The Michaels Org

Fa l l 2 0 1 3
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Developments
Together We Build Communities
@michaels
Fish Tales & Other Stories for Employees of The Michaels Organization
We Launched!
www.TheMichaelsOrg.com
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From John’s Desk
Saying Thank You to Our Amazing Site Staff
Blown Away—that’s the best way
to describe how I felt after attending the Fall Management Meetings
of some of our IRM Districts. Along
with several other executives from
the corporate headquarters, including our Chief Financial Officer Joe
Purcell and the presidents of our
development and military housing
companies, Ava Goldman and Ron
Hansen, I visited District meetings
that were held this year in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. What a great
experience all of them were.
I first started visiting the district
meetings in the late ‘80s as an accounting manager for IRM. But as
I grew with the company and my
responsibilities changed, I didn’t go
to these meetings on a regular basis
anymore. Unfortunately, this meant
I didn’t spend appropriate time with
the site staff. Attending the District
meetings this year—talking with
the site staff, hearing their stories,
and seeing their commitment and
dedication—really gave me renewed
energy and was so personally rewarding that I pledge to attend some
of these meetings every year.
It’s easy for those of us in the home
office to sometimes forget that it’s
the site staff at our 360+ properties
who are on the front line of our business. You are the teammates who
every day interact with our customers—our residents—as well as with
housing authority partners, and in
some cases, other owners where we
are fee-managing properties, as well
as with our developers and other
departments within the home office,
from accounting to compliance.
You, the site staff, are helping our
residents every day, 24/7, with
everything from finding and qualifying for an apartment, to maintenance
requests, collecting rents, dealing
with vendors who come to perform
various services, and of course, any
emergency or usual situations—all
while handling the pressure from
Attending the District
meetings this year—
talking with the site staff,
hearing their stories, and
seeing their commitment
and dedication—really
gave me renewed energy
and was so personally
rewarding that I pledge
to attend some of these
meetings every year.
the home office, about compliance,
payroll, etc., etc. The list goes on.
Our site staff have the hardest jobs
of all of us in this organization, and
what blows me away is not only how
well they perform these tasks on a
daily basis, but also how much dedication and enthusiasm they bring to
their jobs. They are all committed
to our residents; making their lives
better, their homes safe and comfortable, keeping our apartment assets
in top-notch shape, and building a
reputation for Interstate and Michaels as the leading, most comprehensive, most dedicated affordable
housing organization in the country.
Our success as an Organization
comes directly from their work every
day at the site.
This is our 40th anniversary year.
It was in 1973 that Mike Levitt
founded the first two of our eight
companies—Michaels Development
Company and Interstate Realty
Management. For many years after
that—maybe two decades—IRM
was at the core of our business
and our cash flow. Even today, IRM
employs the vast majority of our
staff. They are the bedrock that has
allowed us to grow every other part
of our business and our organization. Even as we enter into all these
new lines of business, IRM site staff
remains at the very heart of what we
do, and the success we have as an
organization.
I have the title of President of The
Michaels Organization, and I am so
proud to lead this amazing company
comprised of amazing people. But,
I certainly do not know everything
and I look to you to tell me what new
ideas and processes could benefit
our organization and lead to even
greater success in the future.
We created the “Suggestion Box”
[suggestionbox@themichaelsorg.
com] with the staff site in particular
in mind. So, please don’t hesitate
to speak up and share your ideas,
your wisdom, and your experience
with me.
John O’Donnell
President
The Michaels Organization
2
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F r o m Ava ’ s D e s k
Functionally Beautiful Design Can Wow an Audience
It’s autumn 2013 and I’m back to my
favorite analogy—affordable housing developers are just like Hollywood movie producers—minus the
glamour! My last column focused on
financing, our role in pulling in the
millions of dollars needed to produce
an affordable community. This one
is dedicated to the creative team,
in Hollywood, the movie director, in
Marlton and our satellite offices—our
architects and engineers.
In my mind, there are three types of
architectural firms: large, medium
and small. The large firms are often
nationally renowned (and expensive!). They often have strong land
use planning skills, in other words,
they understand that buildings have
to fit, not conflict, with the natural
environment and that a happy community is one that works for both
pedestrians and drivers. Sometimes, however, the larger firms are
surprisingly clumsy when it comes to
apartment design. A walk-in closet
with a front window (so the clothes
can enjoy the view)? Utility closets
placed so far from exterior walls
that our low and moderate income
residents have to purchase custom
gas dryers? Interior spaces too oddly
shaped to serve any purpose? Yup,
it’s probably a fancy, award-winning
firm that designed it.
Tiny, one or two person boutique
firms often produce the most beautiful plans. The most efficient, func-
tional apartment layout I’ve ever
seen was designed by a husband
and wife team that works in Africa,
where families simply can’t afford
excess. But the firm was too small to
produce plans and specifications on
a deadline.
Just like Goldilocks, I find that it’s the
medium sized firms that work best.
They tend to be large enough to produce plans on a tight schedule but,
when we’re lucky, retain the ability
to design attractive, cost-conscious
spaces well.
Our architects, regardless of the
size of their firms, have a tough job.
Not only do they have to please the
developers, construction managers
and property managers of TMO, they
also have to meet the demands of
our lenders and investors, municipal
land use officials, our development
partners, such as local public housing authorities, neighbors and residents. Phony, peaked roofs to hide a
building’s essentially modern, sleek
design? Second story bathrooms
with industrial drains in the middle
of the floor? One bedroom apartments for senior citizens with two
coat closets in their living rooms?
Our architects often have to compromise their vision to satisfy the many
parties involved in the development
process.
Despite the challenges, the end
result is physical space of which
both we and our design teams can
be proud. Some of my favorites are
Brookside in New Haven, with its
Christmas village feeling, the duplex
units at JT Davis Courts in Meridian overlooking a city park, the cool,
metal trim and other modern features of our communities in Chicago,
and the traditional brick facades
of Cardinal Ridge in Kansas City
and The Plaza at Centennial Hill in
Montgomery, Alabama. The best in
interior design includes the two story
townhouse units within the five story
Wardman Court Apartments and
the wonderful reconfiguration of the
kitchens at the Towers at Kuhio Park
(thank you, Greg Carroll) to create
the feeling of more spacious apartments. Which of our many communities do you particularly admire? I’ll
look forward to hearing from you as
to the best examples, in your opinion, of site layout, building facades,
and interior design.
Next column? I can’t give up the
movie producer analogy quite yet.
It’s on to the crew, not the gaffers
and caterers on a movie set, but to
our general contractors and the men
and women who actually build the
housing that we finance and design.
