by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
You couldn’t find a more Island Insider than Nicole Decker-McHale, currently Executive Director of Community Housing and Resources, where she’ll be celebrating her one-year anniversary later this month.
A 30-year islander, Decker-McHale started her volunteer career at the Sanibel School. “My kids attended there, so I was with the PTA,” Decker-McHale explained, “Then the kids were in Optimist Junior Club and they’d volunteer around the island raising money for the different nonprofits. When my kids left and went to college, this is the most important story that I remember: All of the graduates were invited to Bailey’s by Sam Bailey, and he told them his story about growing up on the island, moving away, living his life, doing the things that he did, and how important it was to come back and give back to the island that gave to him. That was his message to the kids: You have to remember where you come from, and you have to give back to that community.” Then Bailey gave each student a $100 check.
“After that when my kids left, I really considered what I was going to do with my time, so I started volunteering with FISH and then the Community House and from there I joined boards and, I don’t know, it just exploded,” Decker-McHale explained. “I pretty much volunteered with just about every organization there is.”
Decker-McHale sits on or has formerly sat on the boards of the Community House, where she chaired the capital campaign and served as secretary; FISH where she served as chair, vice president, and secretary; and now chairs the Sanibel Public Library board. She also was Social Chair of the Sanctuary Golf Club. She volunteered for Community Housing and Resources as well, contributing mightily to fundraising efforts for many years, before becoming its Executive Director.
Some of her volunteer duties she said she had to learn on the fly. For example, she had never run a capital campaign before, so she relied on community people who had experience in those areas. “I called on a number of really bright people and met with them and just asked them how to go about it,” she said. “And there was a capital campaign committee of the [Community House] board that really worked hard. And the community came through for us.”
Decker-McHale is originally from Pennsylvania, outside of Scranton. Her first four Sanibel years were part-time, with her children spending half the school year in Pennsylvania and half on Sanibel. She had family that lived on the east coast of Florida, and her husband, James McHale, had a house here, so they always knew they wanted to be on Sanibel.
She has two daughters, Alexia and Tajana, son-in-law Nate, and the apple of her eye, grandson Wilde, 20 months old. Her career was almost as varied as her volunteering, working first as an assistant manager for Waldenbooks, then in marketing for an extended time, and then with her husband running a rental company, which was great experience for her new post at CHR.
Decker-McHale said the transition from being a volunteer to a paid employee has been different, because “now I have to answer to board members,” she said. “But I think having the experience of being a board member helps because I understand how that relationship works and being held accountable and making sure there’s lots of communication. That’s the one thing we try to do is communicate as much as we can. Maybe we overwhelm the board, but I’d rather give more information than not enough.”
When asked how she has balanced extensive volunteering and work with the rest of her life, she said she doesn’t find it to be cumbersome. “Maybe because I enjoy it,” she added. “I really like helping people and helping my community.”
“I remember how this community really rallied around the school. It was just a great experience,” she remembered. “At that time, it was an open campus so the community came to the school. Somebody might teach painting or play guitar, we had hot dogs and pizza, retirees taught students how to read. We’d go on bike trips through Ding Darling. You had all these community members who were coming to help out.”
Decker-McHale said her work as CHR Executive Director compares to her volunteer work because it’s a housing foundation, a nonprofit doing good things for people in need.
The hurricane really brought housing to the forefront of everybody’s mind. Housing has been overlooked in a way in the community, Decker-McHale said, and people really started to think of housing for themselves and for their neighbors after the hurricane.
“One thing that’s remarkable about this community is how close we all are,” she said. “When you came back to the island after the hurricane and went to get coffee, you wondered, is that person going to be there? Bailey’s was gone, and you thought about the people who worked there and you thought, where are they? And so I really want to just be able to help house people the best I can. We’re at a critical time in the community because there are so many people who are working and homeless, which is surprising but there just isn’t any housing. They’re either living out of their cars, or on the floors of the businesses where they work, or they’re couch surfing. It’s a hard time for everybody.”
It is a lot of work, Decker-McHale said, but it’s an exciting time. CHR has a lot of things going on, and “we have a great staff and a hardworking board. Not to mention the community members.” There is a crew that comes on Thursdays to the properties and then other individuals that bring groups together to clean properties. “It’s really amazing the people that step up” she marveled. Some properties are still being remediated but CHR’s housing is about 90 percent full.
Decker-McHale has nothing but praise for her CHR staff. Bonnie McCurry, Housing Administrator, has been with CHR for 16 years. Savannah Miller Berg, Deputy Executive Director, manages grants, meets with lawmakers, and supervises two staff members. Kate Pujol, a part-timer, handles community relations and land acquisitions. Tracy Haskins, who just joined the team two weeks ago, is bookkeeper. Buddy Long, Facilities Manager, will be transitioning into a volunteer role while Blake Donnelly takes over as Facilities Manager.
“They are all invaluable,” Decker-McHale said of her staff.
CHR is building two new buildings behind 7/11, where they lost a 10-unit building in the storm. “It’s pretty back there, on the river, there’s a lot of land back there. We want to be more efficient when we house individuals,” Decker-McHale explained. “So we’re building a 10 one-bedroom-one-bath building, and the second building will be ‘ensuite living.’” That means individuals will have a private bed and bath with common living space and kitchen. This will help entry-level residents because the cost will be less. Right now, rents are 30 percent of income, and the board will decide a lesser amount for the new ensuite units. “We’re hoping with this model we can transition it to other areas in the community,” said Decker-McHale. CHR hopes to break ground behind 7/11 in September and is undergoing a capital campaign that will become public in the fall; already, almost half of the money has been raised.
“We have a five-year strategic plan. In it, our number one goal is the welfare of residents,” Decker-McHale explained. “We put great emphasis on that. We’re hosting a lot of different events to increase the community feel: coffee, pizza days, events at The Community House with music and food, meet-and-greet sessions with board members and City Council. Residents can hear from the experts about fire safety, police safety, hurricane safety.” CHR works closely with FISH, which is a great benefit for residents.
“We talk to the residents to find out how they’re doing and what needs they might have. We don’t want to assume everybody’s doing okay because they’re working,” Decker-McHale said. “When individuals call on the phone, we try to get as much information as possible, so if they need immediate help, we can steer them in the right direction.”
CHR celebrated Decker-McHale’s April birthday with a series of lotteries during which residents could win gift certificates and baskets, and even a free month’s rent.
The organization has just been nominated for Nonprofit of the Year by SWFL Inc., and Decker-McHale is a finalist for Citizen of the Year; the event is May 29
The Florida Housing Coalition, the agency for all housing in Florida, chose CHR out of hundreds of applicants to be presenters at its major conference in Orlando in August. Their topic will be “reimagined housing,” with their architect and with City Councilmember Holly Smith, working together.
“Sanibel has a bright future,” Decker-McHale said. “When you look at where we were after the storm and where we are today, the resiliency of the community says a lot. It’s not to say that we’re not hurt or have hardships, but we are very resilient and determined to build our community back to what it was. And we want people to come back and enjoy this island again.
“I think when you live, work, or visit in a community, you want to live in a community that is giving and it can be in two ways. This community is very remarkable in that individuals are not only giving of their money but particularly of their time, and that’s what makes it an amazing community that we all love and enjoy and thrive in.
“The thing about life is thriving, and you need a lot of community to thrive.”
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