If you want to keep up with Maria Horton, go ahead and work on your cardio, but prepare yourself to watch her pull farther and farther ahead.

Ask her son Patrick, a former drift racer and current instructor at the Porsche Experience in Carson, Calif.

“She is definitely hard to keep up with. She has a lot of energy, is always the life of the party,” he said. “She’s always somewhere, always talking to people and making friends. That’s just who she is.”

Newport Pacific Family of Companies

• Newport Pacific Capital Company Inc: The fee-based management services company for all forms of residential housing, including manufactured home communities.
• Modular Lifestyles Inc.: The retail sales dealership to buy and sell homes for communities.
• Cirus Development Inc.: The construction company that allows Newport Pacific to do on-site preparation and construction.

Miles and Miles With Maria

Maria Horton is the marketing director and a regional manager for Newport Pacific, a provider of third-party and fee-based management services for manufactured home communities. She lives in Garden Grove and works in Irvine, but at any moment can be found anywhere in Southern California.

“I am a Rapid Rewards flyer with Southwest. I have 743,762 miles on Southwest and I’m at Silver Medallions status for Skymiles with Delta, too,” Horton said. “I love to travel, and in addition to my travel for work I’ve been to Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia.

“Part of the love for travel is that I love languages, and speak Spanish and a little French, too,” she added. “In school, I took Latin, French and Spanish and at one point I worked in the same building as the Korean consulate in Los Angeles and would ride in the elevator surrounded with people who were willing to teach me the Korean language a bit.”

So, with all of her 700,000-plus frequent flyer miles, what does Maria Horton do when she’s out bounding around? She goes to industry conferences and trade shows, serves on planning and advisory boards, visits communities, engages in education for certifications or simply for the sake of learning. But, more than anything, Maria Horton travels to see people and meet people.

“I have always been a very high-energy person,” she said. “I really get energized by people, relationships, attending and achieving. Achieving is everything for me. I think it may be a little bit of making up for lost time, even after all these years.”

The Making of Maria Horton

Maria Horton’s grandfather Kenji Inomata was born in Kashiwazaki, Niigata-ken, and came to the states in the early 1900s and joined the U.S. Navy, which allowed him decades of international travel, to learn the language and gain a pension. He was promoted, got married and became a naturalized citizen.

When the U.S. entered World War II, Maria Horton’s grandfather and his family were spared encampment because of his service for the top admirals in the Navy. They were guarded at home, confined during the day, and escorted at night to ensure their safety.

“It’s an astonishing story that my brother put in a book on our family,” Horton said. “It was still Los Angeles in the ‘40s, so they never had an easy time, but if it hadn’t been for those concessions made by the U.S. government I likely wouldn’t be here. I was told many stories of their bravery, as I was not yet born at this time.”

Inomata is recorded as the lone Japanese National male of record in U.S. history to gain an honorable exemption from incarceration in America’s World War II Japanese concentration camps.

“Japan and Mexico are dear to my heart,” Horton said. “My mother’s father used to collect rents in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, so, see, maybe I was meant to be in this industry?”

Her mother, who was French, German and Basque, came to the U.S. from Mexico in late 1929 after the death of her father, Alberto Lizarraga. Her grandfather was already living on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles, because he had escaped from jail in Mexico for being a follower of Francisco Madero, who advocated for social justice and democracy.

“If you were a Maderista and were educated and could write letters and rally populist ideals, they would just put you in jail,” Horton said. “That’s what they did to him. His sister came to visit and snuck him some women’s clothes. He was able to disguise himself and sneak out, making his way to L.A.”.

Coming of Age in Los Angeles

Horton is the eldest of five children, raised by her mother and stepfather, Gustavo Lopez. She was educated in private schools, she is a huge Dodgers fan, and has always been someone who looks out for others.