Ava Goldman
President
Michaels Development
Company
3
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Kudos
Williamsport Elderly Scores 99!
Congratulations to all our staff at Williamport Elderly
in Williamsport, PA, which received a score of 99
on its most recent REAC inspection!
Staci Brach Named Regional Property
Manager of the Year by the National
Association of Home Builders
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has
named Stacie Brach its 2013 Regional Property Manager of the Year. The national award, one of NAHB’s
prestigious Pillars of the Industry awards, recognizes
superior achievement and creative leadership in the
multifamily industry.
“We are delighted that Stacie has received this well-deserved recognition, “ said Mark Morgan, IRM’s President. “She is a shining star in our
organization whose leadership and focus has improved our operations.
She is both a role model and mentor for IRM’s future leaders.”
Staci’s portfolio comprises 26 properties throughout California and
Nevada, as well as Interstate Realty Management’s first property
management effort in the state of Hawaii, The Towers of Kuhio Park.
In selecting Stacie Brach the national award winner, NAHB specifically
lauded Stacie’s management of Kuhio Park during its 2012 full-scale
transformation from a failing public housing development to vibrant,
well-managed, mixed-income community.
In addition, NAHB noted that Brach’s entire portfolio enjoys impressive
operating incomes and high occupancy rates.
Stefanie Jenkins and Alyssa Sams received their
ARM designations. Heather Plummer SVP of MMS
is in the middle
MMS Managers Earn Prestigious
Designation
Congratulations to Stefanie Jenkins and Alyssa Sams,
our Community Managers at Ft. Benning, who both
were awarded their Accredited Resident Manager
(ARM) designations through the Institute of Real Estate
Management (IREM) at a ceremony in Georgia this past
September.
This is the second year in a row that a teammate of The Michaels
Organization has taken the top award from NAHB. Last year, Amanda
Weeks, a community director with Michaels Management Services,
was named the Property Manager of the Year. Last year, IRM also was
named the 2012 Property Management Firm of the Year.
What a great winning streak!
High Scores All Around!
Congratulations to our teammates at
Shirley Futch Plaza and Hazelwood
Apartments for achieving high scores
on their REAC inspections and to our
staff at Mahoney Elderly Housing for
achieving a Superior MOR rating.
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Kudos
Site Staff Members Mor/ReacScoreDate Vineland Gardens Apartments
Pedro Ramos, Carlos Velez REAC
and Emily Conroy
98B
1/14/2013
NIA/Amity Heights Apartments
Maria Nieves & Issis Micheaux
MORExcellent
29-Apr-13
NIA/Amity Heights Apartments
Maria Nieves & Issis Micheaux
MORExcellent
5/7/2012
Atlantis Apartments
Jose Villot, Super; John Baxley,
Angel Negron, Darlene Miles REAC
90C
9-Apr-13
Centennial VillageHector, David, Brauillo, Rodney, Carlos,
Alberto, Lindsey, ShanteREAC 84
10/23/2012
Stonecroft Apartments
Deb Curry, Kelly Rohrer, Bill KershnerREAC
89a
20-Mar-13
Walnut Manor Apartments
“Vernon Nicholas, Gregory ListmanREAC
85C
8-Nov-12
Townhouse Terrace WestGwendolyn Hunter, Kelli Staten, REAC
Chanese Dupont, Ariel Dominguez, Edmond Priouleau, Johnny Cordero,
Jose Medina
92B
3/19/2013
Atlantic VillasArthur Taylor, Melvi Vilatoro, REAC
Rafael Rosario,David Nieves
95B
4/9/2013
Pedestal Gardens Richard White, John Merkle, Kai Lee,REAC
Takeria Tyler, Edward Dancy, Jonathan Jenkins 85
12-Sep-12
Pedestal Gardens REAC
85B
9/12/2012
Regency Park ApartmentsAmanda Brake, Ziola Gomez-Tooles, MORSuperior Warren Johnson Super, Luis Rodriguez, Jay Rusden, Malcolm Craig, REAC
93A
Chrystal Lowery 10/15/2012
Brigantine HomesYulanda Weather, Brian Smith, Jessica LylesREAC
9/5/2013
Miguel Lopez, Craig Owens,Levan Makeley
90B
1/29/2013
MORAbove Average 8/14/2013
Harborview ApartmentsAll Staff
REAC
8/9/2011
Harborview Apartments
MORAbove Average
Takiyah Antoine, Francine John 91C
6/12/2013
Hall’s Corner
Miriam Ochoa, Margaret VickeyNJHMFA File ReviewExcellent
Lester Wade, Michael Ricillo, Thomas LeeNJHMFA Annual Physical InspectionExcellent
8/21/2013
7/19/2013
Living Spring SeniorCharlotte Sims, TaQuana WrightNJHMFA File ReviewExcellent
NJHMFA Annual Physical InspectionN/A
8/29/2013
Baxter ParkNJHMFA File ReviewN/A
Daniel Perez, Jermaine LetrenNJHMFA Annual Physical InspectionExcellent 7/17/2013
Salem Tower
Debra Rivera, Gayle CongeryNJHMFA File ReviewExcellent NJHMFA Annual Physical Inspection Above Satifactory
8/30/2013
11/20/2012
Sebastian VillaAndrew PhillipsNJHMFA File ReviewExcellent
NJHMFA Annual Physical Inspection
7/23/2013
Rowan Towers
James Eaddy, Wayne SmithNJHMFA File ReviewExcellent NJHMFA Annual Physical Inspection
Frederick Worley, Willie Smith,
Shannet Rivers, Donald MatlockREAC
88c
Ericka Rue, Rondey Chase NJHMFA File Review
5/3/2013
9/25/2013
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Kudos
Excellence in Atlanta
Congrats to
Marc Getson and our
whole Atlanta team
for receiving Excellent
marks on their first
quarterly inspections
with the Atlanta
Housing Authority.
Congratulations to
our teammates at
Woods Edge Apartments
for being named the
2013 Community of Quality
for the state of
South Carolina.
Park Douglas
Named Urban
Project of
the Year by
Affordable
Housing
Finance
Magazine
The readers of Affordable Housing Finance, one of
the industry’s leading trade publications, has chosen
Chicago’s Park Douglas as its Urban Project of the
Year in its annual “Readers Choice Awards,” which
honor outstanding developments based on several
key characteristics, including adding to the affordable
housing stock, neighborhood revitalization, innovative
financing, and community support.
Park Douglas has been completely occupied since its
grand opening and IRM and its community partners offer
our residents a host of services and programs there.
Naomi Friedrichsen, Site Manager at Hunters Run Apartments in Marion IN, received this shout out from Hire Heroes USA after hiring a candidate during a job fair.
