LP 40 for 40 – Justin Roche
The Plano Chamber of Commerce’s signature program, Leadership Plano, celebrates its 40th anniversary! For the past 40 years, Leadership Plano has been dedicated to educating, developing, and empowering current and future leaders for the community and motivating them to serve civic, charitable, and business organizations.
We are celebrating the impact of the past 40 years by spotlighting 40 Leadership Plano graduates who have paved the way for future generations, created meaningful change for the community, and continue to serve in leadership roles. This celebratory series, Leadership Plano 40 for 40, is Presented by UBS – The Kravitz Group.
Introducing our next spotlight, Leadership Plano Class 32 Graduate, Justin Roche, the Regional Manager of Property Management with Centennial Real Estate. He has over twenty years’ experience in commercial real estate, specifically managing high-value, mixed-use properties, and super regional shopping centers. Justin relocated to the Plano area in 2013 to manage The Shops at Willow Bend, later transitioned to oversee The Shops at Legacy and now works with Centennial, which is in the process of reimagining Willow Bend here in Plano. A member of Class 32, Justin joined the Leadership Plano board of directors for three years afterward, served as Treasurer for two of those years and has helped plan/execute/speak at session days LP classes since graduating from the program.
1. What first made you interested in participating in Leadership Plano?
One of the first aspects that impressed me when I began working in Plano is how connected and supportive this community is, and Leadership Plano was recommended as a great way to quickly become knowledgeable about, involved with and integrated into the community. As much as I was told about how great the program is for developing professionally, personally and relationally from LP graduates, I had no idea how powerful the program was and impactful it would be on my life.
2. What is the most memorable part of your experience (or what is something that was happening in Plano that you remember about that year)?
As significant as being a member of a class was, serving on the Leadership Plano board was a special and memorable part of my LP experience. Having an opportunity to put into practice lessons learned during my class year, banding together with fellow classmates to help facilitate sessions for new LP groups and helping this meaningful organization reach/develop more future leaders, seeing its impact grow farther and deeper were some of the fondest memories with LP.
3. Why do you think LP is so impactful for our community?
Leadership Plano exemplifies the phrase, “strength in numbers,” bringing together people that want to make a difference in this community. While graduates may make impacts in many different areas and ways, they stem from the same education about Plano, leadership skills developed together and shared sense of togetherness from a tightly knit alumni network. Concerned, equipped and aligned leaders are needed in every community, and LP consistently helps provide those resources for Plano.
4. What is one thing you can attribute to LP that is a success in your life or career?
A quality of leadership that I draw upon often and LP helped develop is empathy. Whether it was our diverse LP class, hearing from several speakers and presenters during the class sessions or going through SIMSOC, the concept of leaders needing to consider others and their needs/perspectives was consistently highlighted throughout my class year. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” has been a primary leadership concept for me ever since.
5. If your class had a class project, what was it and why was it important?
Class 32 occurred when Plano was on the cusp of its next iteration, bringing in Toyota, FedEx, Legacy West, etc., and LP helped develop the future leaders Plano would need to help the city foster its new identity. Our class has helped Plano flourish with graduates on City Council, working for the City of Plano, leading in key non-profit and supportive organizations, being involved in community service and a long list of other efforts to bolster this community, all with one unifying goal of helping Plano live up to its title of “the City of Excellence” for its citizens and those who work here.