Apartment group honors housing chief

Housing Authority Chief Rosemary Kappes was the recipient of the 2006 Utah Apartment Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more than 30 years, Kappes has been an advocate for housing, community development and senior services. She will retire at the end of 2007.

Kappes began her career in Davis County as director of the Davis County Senior Citizen Nutrition Program. In 1978 she was promoted to director of the Davis County Housing Authority, overseeing the first public housing in the county and the first senior housing in south Davis. She administered the Section 8 program.

In 1987, Kappes became director of the Salt Lake City capital planning and programming division and deputy director of the Salt Lake City community and economic development department.

As director of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City, and president of both Housing Development Corporation and Housing Assistance Management Enterprise, Kappes oversees a budget of $25 million, a construction budget of $7 million and a staff of 100.

Kappes earned her master's degree in public administration from Brigham Young University. She also completed the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government program for senior executives in state and local governments.