attention to detail, while recognizing the importance of stepping back to see the bigger picture when making decisions. I believe you have to take care of yourself first so you can consistently show up and perform at a high level. Alongside my professional values, I am deeply committed to service and giving back, which I demonstrated through many years of volunteer work as Treasurer and board member of the Mile High Jeep Club. As a member, I helped support fundraisers for Children’s Hospital and toy drives, contributing my time entirely on a volunteer basis because giving back to the community has always been important to me. I received the Community Service Award from work for my volunteering.