Hire Heroes USA is dedicated to creating job opportunities for US military veterans
and their spouses.
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C o v e r S t o ry
Michaels Launches Redesigned Website
The Michaels Organization has redesigned and re-launched its online
presence at www.TheMichaelsOrg.
com. The new website features
individual “landing pages” for each of
our eight companies, as well as an
“intranet” with exclusive content for
employees.
THE INTRANET
The new website was designed with
a few key goals in mind:
To access the Intranet, all teammates must
create an employee log-in. To do this, you will
need the Employee User ID number that was
distributed via a postcard to employees’ homes
in October. All new employees will receive
such a postcard in the future as well. Once
you have this ID number, you can create your
own user name and password. The Intranet
will recognize whether you are a supervisor. All
supervisors have access to forms such as new
hire packages right on the intranet.
1. To bring all off our companies together
under one comprehensive website within The
Michaels Organization Brand
2. To offer those companies without any online
presence a company website of their own,
within the Organization’s site, but also that can
be access directly.
3. To create a website experience for our
clients, business partners, the news media,
and our employees that was much more
user-friendly, easier to use, and more visually
appealing
4. To enable new functionality for our websites,
including the ability to be easily accessed on
mobile devices such as smartphones and
tablets, and to be able to incorporate video.
5. To create an “intranet” where employees
who are logged-in can access and share
important information exclusive to teammates
of our organization.
The intranet is a website for teammates only.
Right now, it features information about our
health benefits, policies, and service providers such as Great West Retirement Services,
which handles our 401K accounts, and Connor
Strong, who coordinate our health benefits. You
can also find information on our policies, such
as the “social media policy.”
Web Addresses for The Michaels
Organization and its companies
n TheMichaelsOrg.com
Some of these forms have been moved from
Michaels Institute—so please create your
Log-ins as soon as possible so you can find the
information that you need.
n MichaelsDevelopmentCompany.com
n UniversityStudentLiving.com
n PrestigeBuildingCorp.com
In the future, we will be posting additional
information – everything from industry news
and events, to employee and resident feature
stories, to discussion boards on best practices.
We are also working with Michaels Institute
so that in the future logging into the intranet
will also log you into the MI training portal
automatically.
n MichaelsManagement.com
n MichaelsMilitary.com
n irmmanagement.com.
n ContinentalMortgageCorp.com
We are open to ideas about what you’d like to
see on the intranet and what would be most
helpful to you to be able access on the website.
We hope it will become an information rich
portal, with useful content as well as a communication vehicle that helps bring all of our
employees together from across the companies
and the country!
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The Mike in Michaels
The Michaels Organization Honored
for its Commitment to ‘Giving Back’
Multi Housing News magazine recognizes Michaels with its
Inaugural Award of Excellence for Social Responsibility
The Michaels Organization has
been recognized for its commitment
to “giving back” to society by Multi
Housing News, a leading trade publication for the multifamily housing
industry.
The recognition of an organization
for its commitment to “Social Responsibility” is a first for the magazine’s annual Awards of Excellence
Program.
“The judges were so impressed by
how much the companies of The
Michaels Organization ‘give back,’
they created this special award,”
said Diana Mosher, Editorial Director
of Multi Housing News.
After the awards ceremony, Pat Levitt
enjoyed the real prize of the evening,
time with her beautiful granddaughter,
who lives in New York.
Michael J. Levitt, founder and CEO
of The Michaels Organization, accepted the award at a ceremony
held in New York City on Sept. 20.
The companies of The Michaels Organization have long been a leader
in affordable housing and in offering
comprehensive supportive services
to residents as well as the communities where their apartment homes
are located. In addition, Michaels
was the first affordable housing company in the country to establish a
scholarship fund for residents, when
it created The Michaels Organization
Educational Foundation in 1991.
Since then, the Foundation has
awarded more than $3.5 million in
educational scholarships to residents
of Michaels owned and managed
companies, including the military
bases where it owns and manages
the family housing. More than 1600
aspiring students have benefitted
from the scholarships, which can
be used to defray tuition costs at
any college, university or vocational
program in the country.
Mike Levitt accepts his Award of Excellence
from MHN Editor Diana Mosher.
Michael with his wife Pat Levitt and Christine
O’Donnell, at the awards reception.
Mike Levitt and his wife Patricia
Levitt contribute $2 for every
$1 raised by the Foundation.
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m i l i ta ry m at t e r s
Fired Up at
Ft. Leavenworth
Assisting the Training of On-Post Organizations
Having well trained Emergency
Services personnel is a huge plus for
the residents of Fort Leavenworth.
FHC was able to contribute to the
training efforts of these skilled individuals by offering homes slated for
demolition as a training location. In
2009, the installation’s Military Police
were able to train on their forced
entry techniques in homes soon to
be demolished. This is the second
time this training has occurred and is
again slated at the beginning of next
year. Another unique training event
occurred with Fort Leavenworth’s
Fire Department in 2007 when they
were able to burn one of the soon to
be demolished homes to the ground.
Another burn is in the planning
stages for the beginning of the year
and it’s anticipated to be larger than
the first as city of Leavenworth fire
departments will be invited to participate. Also in 2007 a unique competition was held where Emergency
Services personnel and people from
the Fort Leavenworth community
competed in a timed event carrying a
142-lb dummy through a smoke filled
home.
14 Fort Leavenw
orth Lamp —
August 23, 2007
August 23, 2007
— Fort Leavenw
orth Lamp 15
Firefighter Rich
Baggett practices
Road.
proper technique
for breaking
and clearing
Prudence Siebert
a window during
photos
training Aug.
17 off Hunt
Fort Leavenw
orth Fire Departme
lition Aug. 17
nts firefighte
during training
rs set and extinguis
on Hunt Road.
h room fires
in unoccupied
Red-hot trainin
g
quarters schedule
d for demo-
House slated for
razing is firefig
hting opportuni
ty
by Scott Thompso
n
Staff Writer
In an effort to
better know their
Leavenworth Fire
enemy, the Fort
Department set
last week for training
a housing fourplex
ablaze
exercises.
