The Power of Connections

annual meeting format, overseeing construction of the new headquarters in Troy, and managing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. “When I look at my list of duties—and there’s a lot of them—I try to boil every decision down to two things: taking care of members and taking care of employees,” he says. “If I can do both, most of the rest of it will fall into place.” Tracy’s management style is shaped by the many lessons he learned while working alongside his predecessor. “Dan’s office and my office were connected, so I got to spend a lot of time with him,” he tells. “One of the things that I always admired about Dan is his attention to detail. He also taught me not to just consider what the result of a decision was going to be, but how it would impact members, employees, and others. I continue to follow that philosophy.” Tracy prides himself on remaining approachable to members and employees. “I treat the Board president the same way that I treat the intern who’s painting the garage doors,” he says. “We all have a role to play, and if any of those roles don’t happen, we don’t have what we need to be successful.”

Tracy (left) chats with CREC team members Steve Houk, Jason Meyer, and Chris Molitor.

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