By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Aug. 20, 2026) Jeff Heavner will take over as president of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors as the group’s former leader, John Latham, steps into the secretary role.

Following this month’s OPA board election, the seven-person board held a special meeting last Tuesday to decide which members would preside as the group’s officers.

Heavner was nominated by Latham; Director Rick Farr will serve as vice president and was nominated by Director Patrick Lehnerd; Latham will serve as secretary and was nominated by Director Monica Rakowski; and Rakowski will serve as treasurer and was nominated by Director Stuart Lakernick.

These members will hold their positions until August 2027.

The appointments follow the OPA Board of Directors election in early August, in which incumbents Latham and Lehnerd were reelected for a three-year term each. New director Amy Peck has also joined the board, ousting incumbent Elaine Brady, and will serve two years, ending the tenure of former director Steve Jacobs, who vacated his seat in March.

Heavner offered a few remarks upon his selection as board president. He thanked Latham for his service as leader over the past year, and said he’s excited to guide the community towards further success.

“I’m proud to be part of this winning and thriving team,” Heavner said. “That is a team consisting of the talented [General Manager] John Viola and his amazing administrative and operational staff. And of course, this board of directors who challenge each other to provide quality governance.”

The board’s new president emphasized OPA’s recent success. Heavner said Ocean Pines is flourishing financially.

“What does a strong Ocean Pines look like? Retained earnings approaching $3 million,” he added. “Well-funded reserves around $6.4 million, meeting the requirements of the recent DMA Study…Consistently forecasted positive operating funds, ending last fiscal year around $450,000.”

Additionally, OPA Senior Director of Administration Linda Martin will act as the board’s assistant secretary, and OPA Director of Finance Steve Phillips will serve as assistant treasurer.

The board will continue to have Bruce Bright as legal counsel and will use the firm UHY LLP as the association’s auditors. Bright will also act as the group’s parliamentarian after former position-holder Doug Parks stepped down.

The board has set regular meeting dates for the next year.

The sessions, approved unanimously, are as follows: Saturday, Sept. 26 at 9 a.m. in the Clubhouse Meeting Room; Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. in the OPA Community Center; Saturday, Nov. 21 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse; Saturday, Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse; Saturday, Jan. 30 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse; Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse, Saturday, March 27 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse; and Saturday, April 23 at 9 a.m. in the clubhouse.

To encourage additional participation in the summer, meetings during the warm-weather months will be held on Monday evenings to avoid conflicting with residents’ Saturday morning plans. These sessions will take place on Monday, May 24 at 6 p.m. in the clubhouse; Monday, June 28 at 6 p.m. in the clubhouse; and Monday, July 27 at 6 p.m. in the clubhouse.

Peck requested that meeting attendance be meticulously tracked to plan future schedules.

“I would recommend that we carefully track attendance at these meetings throughout the year so we have some clear data and we can reassess and refine the meeting schedule to when we get the most attendance,” she said.