The vacated building
in the southwest
cul-de-sac near
region of post
Hunt Road was
in a
already marked
tion.
for demoliTwenty-three firefighters
participated Aug.
designed to familiarize
14-17 in drills
them with the
mary adversary:
behavior of their
fire.
priMultiple fires
were set throughout
the firefighters
the week. This
opportunities to
gave
drill in
Scenarios included
single-room fires, varying areas.
second-story fires
multiple-room
and the grand
fires,
finale: burning
structure.
an entire
Firefighters honed
their firefighting
tactics throughout
Lt. Kris Wallace,
Firefighter Tim
selves in a doorway
Mondero and
Firefighter Ed
to extinguish
in units schedule
Smith position
d for demolitio a house fire Aug. 17 on
Hunt Road during themn.
training
the training exercises.
breaking and clearing They drilled on extinguishi
ng fires,
windows, ventilation
goods were placed
ment of fires to
, proper containwithin the training
protect adjacent
typically found
buildings, search
cue techniques
buildings, but
in a home, namely
items
and executing
and resincluded in the
plans of attack.
furniture, were
Training opportunit
exercise because
not
of safety requiremen
Academically,
often, said Assistant ies like this don’t come around
the firefighters
ts.
very
Fire Chief Jay
train
apply what they
third time in 20
Skaggs.
learn in the classroom daily. To practically
years that the departmen This is only the
Skaggs said.
fight a real fire
proved invaluable,
t has been able
in a real
to
Outside the buildings,
By using an actual structure for training.
building, firefighters
Temperatures throughout firefighters battled the
observe a real
were able to
weather.
fire in a real structure
the week peaked
degrees.
“The value of
in real time.
above 100
the training lies
Rather than cancel
in the reality of
face,” Skaggs
said. “This isn’t
what they
the exercises, the
in the window
a training simulator.
masonry building
group chose to
of time allotted
train
It’s
with steel doors
to them.
“When it comes
that just simulates not a
Small amounts
down
of a gasoline/di
fire.”
to the real way
might have had
esel mixture were
start the fires.
we fight fire,
to fight a fire in
Wood pallets and
106 degrees,” Skaggs we
“People need to
straw were burned used to
the buildings.
see that this is
Items that produce
said.
to
how (the heat)
The heat provided
black smoke were ignite
used.
impacts you.”
a measure of the
not
and cardiovasc
department’s physical
To further simulate
ular conditionin
a real environme
g.
Similar training
nt, combustible
exercises will be
buildings set for
conducted using
demolition when
other
the weather turns
cold.
Fort Leavenw
orth Fire Dept.
Lt. Christian
Hunt Road. Firefighte
rs set and extinguis Howell hydrates during
plan to train
training Aug.
hed fires during
in extremely
14 off
cold weather
100-plus-degree
as well, using
days. They
units schedule
d for demolitio
n.
Flames devour
the kitchen,
where the fire
through the
entire structure
was started,
and progress
during the last
demolished
quarters Aug.
day of fire training
17 off Hunt
Department
in the
Road.
firefighte
to practice putting rs utilized the housing Fort Leavenworth Fire
scheduled for
out different
demolition
types of fires.
Flames devour
trusses in housing
department
scheduled for
training Aug.
demolition during
17.
fire
Firefighters
destroyed
practicing containin the end unit of quarters
on Hunt
g a fire to protect
adjacent quarters.Road Aug. 16 while
Wow! It’s like a real life episode of Chicago
Fire! Our team at Ft. Leavenworth
donated a house that was scheduled for
demolition for firefighting training.
Helping the Needy and
the Environment
Michaels Military Housing is
committed to environmentally
sound building practices and
this includes the deconstruction of all old homes being
demolished at Fort Leavenworth. Deconstruction is the
process of dismantling old
homes by hand and salvaging
any useable building materials. As a way to also help
needy families in the area,
MMH is donating all salvageable building materials to a
local nonprofit, the Kansas
City-based Habitat ReStore,
an affiliate of Habitat for
Humanity.
Restore sells any usable
materials recovered at a deep
discount to area families,
including many Army veterans
who live in the community.
Revenues raised from these
sales are then donated to
Habitat for Humanity to aid
in their primary mission of
providing safe, decent and
affordable housing to lowincome families. ReStore
estimates that $30,000
worth of building materials
will be salvaged from the 88
homes being demolished at
Fort Leavenworth and that
approximately 48.3 tons of
materials will be diverted from
the Kansas landfill.
9
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Developing Stories
Michaels Wins Tax Credits for Three Developments in NJ
The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMA) announced in August
that three new residential communities being
developed by The Michaels Development Company have been awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocations as well as Hurricane
Sandy funding from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development’s Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program..
Two of the developments are in Jersey City,
where The Michaels Development Company
has been working with the Jersey City Housing
Authority (JCHA) for more than a decade on
the multi-phase redevelopment of the Lafayette
Gardens public housing community. This latest
round of funding means the Michaels Development Company and the JCHA can finish the
final phase of the revitalization effort, with the
completion of the second phase of Glennview
Townhouses.
The $16 million Glennview development will
offer 64 units in an attractive array of stacked
townhouses and apartment flats featuring
affordable housing for families with low and
moderate incomes that will be identical to the
Spruce Street Senior Residences will be located on land formerly occupied by
The Douglas Harrison public housing community in Newark
homes offered to higher income households.
NJHMA awarded $5 million in CDBG funds to
Glennview, as well as a tax credit allocation
expected to raise $9.5 million in private equity.
The Catherine Todd Senior Living Center, also
in Jersey City, is the first phase of the revitalization of the Montgomery Gardens Public Housing development. This high-rise community
will be completely renovated, with the finished
development offering 68 affordable units as well
as 5,000 square feet of community space for
recreational and on-site supportive services for
its elderly residents. NJHMA awarded the $22.5
million renovation of Catherine Todd $5 million
in CDBG funding and a tax credit allocation expected to generate $11 million in private equity.
In Newark, where Michaels was selected by the
City of Newark as its redeveloper for the site
of the former Douglas Harrison Homes, the tax
credit allocation will kick start the development
of Spruce Street Senior Residences. This $18.6
million rental community featuring 57 affordable
apartments for elderly households was awarded
$4.3 million in CDBG funds and a tax credit allocation expected to raise $8.6 million in private
equity. The new Spruce Street community will
offer its senior residents an array of services,
enabling them to live independently longer.
10
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Grand Openings
Wilmington, Delaware
Celebrates Grand Opening
of Lincoln Towers
Reddick Senior Residences in
Franklin, TN looks beautiful set
up for its grand opening celebration on Nov. 14. About 140 people,
including the city and county
mayors, attended the event.
Peter Wood and Milt Pratt of
Michaels Development Company
enjoy an Open House at The Plaza
at Centennial Hill in Montgomery,
Alabama.
Centennial Plaza, a new mixed income family community, in historic
Montgomery, AL, hosted an “Open
House” in November for public
officials and community leaders.
Built on the site of outdated public
housing, the new development has
started to welcome residents and is
expected to “grand open” early in
the new year.
