HOMESTEAD HAPPENINGS
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose
You can't be successful if your team's vision and values don't align. After dozens of conversations, workshops, employee input, and feedback, Homestead Companies is finally ready to roll out our new values and vision.
These values were built with our history and future in mind to guide us in growth while shaping our company into who we want to be. Our Home Office came together for an informational breakfast and workshopped how these values can drive our behavior in our day-to-day interactions.
Move-In Playlist
Every turn season, our talented Senior Community Manager, Dana Culbert, puts together a playlist to motivate her team. She never disappoints with these hits!
INTERFACE HOUSING CONFERENCE
This past month, Dave, Laura, and Seamus had the opportunity to reunite with industry friends and colleagues for a very productive and informative few days. Shout out to Laura Formica, our VP of Operations, who joined other industry experts on the panel "It's All About Leasing," discussing the new paradigm for leasing and marketing. A huge thank you to Student Housing Business and Interface Group for hosting a wonderful event, and to Leap Easy for hosting a special executive women's dinner and reinforcing one of the key themes at this year's conference: celebrating and empowering female leaders in our space.
Champ Chain Winner: Shannon Latsko
Please join me in congratulating the July 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: Shannon Latsko, our National Leasing & Operations Manager for Homestead U!
"Shannon has been with Homestead a very long time and is the epitome of what makes Homestead a very unique company. She is consistent in every aspect. She always has your back, is positive, an extremely hard worker, fun, and realistic. I can be open and honest with her, and she is never condescending and always helps solve the problem. It is an absolute pleasure to have her on our team, I wouldn't want it any other way! She deserves a month to be flavor flavvvv with the Champ Chain!" - Kaitlyn Key, Director of Leasing & Marketing, 2818 & Parkway Place
Thank you, Shannon, for your loyalty and commitment to our teams and our company! I fully agree with Kaitlyn; you are a shining example of the HU culture, always willing to roll up your sleeves to help support others however is needed. We appreciate you so much!
Employee Spotlight: John Janning
Job Title: Project Engineer
Community: Homestead Construction
How long have you been with Homestead? Over two years
What were you doing before Homestead? Army Officer
Where are you originally from? Columbus, Ohio
What are your hobbies? Gym, working on my house, spending time with friends and family.
What would you most likely tell your 13 year old self? Nothing, let my 13 year old self figure it out on his own. Can't learn if you tell them the secret to life.
What's your dream vacation? Beach resort with a lovely woman.
What is one THING you can't live without? Loud Music!
What is your proudest moment at Homestead? The opportunity to build and manage Harlow Skydeck Project and the many responsibilities I have undertaken within our construction team.
William Clark, 2818 College Station, 2 Years
Rachel Rusk, UV, 2 Years
Jordyn Kitko, The Valley, 1 Year
Ke'Asia Foston, College Station, 1 Year
Emily Daily, College Station, 1 Year
Asha Abreu, UV, 1 Year
Garry Kimber, Home Office, 1 Year
Thomas Reitz, The View, 1 Year
Daron Depto, The Valley, 1 Year
Christopher Walter, River Park, 3 Years
Ben Franklin 2021:
A message from Jennifer Radcliffe, Regional Manager
The Ben Franklin has been a part of Homestead America for 15 years. 2020 was a rough year for all of us, and we are so excited that 2021 has brought all of our teams together to show us your hard work and your beautiful communities! The judges had a tough decision this year. Each property had the details down. Curbs, light poles, utility boxes and doors were painted. Flags were new, flowers were blooming, and community branding was on point! I know that I speak for all of us on the tour when I say that we were proud to hand all of you $100 bills.
This year, we have three new communities to the Ben Franklin, so we have added a new award for communities built within the past five years. We are calling it our "Rookie of the Year" award, but these communities have staffs that are anything but Rookies! They have years of property management experience, and it shows.
Our 2021 "Rookie of the Year" winner is the team at Bentley! Community Manager Sharron Giles greeted us with a smile and proudly showed off the beautiful clubhouse and pool. The "B" logo was present on the pool umbrellas and flower planters and tied everything together. The community was clean, the pool was sparkling, and branding was a WOW factor for the judges. Congratulations to Sharron, Jennifer Spaulding, and RC Matthews!
Our 2021 "Best Team Effort" was a tough decision for us because we saw how the Homestead team mentality was in full force in all of our communities. This year, our "Best Team Effort" award will be going to the brand-new team at The Atlas! They have completed a top to bottom cleaning of the entire building, the marble has been polished, the lighting has been updated, and it has brightened up the whole first floor! The care this team has for this historic building shined through to all of the judges. Congratulations to Community Manager Robyn Lynch, Maintenance Supervisor Rennell Mahone and Leasing Consultant Will Beauchamp on this achievement!
Last but not least...Our 2021 "Best Curb Appeal" winner is Georgetown! When you drive into a community, and it makes you want to live there, you know that your goal has been accomplished. The mature landscaping was commented on by several judges. Taking care of an aging property is difficult, but this team showed they can do it and hit all of the points! The pool looked great, the landscaping was spectacular, and everything was painted and bright. Congratulations to Sarah Schaffner (Assistant Manager, but soon to be promoted to Community Manager!) Maintenance Supervisor Steve Wright and Maintenance Techs John Baylous and Monte Patton.
It is hard to shout out honorable mentions here because we can list something in each community we loved. We hope you all know that we appreciate your strong efforts and hard work! It made the past few days a joy. Dave was here with us in spirit and has already seen all of the great photos and videos of your hard work.
We look forward to celebrating with all of you in July at our Annual Summer Outing!
HOMESTEAD U BIG NEWS
College Station, Texas and Charleston, S.C. — Homestead U and Columbus Pacific have acquired three student housing properties located in Texas and South Carolina.
Acquisitions include 2818 and Parkway Place, two sister communities totaling 1,124 beds near the Texas A&M University campus in College Station; and SkyGarden, a recently built 309-bed community serving students attending the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
The new ownership plans to invest $5 million to renovate interiors and amenity spaces, and rebrand both 2818 and Parkway Place as The Cottages.
“We are optimistic that our student residents’ academic year experiences will soon look and feel more ‘normal’ than those of recent, mitigating consumer uncertainty,” says Seamus Brennan, director of capital markets for Homestead U. “We expect to achieve strong performance in this sector over the long term.”
BEHAVIOR DRIVES CULTURE
Last spring, Homestead went through a rebrand and rolled out a new identity and website. Employee feedback was crucial in the decision-making process, and it helped Homestead gain a better understanding of where we still needed to evolve.
Over the last several months, our team has been working with Jason Barger, a culture coach and a globally celebrated author of Set Back From The Baggage Claim and Thermostat Cultures. Several Homestead team members from all divisions participated in the 5-month long culture workshop. They collaborated with Jason on creating stronger leaders, cultures, and clarity of mission, vision, and values for Homestead.
We are excited to share the progress and involve you in the process of building a company that inspires people to innovate and grow as leaders.
Stay tuned!