Huckabone of Belmont Housing Resources retires

Buffalo, NY Following a 2014 board-approved transition, Elizabeth Huckabone will retire as president at the end of this year, and current vice president and chief operating officer Mike Riegel will assume that role. Co-Founding the organization in 1977, Huckabone has spent the past thirty-eight years building Belmont’s many programs and resources, touching lives throughout the Western New York community.  What began as an organization providing housing assistance to just a few hundred families, now assists over 13,000 households annually. Huckabone, a graduate of the State University College at Buffalo and a licensed real estate broker entered the housing field in 1970  as a rental agent for a non-profit agency that managed  subsidized housing in Erie and Niagara County.  Soon after she  joined a property management firm established by Bruce Baird and Theodore Flemming, two developers of subsidized housing on the lower west side of Buffalo. Huckabone and Riegel have a collective 68 years of experience at Belmont and have helped shape the organization into a forerunner in the world of affordable housing, impacting countless families and individuals through its many programs and services. As part of the transition plan the board recently elected Dr. Kelly L. Patterson, Assistant Professor, UB School of Social Work, as Board Chair to lead the transition.  The Board of Directors, as well as Huckabone have expressed great confidence in Riegel’s abilities to lead the organization in the future. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at Belmont and after 38 years leaving will certainly be bitter-sweet.    However, Mike’s commitment to our mission, his robust institutional knowledge, and the respect he commands from the staff and the community make me confident in his ability to lead the organization into the future” Since joining in 1985, Riegel has been involved with developing affordable housing utilizing numerous funding sources including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, the HUD 202/811 program, the HUD HOME program, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and Cinncinnati, the RD 515 program, the NYS Housing Trust Fund, the NYS HHAP program, and others.  Over the past thirty years, he has successfully developed hundreds of affordable housing units including both rental and homeownership projects. Over his tenure at Belmont, Riegel has served in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer and Director of Finance and Administration.  He has also served as treasurer and director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, as well as serving on several other housing-related boards.  He has a Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Fredonia and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Canisius College. When asked about his feelings on his appointment, Riegel shared: “I have the utmost respect and admiration for Liz.  She founded an organization and realized her vision of making it the most multi-faceted housing service provider in the area – capable of helping people with virtually any of their housing needs. I look forward to following Liz’s legacy and to continuing to help more and more people in need.” Belmont Housing Resources for WNY is a leading advocate for quality affordable housing.  In addition to administering rental assistance programs, they provide a variety of housing-related programs and services promoting home ownership and asset building, educating renters and landlords, and developing and managing affordable housing.