Unique development by Wilmington Housing
Authority and The Michaels Organization
brings much needed affordable housing, new
fire safety services to Wilmington’s Trolley
Square neighborhood.
Dayton Community
Celebrates Grand
Opening of
Germantown Village
First Phase of The Michaels
Development Company’s MultiPhase Development in Ohio Is
Major Milestone in the Revitalization of Historic GermantownBroadway Neighborhood
Pictured from L to R: State Senator State Senator Bill Beagle; Tracy Davidson,
President, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio; Ron Amos, Market President
of Dayton, U.S. Bank; Idotha “Bootsie” Neal, President, Wright Dunbar Inc.; Dayton
Mayor Gary Leitzell; Reverend John Allen, Tabernacle Mission Baptist Church;
Alphonzio Prude, CEO, Greater Dayton Premier Management and Whitney Weller,
SVP of Development, Michaels Development Company.
11
{
Ma n ag e m e n t R e p o rt S
All Together Now
IRM’s Leadership Team Gathered for a photo
op with Michaels CEO Mike Levitt and President
John O’Donnell. Clockwise From left: Jim Bleiler,
EVP, Chuck Durnin, SVP, Sandy Cipollone, SVP,
Vice Presidents Roger Williams, Kimberlee Schreiber, Louise Dooley, Lona Black, Tony Polidora,
Marc Getson, Bob Sampson; Assistant Vice President, Aaron Richards, and Vice President Charlie
Ramos. Mark Morgan, IRM President, is seated on
the couch next to Mike Levitt
IRM Held District Management Meetings this Fall
which provided fun, fellowship, and lots of learning opportunities for our teammates throughout the
country. See photos of some of these meetings at
Michaels Facebook page: Facebook/TheMichaelsOrg
Class of 2013
Congratulations to our 2013
Achievers, who enjoyed two days
of intensive leadership and personal development training at the
Achiever’s Summit Oct. 16-17
Alida Gregal
Amanda Bailey
Andrew Davenport
Anne Burns
Bob Ogle
Brenda Marucci
Charlie Ramos
Cheryl Hernandez
Gary Eckrote
Gary Maynes
Gina Young
James Malesich
Julie Goegline
Lucas
Kamila Snuffer
Kelly Mecca
Laura Zaner
Marc Dudley
Mario Molano
Melanie Sassani
Michael Boettger
Michelle Warfield
Mike Pilla
Nancy Thomas
Nick Roberson
Nitzia Chambers
Rachel Fonseca
Randy Howes
Richard White
Terry McAleer
12
{
ca m p u s c o r n e r
University
Student Living
Set
to Deliver
its Next
Student Housing
Communities
in Fall 2013
THE VIEW
Waco, TX
The View on 10th is a 257-unit, 718-bed student housing community that will
serve the students of Baylor University. The apartments are fully furnished,
each unit with a balcony or patio, private bedrooms and bathrooms, and
full-size washer and dryer. Amenities include a clubhouse, spa pool, fitness
center, tanning, pet park, and a controlled-access garage parking.
700
WASHINGTON
Minneapolis, MN
The 700 on Washington is located in
the Stadium Village Neighborhood
of downtown Minneapolis, at the
intersection of Washington Avenue and
Walnut Street, across the street from
the University of Minnesota’s Alumni
Center and a block away from the
University’s new TCF Bank Stadium.
This 98-unit, 266-bed student housing
community will feature garage parking
spaces and almost 12,000 square feet
of ground-floor retail space.
13
{
G r o w t h C u rv e
Michaels’ Tax Credit
Syndication Company
Expands, Welcomes
New Leadership
Prestige Affordable Housing Equity
Partners, The Michaels Organization’s
tax credit investment company has
announced new leadership as the firm
ramps up operations to serve a growing list of both investors and developers in the affordable housing industry.
Sebastian Corradino, a former president of RBC Tax Credit Equity Group
and RBC Managing Director, has been
named Prestige’s President. Rick
Slagle, a former director with Raymond
James Tax Credit Funds, will serve as
Vice President.
By increasing its capacity and operations, Prestige is offering its expertise
to a growing number of developers
who rely on the Low Income Housing
Tax Credit to produce high-quality,
financially viable affordable housing.
The company’s goal of providing both
exceptional services to its partners
and solid returns to investors remains
unchanged.
Sebastian Corradino brings more than
two decades of experience to his role
as Prestige’s president, both as a
tax credit expert and a developer. As
President of RBC’s Tax Credit Equity
Group, Corradino led over $1 Billion in
Low Income Housing Tax Credit investments. Prior to joining RBC, he also
founded MissionFirst Development, a
DC-based real estate company that
produced more than $150 million of
affordable housing before he sold the
firm in 2010.
Rick Slagle has over 15 years of experience working on low income housing
and historic tax credit transactions. At
Raymond James Tax Credit Funds and
RBC Capital, he led the origination of
investment opportunities of almost $1 billion
in development. Prior
to that, Slagle was a
consultant to developers providing market
and property feasibility services as well as
application services for
low-income housing tax
credits, historic tax credits, tax-exempt bonds,
and other government
and private financing
sources.
Sebastian Corradino
Rick Slagle
Joe Purcell to “Relax” with Two Jobs, instead of Three
The Michaels Organization’s Chief Financial Officer, Joseph Purcell, had been
heading up Prestige’s operations for more than a decade. Under his leadership, Prestige established strong relationships with national banks, insurance
companies, and other institutional investors, raising equity for more than
10,000 units, and building a solid track record of investing in the highest quality
affordable communities. The majority of Prestige’s equity investments benefitted deals for The Michaels Development Company, the largest privately-held
owner and developer of affordable housing in the nation. Although he’s handed
the reins of PAHEP to Sebastian, Joe continues to serve as both The Michaels
Organization’s Chief Financial Officer and President of Continental Mortgage
Company.
Meet Alana Singleton
Alana is our new Resident Compliance Coordinator for Park Douglas and Westhaven Park in Chicago. Alana works very closely with our Resident
Services Specialist there, Lisa Young.
Alana brings a wonderful combination of experiences that range from marketing and sales to philanthropic work and consulting with nonprofit organizations. Her success in sales has been achieved
at dynamic companies such as Clear Channel
and N’Digo, “A Magapaper for the Urbane.” In
the not-for-profit sphere, Alana’s talents have
sparked the efforts of Literacy of Chicago, Clara’s
House, an organization that meets residents’ basic
needs for employment, housing, health care, and
education through training and projects directed
at advocacy, social services, empowerment, and
self-awareness. Alana’s vast experience in these
two areas serves as a unique addition to our team.
She will strengthen our services and the resources
we provide to our residents. Alana has a passion
for working with people and developing creative
opportunities to involve them in programming.
