Often good stories just seem to happen to us. In the course of getting information for an ad the other day we met Charlie Salem, who turned out to be not just a new advertiser, but a person with an interesting story to tell.
Charlie, his wife Sue, and Patti Noland, a former state legislator from Tucson, are the owners of Oceano, a new rental and property management service. It's located in the Old Port, next to Cookie Cutters salon and Victoria's Hormiga, just down the street from the Friendly Dolphin. We talked to Charlie in his office, which is the triangular end one overlooking the harbor, right at the point where the road from the Old Port joins Blvd. Juarez. There was another property management company there before, and Charlie, since he owns the building, decided to start his own service there. He told us he had only a short time until his retirement, so he wanted to plan something else to do.
From what he told us of his past career, it seems as if Charlie always has had something else to do, maybe several somethings at once. He's had a long career in education and has been the principal of elementary schools in Avondale and Goodyear, Arizona. He also served as mayor of Goodyear. His wife Sue is a community college English teacher.
Charlie and Sue live in Litchfield Park, Arizona, but have had a home in Las Conchas since 1975, shortly after it was formed. In 1980 Charlie was instrumental in forming the neighborhood association of Las Conchas. He served as its president from 1980 to 1993, when he was succeeded by Ed Prochaska, who is the current president. The Asociación de Vecinos, as it's called, has been responsible for instituting and enforcing deed restrictions in Las Conchas, thus keeping the homes consistent in size and quality, which enhances their value. The association also has worked with the city of Puerto Peñasco on matters such as taxes, utilities, and security. It exists to help the residents in every way possible; they owe a large debt of gratitude to Charlie Salem for getting it started, as well as to all those who have continued the good work since.
Obviously Charlie is a person with exceptional organizational and administrative abilities, an indicator of future success for Oceano. It helps that he and Sue and Patti know many people in Puerto Peñasco and have an experienced and capable office manager in Lupe Lopez, who handles the day-to-day business details. Oceano is a full service rental and property management firm. It will rent everything from small trailers at $55 a night to condos at the Beach & Tennis Club or Plaza Las Glorias to luxury beachfront homes for $250 a night in Las Conchas. Moreover the owners are eager to take on the challenge of solving problems. Their positive attitude is consistent with what we found out about Charlie. He's a problem-solver, and this new enterprise is one he's sure to make a success of.
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