Leisure World of Maryland welcomed its new general manager, Robert “Bob” Kimble, on Nov. 1.
Prior to contracting with Leisure World, Kimble held the position of community manager at Arizona Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona for approximately five years. Prior to that, he was the general manager at Lake Linganore Association in New Market, Maryland.
While Kimble was community manager at Arizona Leisure World, he increased the number of recreational activities available for residents, even acting as the DJ spinning tunes at popular monthly dances.
“I am a very visible type of guy,” Kimble said. “People will see me out and about.”
He created a variety of ways to meet with residents on a regular basis – a community chat, coffee talk, walks, charity golf games and a new members’ breakfast. He even started a Maryland-style crab fest in Arizona.
He found that a lot of residents feel more comfortable speaking up in these informal settings than at board meetings.
And the events were well attended, with attendance at some “upwards of 200 people before [COVID-19] hit,” Kimble said.
He also worked closely with Arizona Leisure World’s real estate office, helping increase the share of Leisure World properties sold from 40 to 60 percent. The approximate half a million dollars the real estate office made last year helped reduce residents’ costs.
Kimble has worked with homeowners associations (HOAs) in various capacities for more than 30 years. His experience as a manager of communities originates from his days working as a CPA providing auditing and consulting services to community clients.
“The general manager had left a client I was auditing, and a couple of board members approached me and asked if I’d be interested in the job,” he said.
He believes his experience as a CPA helped prepare him for community management. “When you’re doing auditing for years, you’re seeing the whole picture [of a community],” he said.
Kimble’s credentials as a CPA caught the attention of the Special Personnel Committee at Leisure World, which also found his breadth of experience impressive.
“One of the things we were looking for was some new ideas from the outside, some different perspectives, so that was attractive,” said Leisure World Community Corporation board of directors’ chairperson Phil Marks. “He’s been at a variety of places and seen different operations at various stages.”
Kimble recognizes the importance of meeting and building relationships with county councilmembers and people of influence.
“You have to use that muscle when you need to. It makes people listen when they know you’re coming from a 7,000 0r 8,000 voting block,” he said.
Kimble is a certified manager of community associations. In his new role at Leisure World, he also serves as CEO of Leisure World of Maryland Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leisure World Community Corporation.
He grew up in Pennsylvania as one of 11 children. He worked on local farms at a young age, where he learned the value of hard work, he said. He served as a U.S. Army medic and enjoys carpentry, having just made a pair of shutters for his home. He’s married and has two daughters and three grandsons.