Hunter’s Ridge
in Brownsville
PA congratulates
Leonard Griest on his
recent promotion to
Maintenance Super!
Welcome Alana, we’re glad you’re here.
14
{
s taff d e v e l o p m e n t s
Welcome New Teammates!
The companies of The
Michaels Organization
welcomed the following new
employees between August
and November 2013
Wallace, Richards, Maintenance
Super, Atlanta
Orville, Otto Jr., Project Manager,
St. Thomas
Paul, Miller, Maintenance
Technician, Eros
Fabiana, Scavicchio, Assistant
Manager, Upper Chichester
Carmen, Felix, Office Assistant,
St. Croix
Mona, Sanders, Assistant Manager
PT, Ridgecrest
Florentino, Rivera, Terminated,
Bethlehem
Robin, Prentice, Site Manager,
Jackson
Richard, Slagle, Vice President
Prestige Equity, Silver Spring
Charles, Hoots, Maintenance
Technician, Marion
Alana, Singleton, Resident
Services Coordinator, Chicago
Sabrena, Dixon, Site Manager,
Shaw
Lillian, Crawford, Accounting Clerk,
Lindenwold
Jordan, Spears, Maintenance
Manager, Corning
Facundo, Marquez, Maintenance
Technician, New Haven
Clifton, Purnell, Maintenance
Super, Greenwood
Robert, Martin, Lead Maintenance,
Chickasha
Isabel, Perez, Site Manager, Tulare
Jonathan, Lubonski, Development
Officer, West Deptford
Yalana, Collins, Leasing Agent,
Wichita
Lee, Brannon, Roads and Grounds
Tech, Columbus
Eugene, Williams Jr, Roads and
Grounds Tech, columbus
Rebecca, Jackson, Site Manager,
Franklin
Clarisse, Adams, Site Manager,
Aberdeen
Joseph, Owens, Maintenance
Technician, Forest
Adrian, Braxton, Assistant
Manager, Ridgecrest
Johnny, Harjo, Maintenance
Technician, Midwest City
Christopher, Riesz, Superintendant,
Bradenton
Jennifer, Polidora, A/P Specialist,
Marlton
Cedar, Brunache, Maintenance
Technician, Connellsville
Joseph, Ruiz, Assistant
Maintenance Manager, Red
Bluff
Sharon, Ruiz, Assistant Manager,
Red Bluff
Andrew, Bowen, Maintenance
Technician, South Lake Tahoe
Dimitre, Horton, Maintenance
Technician, Pottstown
Anna, Lujan, Leasing Agent,
Midland
Rochelle, Akiona, Receptionist,
Honolulu
Miguelina, Javalera, Site Manager,
Livingston
Thomas, McBride, Maintenance
Technician PT, Red Bluff
Guadalupe, Herrera, Maintenance
Assistant, Los Angeles
Michelle, Brooks, Leasing, Tampa
Shirley, Delaine, Receptionist, Joint
Base Andrews
Gene, Leasure, Maintenance
Superintendent, Lower Burrell
Corey, Wilson, Groundskeeper,
Harvey
Kathryn, Barry, Community
Director, Columbus
Tiffanie, Goodson, Resident
Relations Coordinator, Smiths
Station
Alex, Vega, Maintenance
Technician, Newark
Pamela, London, Site Manager,
Montgomery
Melissa, Seahorn, Site Manager,
Red Bay
Robert, Nikchemny, Site Manager,
Pacifica
Michael, Snyder, Maintenance
Supervisor, Cusseta
Alfred, Edgmon JR., Maintenance
Manager, Patterson
Randall, Colwell, Maintenance
Technician, Phenix City
Roshe, Taylor, Maintenance
Technician, Tampa
Jeffrey, Simmons, Maintenance
Technician, Moore
Gina, Cenneno, Accountant, Sewell
D., Huihui, On Call Receptionist,
Honolulu
James, Martin, Maintenance
Technician, Meridian
Clarissa, Collins, Leasing Agent,
Lafayette
Larry, McFadden, Maintenance
Technician, Kansas City
Jamie, Boehm, Site Manager,
Madera
Danny, Pace, Maintenance
Technician, Meridian
Samantha, Nichols, Office
Assistant, Philadelphia
Michael, Wilkinson, Maintenance
Technician, Clearlake
Jennifer, LePage, Resident
Relations Specialist, Springfield
Michael, Collins, Project Manager,
Pottstown
Diane, Hesterfer, Account Payable
Specialist, Gibbstown
Amanda, Rourk, Assistant Site
Manager, St. Stephen
Nikolai, Egorov, Maintenance
Manager, Crescent City
Chad, Osorio, Grounds Keeper,
Land O’Lakes
Patricia, Reed, Administrative
Assistant, Paulsboro
Andrew, Anania, Investment
Analyst, Marlton
Candy, Miles, East Main
Community Manager, Pheonix
City
Kristen, Reilly, Leasing Agent,
Burlington
Thomas, Creel, Maintenance
Supervisor, Leakesville
Charles, Suazo, Groundsmen, New
Orleans
Charles, Herrington, Maintenance
Techician, Philadelphia
Alexandria, Clark, Work Order
Clerk, Kansas City
Mia, Batiste, Leasing Agent,
Lafayette
Jeremy, Bouder, Maintencance
Technician, Pen Argyl
Shawn, Potter, Maintenance
Technician, Saint Stephen
Mario, Soto, Maintenance
Supervisor, Madera
Qali, Aden, Facilities Support
Coordinator, Asburn
Ronald, Montano, Maintenance
Technician, Tehachapi
Joshua, Hays, Assistant Manager,
Colusa
Arely, Talbott, Eviction Clerk,
Tampa
Deborah, Miles, Site Manager,
Williamsport
George, Kelly, Chief Information
Officer, Marlton
Montgomery, Medlar, Maintenance
Technician, Neptune
15
{
s taff d e v e l o p m e n t s
Meet George Kelly, The Michaels Organization’s new CIO
Up Close with
George Kellly
What Does the Job of a Chief Information
Officer Involve?
My job is to ensure that the company gets the greatest
possible value out of its investment in technology. This
means it is my responsibility to ensure that our organization’s information systems provide maximum support to
our business operations and that all of our IT functions
complement and advance the efficiency and effectiveness of our organization. My job also involves making
sure that IT is appropriately resourced, structured, and
staffed to provide the best customer service to The
Michaels Organization as well as each of our individual
companies.
George Kelly has joined The
Michaels Organization in the
newly created position of Chief
Information Officer effective
October 16, 2013.
