Board of Directors
The HCCA Board of Directors is elected at the annual meeting held every March. The board consists of 12 seats with candidates elected using a staggered term system (either one- or two-year terms) to maintain organizational continuity.
Board Officers
President: Chris Pelly
Vice President: Christina Maggi
Treasurer: Bruce Black
Secretary: Steve Scholl
Board Members
Bruce Black**
I moved to Asheville from the South Carolina coast. I have worked in the retail petroleum sector, the land development industry, served as an elected official on the Hilton Head Island town council and worked for the City of Asheville. I have lived in Michigan, Illinois, Switzerland, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and now in Asheville. My wife Helen is an Asheville native. We moved into Haw Creek about 22 years ago and we are enjoying it as our permanent home. My education is in urban planning from the University of Tennessee and it is my hope that Haw Creek can remain a sub-urban area with a country feel.
Michelle Decker**
My husband and I transplanted our family’s manufacturing company from Miami in 1999, and although a challenge it was the best decision we ever made. After settling in, I took my skills as Director of Operations to the real estate world, which has always been a passion. Now deeply rooted after raising our children in the mountains, we enjoy all that Asheville has to offer, the arts, hiking, camping, biking to local eateries, and spending time with our friends, family and Jake, our beloved English Sheppard that we adopted from Brother Wolf. I am pleased to have joined the HCCA board and look forward to using my communication, negotiating, and creative skills to serve our community.
Debbie Francis*
I moved to Haw Creek from Brevard in 2009 and purchased a home here in 2010. I love having a country feel with a creek and farm behind my home but am only about 4 miles to downtown. Creating community is important to me as "no man is an island." My professional past is quite diverse as I worked in various industries for 20 years, taught college for 14 years, and have worked in real estate since 2008. I am a member of the Asheville Downtown Association (harass beer drinkers at festivals as a volunteer) and Rotary. I usher for Diane Wortham Theater and the Symphony. I have 3 indoor cats. I love to travel and have been fortunate to visit over 90 countries and all 7 continents.
Christina Maggi**
My husband and I moved to Asheville from New York City in 2018, after I retired from a career in the non-profit sector. I spent 30 years working for organizations committed to creating positive change for people—like Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, ACLU, WaterAid and United Hospital Fund. I also served on the board of our 72-unit co-op for 9 years, most of that time as president. Frank and I love living in our beautiful Haw Creek neighborhood, just steps from Masters Park and minutes to downtown. I’m especially grateful that I can continue to contribute by volunteering for the Haw Creek Community Association.
Shelley McKechnie*
I sure love almost everything about Haw Creek—I just wish it were safer and more pleasant to get around our neighborhood on foot and by bicycle. I’m eager to help fix that, contributing my time and professional experience managing projects with lots of moving parts.
Barber Melton**
I am one of the original founding members of the Haw Creek Community Association and of the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods, which is an umbrella group for many neighborhood associations throughout the city. After 40 years I continue to be an activist. I have served on the Neighborhood Advisory Committee, the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Affordable Housing Committee, and many other diverse committees through the years. I am a native and go back many generations in Haw Creek. I and my adult children are very active at St John’s Episcopal Church, which my great grandfather started. My roots go very deep and I love Haw Creek. I continue to try to be sure we honor this valley and all who have contributed so much.
Leslie Morris*
My husband and I moved to Haw Creek in 2004. We own Stuart Nye Jewelry on Tunnel Road and will be going into our 90th year in 2023. I am a member of Four Seasons Garden Club, The Vetust Study Club, Childrens Welfare League and Daughters of the American Revolution. We have two sons. I enjoy gardening, baking and walking our dogs. Helping make Haw Creek a welcoming neighborhood is very important to me.
Chris Pelly**
A resident of Haw Creek since 1992, my wife, Juanita Igo, and I raised three children on Cisco Road. I retired in 2023 from a 25-year career as a self-employed real estate broker. I first became involved with the community association in 1995 and the campaign to build Haw Creek Park on Avon Road. My neighbors were kind enough to elect me president from 1995 to 2003, again from 2007 to 2011 and now a third time since 2020. In between, I served on Asheville City Council from 2011 to 2015. Bringing people together to build community and effect positive change is my guiding philosophy. Our community has many talented and generous residents who, working together, make Haw Creek the place I am proud to call home.
Liz Polfus*
I have lived in Haw Creek for over 10 years. I've gotten to know my neighbors through dog-walks and yard work. Since the 2020 shutdown I have been working out of my home as well, which means my evening "commute" has become a hike through Masters Park when the day is done. Professionally I work at an Asheville-based IT firm doing process engineering and operations. I have a background in project management, web design & development, and a deeper background in fine art, thanks UNCA! Haw Creek has been such a good home full of incredible people, I'm excited to get to know more of our community and continue to foster connections within it.
Storms Reback*
My wife, son, and I moved to Haw Creek from Austin, Texas in July 2022. I have spent most of my career writing nonfiction books and magazine articles, but our move to Asheville reignited my passion for protecting and enjoying our natural environment. In my free time I enjoy tending my small orchard of heritage apple trees, searching the woods for edible mushrooms, and hiking from Masters Park up to and along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. I feel extremely fortunate to have settled in such a beautiful place surrounded by such wonderful neighbors, and I hope to do as much as I can to protect it.
Renate Rikkers**
I was raised and educated in Germany before coming to the US as a young adventurer in the early 60s. Over the decades, I have been fortunate to have lived and traveled in all five regions of this country, always finding my place in my new community by getting involved and contributing my time and energy to important issues. Haw Creek has been home for 25 years, and my connection to our Community Association has been a consistent part of my life in an ever-changing Asheville.
Steve Scholl*
Debbie and I discovered Asheville during our five-year plan to find the right place to retire after 40+ years of respective careers and 21 years of raising our daughter in Houston, Texas. Haw Creek became our perfect new home in 2019. Debbie still owns her neighborhood toy store in Houston. I am retired from law practice devoted to litigation handling lawsuits involving real estate, construction and oil/gas disputes. Part of my practice also involved mediation. In between recreational activities and yard work, I continue to consult with my old firm and serve on the Sondley Estates Architectural Review Committee. When asked what I enjoy, my typical answer is “hiking, biking, fishing and personal growth.”
*One-year term ending March 2025
**Two-year term ending March 2026