Ashley Huddleston at Cherokee Village

Ashley Huddleston transitioned to the property management profession after many years in hotel management. She said that while the similarities of the two careers smoothed her entry into her current work it was the differences that drew her in.

“I got into leasing and fell in love with the property management side of it,” she said. “In property management I get to know our residents. I am out all the time checking on the properties. Every day is different except that there is always a big checklist of things to get done. Property managers are multi-tasking ninjas.”

In the hotel business Huddleston was often stuck at the front desk. In contrast, doing property management for Curry Real Estate Services has her out and about working with vendors, coordinating maintenance matters, talking with residents and visiting with folks looking for a new apartment home.

“I enjoy wearing a lot of different hats,” she said. “You have your plan for the day, but you never know what is going to come up. I like to describe it as orchestrated chaos.” Emphasis on “orchestrated.”

Huddleston manages five Liberty area Curry apartment properties – Briar Oak, Cherokee Village, Gallatin, Lightburne and Miller Street – 150 apartment units in total. She said to be successful she has to be organized and empathetic; have a sense of urgency and be patient. “We can’t forget that each apartment is someone’s home,” she added. “You need to have compassion for others and do your best to take care of them.”

Huddleston joined Curry three years ago and said one of the many good things about working for a locally based, family-owned business is access to leadership. If there is an issue, they take care of it. And the culture is warm and friendly while holding all to high professional standards.

“The company does so much for employees throughout the year and Ellen Todd (Curry president and CEO) is phenomenal,” she said “She’s very engaged with the managers. When you walk into the corporate office, she knows you, your family, asks how its going and cares about your answer!”

Originally from southern Missouri, Huddleston came up in her own family’s business – restaurant operations. She got her degree in the culinary arts and while she did not make that her career, she does love to cook – handy as she raised five children. She’s really into true crime novels and, after watching her great grandma do it, she took up knitting.

She’s also a licensed auctioneer! In addition to running restaurants, her family also operated thrift stores and would go to auctions to buy things. Listening to those auctioneers Huddelston decided she could probably do that herself. “I’m naturally a fast talker and have to force myself to slow down,” she said “So, I watched YouTube videos, practiced a lot and now I will do it for charity auctions my mom is involved in that raises money for victims of domestic violence.”

Curry’s Ashley Huddlestone does, indeed, wear many hats and, for a good cause, can sell one to you, too.