As Chief Information Officer (CIO), George has lead
responsibility for all information technology and computer
systems that support the business goals of The Michaels
Organization and our eight
individual companies. He will
provide vision and leadership for planning, developing
and implementing strategic
information technology initiatives that support our business
operations at the corporate
level as well as throughout our
property portfolio.
George is based in our
Marlton, New Jersey corporate
office and is a part of our
executive leadership team.
We are pleased to welcome
George Kelly to The Michaels
Organization!
What are some of the unique challenges
for The Michaels Organization in terms of
Information Technology and its computer
systems?
The Michaels Organization has a national presence,
with employees in over 350 locations. Enabling the
right tools, in the right place, at the right price will be a
challenge.
As a “family of 8 integrated but independent companies”
it will also be a challenge to provide a consolidated and
timely view of the overall organization’s performance at
any point in time.
Although the eight individual companies of The Michaels
Organization are engaged in related businesses, each
has its own unique business needs and objectives.
While this provides the overall organization the benefit
of both vertical and horizontal integration, it adds a
level of complexity that can be very challenging from an
IT systems perspective. Determining which business
processes are common across some or all eight companies, while at the same time identifying those processes
that are unique to each business will be necessary in
designing the overall systems architecture for the organization.
How do companies best keep up with the fastchanging pace of technology?
The short answer is that they hire a CIO to guide them.
The longer answer is that the company doesn’t need to
keep up with technology, it just needs to select those
technologies that are beneficial and valuable to the
company and the way that it wants to conduct business.
Analyzing what the business needs are, and what new
technologies are appropriate to address those needs, is
a large part of why the information technology department exists.
Tell us a little bit about George the person –
kids? Hobbies?
I am divorced with two children, George Jr. (21) and
Samantha (17). I currently live in Media, PA with my
partner, Melissa.
My hobbies include technology (which means I get to
do something I really love for a living, which is great). I
also love to cook - food and wine are a bit of a passion.
I enjoy travel and have had the opportunity to visit many
other countries. Reading and music pretty much round
out what I like to do when I have free time.
What is the last movie you saw?
I had to think about this for a bit, because I haven’t been
to a movie theatre in a few months. I think the last movie
I saw was The Wolverine, which I really enjoyed. I was
a big comic book fan as a kid, so all of these movies released recently about comic book characters have been
somewhat nostalgic for me. I’ve really enjoyed them all.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished re-reading the Patrick O’Brian series of
novels starting with Master and Commander. I have
read that series of 20 books several times over (there
is a posthumous 21st unfinished book as well). I enjoy
it immensely, and every time I reread it I enjoy it more. I
recommend it to anyone that enjoys historical fiction. It’s
great stuff!
I haven’t decided on what I will read next, but I am
thinking about either The Long Goodbye by Raymond
Chandler (noir detective fiction) or The Demon Haunted
World by Carl Sagan (non-fiction about critical thinking).
What’s your favorite thing on your iPod at the
moment?
Right now, it would probably be Arctic Monkeys. But my
taste in music is very diverse. I like some things from
pretty much every genre of music.
16
{
Milestones
The Michaels Organization and Better Tomorrows
Bid Farewell to “Ms. B”
Olivette Beaton Retires After 29 Years of Extraordinary Service
In September, the Michaels family bid farewell (but never
goodbye!) to Olivette Beaton, Senior Vice President of Better
Tomorrows, who retired after 29 years of service. Olivette
started out as a Director of Social Services for Interstate Realty Management and then was promoted to Vice President of
Social Services, stepping in to fill the revered shoes of Jackie
Jones, the founding director of our social services programs
after we lost Jackie to cancer.
In her inimitable style, Olivette built on Jackie’s legacy, providing vision, leadership and practical day to day guidance to
IRM’s then-staff of social service coordinators. Our social services programs are now the standard-bearer of the industry
and have impacted the lives of thousands of residents across
the country for the better. Olivette was also a star presenter,
telling Social Services’ story at many a meeting where our
developers were trying to win new deals. Both Ava Goldman,
President of Michaels Development and Joel Silver, MDC’s
Regional Vice President, happily credited Olivette’s presentations as the decisive factor in Michaels’ winning so many new
development deals, when wishing her well at the retirement
party held in her honor at the home office in late September.
Olivette’s last two years were especially remarkable, since
she headed up the programs, assisted developers, AND led
the effort to transition IRM’s Social Services department into
the new non-profit organization, Better Tomorrows, now the
strategic partner delivering supportive services to more than
100 Michaels’ communities across the country.
Ms. Olivette Beaton: friend, colleague, mentor, leader.
We wish you the most wonderful retirement. We miss you
already!
17
{
Site-ings
Abby Lane Celebrates New
Playground
Legends South Resident
Jeremiah Kimble Attends
the U.S. Open Tennis
Championships; Gets Tennis
Scholarship for 2013-2014.
As we move forward in leveraging relationships
with various community organizations, educational institutions and local governmental and
political entities, we are proud to share a wonderful story regarding a fantastic opportunity
that was afforded to one of our youth. Alderman
Patricia Dowell Chicago’s 3nd Ward contacted
Legends South Residents Services regarding
the selection of a youth to participate in an
expense paid trip to New York City to attend the
U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The trip was
facilitated and sponsored by Tennis XSpress.
Tennis XSpress is a non-for-profit mobile tennis
and after-school mentoring program. It’s the
largest in the nation specializing in giving kids
from various diverse communities and various
income brackets a chance to learn about the
game while developing relationships and learning from each other.
Our very own, Jeremiah Kimble was able to
attend the US Open. He had an opportunity to
take a photo with the actual US Open Trophy,
and to meet tennis greats Zina Garrison and
Taylor Townsend. Jeremiah also visited Times
Square, Radio City Music Hall, Ground Zero,
and Rockefeller Center. He even saw the
Statue of Liberty. He made tons of new friends
and is now in love with tennis. As a result of
Jeremiah’s participation, he has been offered a
scholarship to participate in XS Tennis Xpress
program for the 2013-14 season. This was
Jeremiah’ first trip out of the state of Illinois and
he thoroughly enjoyed himself!
Thanks to Vorricia Harvey, Director of
Compliance and Community Development
at Chicago’s Legends South for sharing this
wonderful news!
Our Abbey Lane community in West
Haven, Florida, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate its brand
new playground. Site Manager Lori
Siefring tells us they cut the ribbon
then had ice cream and juice for the
kids. “The children were so happy
and excited that it brought tears to my
eyes,” said Lori. “I’m happy to report
we have a bunch of happy children
and adult residents here because the
kids have something fun and safe to
play on!”
