Innovator in Association

Management Tracy Hill

By Cathy D, Ryan, CMCA, AMS, PCAM CEO & President, Property Specialists, Inc.

When I first walked into the offices of Property Specialists, Inc. over thirty years ago (let’s just say I was still in grade school at the time) I was excited at the prospect of starting my new career working for a strong female business owner. I was more than a little shocked to discover that Tracy Hill was not the young powerful professional female executive of which I had built up in my mind, but rather a short, unassuming, middle aged man with glasses, a wry smile and a wicked sense of humor. Needless to say I was very disappointed that my new employer was not the role model I had envisioned. This was the first and last time that I would ever underestimate my new friend for the remainder of our time working together.

28 | COMMON INTEREST®

Tracy was the self-described black sheep of the Hill Family. His father Kimball Hill was one of the most prominent home builders of the 21st century, whose vision of creating affordable housing for returning World War II veterans grew to become one of our nation’s first planned suburban communities, the City of Rolling Meadows. Kimball joined together with other homebuilders to share resources while wartime rations were in place. This network of competitive construction companies would later form the National Association of Home Builders, one of the largest trades associations in the country.

While Tracy’s older brother David followed in their father’s footsteps, Tracy didn’t want to be kept in the shadow of his family’s success in the Home Building field. His first job at a young age was hand digging ditches for his father’s construction company, followed by 6 months of work in an Amazon jungle building communities for the locals. Truth be told, while he loved his family and always professed the virtues of a strong family life, Tracy didn’t particularly enjoy working for his family. He wanted to be his own man, and help develop and grow an industry where he could make a personal mark in a way similar to his father’s tremendous impact on the homebuilding industry. It was important to him that people recognized him for his efforts, and not just as Kimball’s son or David’s little brother.

A Publication of CAI-Illinois Chapter