“When I graduated from high school I was expected to go to work. My father got me a job at the phone company because that’s where nice girls went to work. But I was going to college too, to West L.A. College,” Horton said. “My neighbor said I was too smart for that and wanted me to go to Pitzer College… She urged me to fill out an application and I got a letter that I had a full scholarship. My family, though, said I was needed at work and home, and this and that, so I stayed at home. I was a bit attached to everyone at home too, honestly.”

But the thought of an opportunity missed lingered. It was a powerful, formative thought.

“That’s when I said I was going to achieve, whatever it was, to take the next step,” Horton said.  “So when I got into this industry I just saw all kinds of opportunities to get new certifications and fill that need to move up, to achieve, to learn.

“That energizes me nearly as much as the interpersonal stuff, and serves me well in all that I do for Newport Pacific and the industry,” she said.

Maria Horton’s Professional Credentials

• Certified Apartment Manager (NAA)
• California Certified Rental Manager (State of California)
• Association Management Specialist (CAI)
• Certified Manager of Community Associations (CAMICB)
• Manufactured-Housing Community Manager (WMA)
• Manufactured Housing Manager (EducateMHC)
• City of Carson Rent Control Board member
• City of Costa Mesa Mobile Home Park Advisory Committee member
• California Manufactured Housing Institute member

“Along with being the public relations person for my company, when I come in I also am a regional manager overseeing three properties for the company. There are two all-ages and one 55+ property under my care, all three are in Southern California,” she said. “They take a great deal of attention to detail. Every resident relation event I attend I am involved with, and I oversee all finances, creating budgets, I handle capital improvement projects, and I work with the managers to ensure they have the tools needed to operate these communities.”

Horton has spent nearly 15 years traipsing the national housing circuit for Newport Pacific.

“This is where I was allowed to really get so much education about the industry,” she said of her current position. “I began taking certification classes on running HOAs, managing mobile home parks, apartment management and others. I was attending the national certification trainings and working on boards and commissions locally.

“There are HOAs all over the world, condo associations everywhere, and I’ve met people from here to Brazil who are very serious about these certifications,” she said. “It’s important work, and many of the certifications are difficult to obtain and require continuing education, which I’m happy to participate in.”

The Newport Pacific Family of Companies

Newport Pacific owns and/or operates 125 manufactured home communities, RV parks, apartment complexes, and condo development in 15 U.S. states and Canada. In addition, the company consults with homeowners associations.

“I speak to potential clients. When we get a message inquiring about services I answer as much as I can, spend some time on the phone or offer to get together for a meeting,” she said. “I take referrals for fee-based management when I’m at conferences and meetings, and I also speak at these conferences on property management, rental, infill, energy efficiency.”

Third-party and fee-based management are services in high-demand with many new manufactured home community owners and investors looking for experienced industry management professionals.

“Maria’s passion and ability to connect with people truly exemplifies her commitment to not only our industry, but the people she interacts with on a daily basis. Her willingness to go above and beyond to ensure a positive experience, not only for customers but her colleagues, is just one of the many reasons Maria is a leader in the industry, and I appreciate her participation and leadership in MHI to move the industry forward.”

— Lesli Gooch, CEO of MHI

In 2018, Horton was honored by the California Manufactured Housing Institute with the Chairman’s Award, presented to her on that day by Joe Stegmayer, a longtime friend and colleague from Cavco Industries.

“She’s been a tremendous supporter on both the state and national levels in addressing regulatory housing and residential finance issues for manufactured homes,” Stegmayer said. “And she’s done all of this in a very professional way. The Chairman’s Award was our way of honoring Maria for her hard work and dedication.

“She really does go everywhere, and she does a lot for the industry. Both she and Mike Sullivan of Newport Pacific do a lot for the industry,” he said.

Stegmayer said all of Horton’s credentials and accomplishments are put toward the following days objectives, and that it always comes back to sensibility that may be the most important skill of all.

“I think Maria is a great relationship person,” he said. “She builds long-lasting relationships. Looking long term is a plus in my book, and she doesn’t ask for much. She really cares about her communities and just wants to learn and study, whether it’s on management, or lending or whatever the issue.”

