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Photo From: Joe Reynolds - Album: OPA Board

Description: Ocean Pines welcomed two new Board members on Monday, with the appointment of Amy Peck and Josette Wheatley. Both will serve until the 2022 election.

Amy Peck

Peck described herself as a “Baltimore girl who grew up vacationing in Ocean City.”

“I worked my way through college working ‘down the ocean’ and have fond memories of working at Phillips North,” she said.

Years later, she and her family bought a home in Ocean Pines.

“Once my kids started public school in Baltimore County, we made the wise choice of buying a home here in 2002,” she said. “We were looking for a summer home where my young sons and I could live when school wasn’t in session, and we just fell in love with Ocean Pines and all that it offers.”

Before retiring, Peck worked as an early childhood educator, running her own licensed daycare center, and working with Baltimore County Parks and Recreation as a teacher and director for their Tiny Tots program.

“My husband continues his career as a scientist with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers,” she said. “My sons attended Baltimore County Public Schools and received full tuition scholarships to Towson University and UMBC, and the oldest will receive his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Duke.”

Prior to moving to Ocean Pines, Peck earned HOA experience while serving as the association secretary of the Pine Valley Valleywood Community Association in Timonium. She also started the Greater Timonium Community Council, worked with land preservation groups in Northern Baltimore County, and volunteered with the Cromwell Valley and Baltimore County recreation and parks departments.

Peck said she brings a unique perspective to the Ocean Pines Board, because of her varied background.

“I have been a part-time resident, a resident with young children, an empty nester, a retiree now almost full-time here, and an employee,” she said. “Many residents come up to me saying, ‘I know you from somewhere,’ and it is usually from the pools. Before being appointed, I loved working the front desk for Aquatics in the summers and spreading my love for what this community offers.”

She’s also a familiar face in Ocean Pines politics, as someone who frequently attended Board meetings and often wrote letters to the Association’s governing body.

“My approach to something I don't understand is to research it endlessly,” Peck said. “When I first heard about effluent being used to irrigate, that's what I did – I researched and I asked any expert I could find questions.”

On the Board, Peck will serve as liaison to two advisory committees: Racquet Sports and Environment and Natural Assets.

“I’m super excited to be liaison for the Environment and Natural Assets Committee,” she said. “It’s been a pleasure talking with members of the committee who share the same passion for the environment that I do.

“I will also serve as liaison for Racquet Sports,” she continued. “Our racquet center, certified instructors, and state-of-the-art courts are the best on the East Coast. The investment Ocean Pines has made in pickleball is paying off.”

Looking forward as a new Ocean Pines Board member, Peck described herself as being fiscally conversative, but not afraid to invest in the future.

“I see the value in investing money to improve our amenities and the customer experience, and in the end the growth in revenue that that investment gives us. I take that same approach with maintaining our current facilities,” she said.

“During the next nine months, I am focusing on continuing our positive revenue growth and improving communication with the homeowners,” Peck continued. “I’m excited to work together as a team to continue projects in place but also I like to look forward long-range keeping in mind the 50-year history of Ocean Pines. I’ve often been called the ‘cheerleader’ of Ocean Pines, because I’m very vocal about how much I love it and how much there is to do. I’m going to do my best to serve.”

Uploaded: 10/15/2021 by Joe Reynolds