HOMESTEAD HAPPENINGS
Homestead Senior Living: Expanding to Miami Township
Should building and site approvals go as planned, we anticipate breaking ground in May of this year for our *fourth* Homestead Village Active Living Community! The newest member of our HSL fleet will be located in Miami Township!
The 122,275-square-foot facility will feature amenities such as a barber shop, salon, game room, fitness center, living room, business center, chapel, post office, pet grooming area and more!
Ben Franklin Kick-Off
In 2006 the first Ben Franklin Award was given to Clintonville Commons. 15 years later the tradition continues for the company with the most curb appeal.
This year, we're kicking-off the Ben Franklin Awards on Earth Day! Save the date for April 22, 2021 and meet us at Homestead Village in Grove City!
Champ Chain Winner: Victoria Hicks
Please join us in congratulating the March Champ Chain Winner, the team member who went above and beyond to deliver on our mission statement of providing the best resident life experience possible: Victoria Hicks, our Rockstar Community Manager at The Cottages of College Station!
"Victoria worked hard to keep her residents informed during the power outages from the Texas storms, and navigating all the problems that followed. She showed concern for the well-being of the residents, making sure people had places to stay, somewhere to charge their phones, passed out water, and kept open lines of communication. Well done, Victoria! " - Nominated by Christina Johnson, River Park
Thank you, Victoria, for your continued leadership and commitment to our mission statement, especially during a crisis like our Texas teams navigated last month.
Employee Spotlight: Kate Paskvan
Job Title: Lead Construction Accountant
Community: Home Office
How long have you been with Homestead? 10 Months
What were you doing before Homestead? I was a construction accountant for Equity Construction
Where are you originally from? Catham, Ohio
What are your hobbies? Gardening and the occasional house project
What would you most likely tell your 13 year old self?
I would tell myself not to worry so much about what other people think.
If you could have coffee with three people, dead or alive, who would it be?
Elon musk, Prince, and somebody old timey like Queen Elizabeth I
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
I don't think I've ever met anyone famous
What's your dream vacation?
This is a tough one but I think I would have to go with Croatia.
What is one THING you can't live without? Coffee
What is your proudest moment at Homestead? I think just overall seeing construction gel as a team
CAPTAIN JOHN’S HEALTH TIP: House Plants, Earth Day
Indoor plants have been rising in popularity for good reason. We take care of them and in return, they take care of us. Did you know that caring for houseplants can help you feel a sense of pride and achievement?
One study found that taking care of plants was associated with better self-esteem and life satisfaction.
Pretty cool, right? Well, there's more where that came from. Here are 5 other reasons why having houseplants around is good for your health!
1. Houseplants are an antidote for screen-based living.
2. Being around plants can help cut down on stress by lifting your mood.
3. Working near plants may increase your productivity.
4. They add moisture to the air which can with dry skin and colds.
5. They're a reminder that change is a part of life.
We don't need indoor plants to survive, but they certainly can make a difference in our lives when we bring them into our homes and offices.
March Madness Update!
We're heading into the Final 4 this weekend! Here are the March Madness company bracket rankings as they currently stand:
Notable Anniversaries- April
Eric Kinney, University Village, 15 years
Robert Goddard, University Village, 7 years
Brandon Bradley, Bentley, 7 Years
Laura Formica, Home Office, 6 years
Dustin Holskey, Home Office, 5 years
Samantha Burkholder, University Village, 5 years
Theo Carter, Pavilion, 4 years
Andrea Welsh, University Village, 3 years
Mikayla Lewis, The Valley, 3 years
Erica Fivecoait, River Park, 2 years
Victor Huerta, College Station, 2 years
Monte Patton, Georgetown, 2 years
Tammy Reed, Home Office, 2 years
Evan Mulcahy, Home Office, 1 year
IN THE NEWS: Top 10 Student Housing Management Companies
Building trust and reputation with every step we take! We're honored to be recognized among the Top 10 Student Housing Management Companies by ORA for 2020.
Our mission has always been to go above and beyond to provide the best resident life experience possible. We owe this one to all our Homestead U properties that have helped separate us from the rest. We are so excited to make this list, but we're not done yet! 😉🎉
Check out our feature in Multifamily Executive below!
HOMESTEAD GROWTH STORIES: With Michelle Bukey
2010 I was laid off from a freight forwarding company and started waiting tables at a pizza shop 3 nights a week. At the time, my friend was the Community Manager at Orchard Grove and was getting the property prepared for the Ben Franklin Event. Her maintenance person had been in an auto accident and couldn’t work. So, she asked me if I would be willing to help her, as a contract laborer. I remember her telling me it would be a lot of outside work, painting, pulling weeds, cleaning up the grounds etc. I was just happy to have the extra income and was willing to do whatever she needed. That was the start of my Groundskeeper career. I then started helping her in the office, and filled in for her when she went on vacation. Then I would be asked to fill in when other Community Managers scheduled time off. This started my career as a Floating Leasing Consultant. Then my BIG break came in June of 2011 when an Assistant Manager position opened up at Shaker Square Apartments. I would be hired on as a full-time employee of Homestead America. I was happy to take the position and finally have full time benefits! I was able to end my part time job at the pizza shop and focus all my attention on my new career!
In May of 2012 Homestead had just started branching off into student housing. With Homestead America growing, an accounts payable position at the Home Office was created. When I saw the job announcement, I thought to myself - wow that is something I would love to do. I called our regional manager, Cheryl, and talked to her about the opportunity. She was very surprised, to say the lease, that I would even be interested in a payables position. She was very supportive and told me to submit my resume and see what happens. I had an interview the following week with the accounting team, Marcia and Amy. I was promoted to Accounts Payable Clerk June of 2012. I learned a lot and was very happy in this new payables position.
One afternoon Laura F. and Marcia (my supervisor) came into my office and wanted to talk to me. I thought uh oh what did I do, am I in trouble!?! I was very nervous, only to find out that Laura was requesting that I change positions and join her in creating an Operations team. August of 2013, I became the Operations Administrator. As much as I loved working in Payables this was a great change for me. The experiences I had working onsite with all of our teams; leasing, maintenance, and vendors, helped me in this operations role.
Throughout the next 4 years I maintained the operations position for both multi-family and student housing. We experienced so much growth that it was vital we split the operations role for the different departments. In 2017 we focused my role strictly as Operations Administrator for the multi-family side of the business.
2019 the HR & Payroll Administrator position became available. After much thought and consideration, I requested that I be a candidate for the role. June of 2019, I took on the role of HR & Payroll Administrator. Here we are February of 2021 with a promotion to Payroll & HRIS Manager. I love working in the Payroll and HR department and still being connected to our onsite teams.
I am very grateful for all of the opportunities that Homestead Companies has presented me. I am thankful for the leaders who have listened to me and my needs and have helped paved the way for my growing career. I am grateful for the experiences working at the site level. I feel that has given me an understanding and compassion for our onsite teams.
I have done every job to the best of my abilities. I take pride and ownership of everything that I do, from picking up trash and painting at a property to employee relations and running payroll at the Home Office