More than anything, Horton said she sees how she’s become an idealist when it comes to ways she can productively help people.

Jess Maxcy is the executive director for CMHI.

“Maria was honored not only for her enthusiastic support of our industry in California, but also for her contributions nationally,” Maxcy said. “Her positive attitude can turn difficult situations into pleasant experiences. Her passion for our industry is obvious and contagious.”

And she revels in her ability to contribute, to travel, to meet new people and see friends she’s made during her years in the industry.

“I am a single parent with a grown son. I can go anywhere and do anything at the drop of a hat. If I’m asked to attend or speak, I’m there,” Horton said. “And the people in this industry are really the nicest, kindest people. Everyone is so warm and welcoming, so what I put out I get back. It’s a blessing.”

When in Los Angeles…

Horton had been working for Pacific Bell for several years at the time 411 directory assistance was introduced. But, the phone utility soon learned it had a problem to solve. Too many people were skipping the old phone directory and simply placing a 411 call to get a phone number.

An agency was hired to shoot a commercial, and as advertising and production executives strolled among the operators, guess who stood out?

Horton agreed to do some screen testing, and they chose her to be the spokeswoman for the new “$55 Million Telephone Call” campaign, a reference to the cost of telephone directory lookup.

“I know how often people call for numbers already listed in their phone book,” Horton said in the commercial. “That extra service costs over $55 million a year, so if you care about the cost of your service, use the book. Whenever you can’t, we’re here to help.”

From the commercial, to a recording studio shot on the cover of the June 1974 edition of Pacific Bell Magazine, Horton carried a bit of celebrity status in a city made of stars. She moved to the retail side and sold phones to USC and Los Angeles Rams football hero Pat Haden. She dined and hung out in West Hollywood, including at Ma Maison, where Wolfgang Puck made his name. Of the many A-list clients at Ma Maison — Burt Reynolds, Elton John, Fred Astaire, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder — Horton mentions one in particular; Biana Jagger, the Nicaraguan-born social activist and former wife of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

“I had such a good time growing up in L.A. and experiencing all of this,” said Horton, who also took up small side jobs at the film studios. “I’d run into Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman and others at the farm market… They all lived there and still do. It was like ‘Whoa, look who’s here!’”

Horton later put in time as a sales representative at Castaic Brick, and worked for publisher Price Stern Sloan, and then a medical magazine publisher called Canon Communications.

In 1988, she married her first husband, a laser physicist, and they had a baby together. They remain dear friends and devoted to the son they share.

“He is so near and dear to my heart,” Horton said of her son Patrick.

When her son was old enough, she went to work for Los Angeles Unified School District.

“My son was at a top-notch school at the time, a charter school, and Los Angeles schools wanted me to come work in special education,” she said. “So I went to work there for several years. It was good to be near my son and to work with young people.”

An Entry to Manufactured Housing Community Management

The marriage with Patrick’s father lasted five years. She would marry again, a tax accountant, in 1995. That marriage would last through 2003. At that time she understood, as a single mother again, she would need to fully re-engage in business.

“My friend was working for Les Frame Management,” Horton said. “Clint Lau, who was the owner, needed an assistant in the office. He’d just been named as director of WMA, and was going to be out of the office quite a bit. This company offered me the first glimpse of what this industry is about. I was sold, as I saw this as an avenue to help people and feel a sense of accomplishment.”

She promotes Newport Pacific’s services, she promotes the industry and manufactured home community living. Horton said today she continues to be most motivated by talking to people, by learning, by reaching out and offering help.

“I love making a difference in the lives of my residents. I do my best to offer them a lifestyle in a community that makes them proud,” Horton said. “I am so fortunate to make a difference in the lives of so many people and touch their hearts at resident events or park visits or even on the phone.

“Just listening sometimes makes all the difference in the world, creating a situation where someone feels heard and is connected,” Horton said. “The old phone company saying stands – ‘Reach out, reach out and touch someone.’ So, I do.”

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