Red, Hot and Blue at
Glasstown Residence
Theresa Perrey, Site Manager at
Glasstown Residence @ River Park
in Millville, NJ, shared this photo of
the July 4th Barbeque the apartment
community hosted
for its
residents,
where a
great time
was had
by all.
Legends South Summer Youth Employment
Program Builds Functional Art for the Community
This summer, Legends South served as a host site to 10
youth participating in the city’s Summer Youth Employment
Program (SYEP). SYEP connects young people to summer
jobs, internships and training programs offered throughout
the City over a six-week period. Through SYEP, young
adults have the opportunity to learn job skills, develop their
resumes and explore career interests.
As a host site, our youth 16 years - 21years old participated in exploration field trips and learned skills in the area of
Environmental Conservation. The youth developed a community enrichment project that integrated what they learned
from their work experience and field trips. The very tangible
result of their community-based learning is the stunning
swing that the young people helped design and built. The
swing is located in the community garden of Savoy Square
and it provides a beautiful, shady place for residents to
relax in the garden. KUDOS to our Youth!
18
{
Site-ings
Watermelon Social
Gail L. Weierbach, ARM , CPO, IRM’s site manager at Shirley Futch
Plaza in East Stroudsburg, PA, wrote to tell us about the community’s
3rd annual Watermelon Social and Seed Spitting contest. The event
attracts both the residents and the site staff for a day of fun, friendly
competition, and delicious fruit!. Watermelons with seeds are hard to
find, so they used cherry seeds! One resident beat out the staff by
spitting her seed 155 inches!
Kuhio Park Celebrates Opening of its
Community Garden
The long-awaited Community Garden at Kuhio
Park in Hawaii opened on Saturday, August 24. The
garden, across from Linapuni Elementary School
was abuzz with activity! Folks of all ages and abilities gathered to dig holes, plant seeds, make the
wheelchair accessible raised beds, and even make
smoothies with bicycle power. Everyone is invited
to participate in the garden―to help in the planning,
plantings and harvesting of fresh produce. The
launch of the garden was made possible through
grants to KKV from Hawaii Appleseed Center for
Law and Economic Justice and Interstate Realty
Management.
Young residents
of McGuire
Gardens in
Camden,
NJ, strike up
the band in
celebration of
Neighborhood
Night Out.
Superior Efforts at Coal Township Elderly
Allison Wetzel, site manager of the 11 story high rise in Coal Township,
PA, teamed up with Energy Control Group’s certified lighting professionals and tasked them to upgrade the facility’s lighting systems with three
priorities; maintain or improve the lighting to ensure the safety of the
residents (eliminating T 12 bulbs), reduce operational costs, and do it all
within the budget. The High Rise is upgrading all common spaces with
new energy efficient and longer-life lighting options. This will substantially reduce energy and maintenance costs while maximizing utility
rebates to pay a significant portion of the project costs. The total cost of
the lighting upgrade exceeded 13,000 but the site will only be responsibility for about $2,300 of that since the other $11,000+ will be granted in
utility rebates!
Meanwhile, Coal Township Elderly achieved a SUPERIOR Management
Occupancy Review with 0 findings!
Congratulations to Allison and her team!
19
{
Site-ings
Neighborhood Watch, Hawaii Style
Kuhio Park has formed a new patrol group, dubbed Michaels Aumaga, which is based on
Samoan culture and the nation’s very strict curfew system. The group goes out twice a night
to ensure that all is calm; they have been a great influence especially on teens residents who
might be prone to getting into trouble by “hanging out.” A conch shell is blown at 9 PM and
everyone has to go home—if they don’t, any teens will be escorted home. The patrol members
all have strong connections to their churches and a couple of them are former Marines, so
they know what they are doing!
Better Tomorrow’s Social Services Director at Kuhio Park, Anni Peterson, has been involved
with helping the group organize and getting uniforms. Anni offers kudos to Kuhio Park’s Resident Association Sergeant-at Arms, Lofi Hollins, for providing leadership to this effort.
Allie Rettiq, site manager at Kuhio Park, poses with the Michaels Aumaga Patrol Group.
Serving Those Who Served
Wildwood House in Beckley, West
Virginia, residents Melvin Ross, Lee
Davis, Denzil Adkins, Troy Robertson,
Arthur Simmons, Alex Cole , Glenn Rose
and Namaan Williams Pledge Allegiance
to the U.S. Flag during a Veteran’s appreciation dinner held at the community
in their honor this November. IRM site
staff presented Certificates of Appreciation to the gentlemen, who served in
World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Mr.
Lee Davis (with sweater vest) is the
oldest Veteran at age 91. Wildwood
House Site Manager Della Cole shared
these photos with special thanks to her
to her colleagues Gene and Josh and
Wildwood volunteers Rene’ Atkinson and
Shannon Rakes for helping with dinner
preparations.
Triple Scholarships for Zephyr Apartments Resident
Kim Sherrer, Site Manager of Zephyr Apartments in Whitehall, PA, shared with us
the good news that one of Zephyr’s residents --Kris Hilliard—has been awarded a
$2500 scholarship from NAHMA and a $2,000 scholarship from The Encarnacion
Loukatos Scholarship of $2,000. Kris also received scholarship money from The
Michaels Organization Education foundation for the 2013/2014 academic year. Kris
is attending Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, PA.
First Harvest at Village Park Children’s Garden.
Look at what champs these young residents are at Gardening! They harvested basil, radishes, and swiss chard
and then helped cook some new recipes trying the new
vegetables. One of the children’s favorites was fresh basil
on top of mozzarella cheese and a cracker, but some even
liked the swiss chard too!
20
{
M i c h a e l s Sc h o l a r s
2013-2014 Scholars
Adams, Tony
Antoine, Khalif
Michaels Celebrates its Michaels Employee
Scholarship Program Recipients
Boczkowski, Amanda
The Michaels Employee Scholarship Luncheon took place on
Monday, August 12 to honor the
children of employees that worked
hard to earn scholarships for the
2013-2014 school year. College
students from across the country were awarded funds totaling
$82,100. In order to apply for this
year’s scholarships, students were
to maintain a credible GPA, obtain
two letters of recommendation,
and write two essays expressing
themselves to the committee.
ebbs and flows of your college
years”. Pat explained, “your time
is the most precious gift there is”,
and hopes all scholars will “pay it
forward” and give back in any way
they can.
Cline, Caitlin
The Michaels Employee Scholarship Program has experienced
exceptional growth since 2008,
when Mike and Pat first launched
the program. In the first year of
the program, seven participants
received scholarships totaling
$27,500. Six years later, a total of
$413,100 has been awarded in 170
grants to children of employees.
Davis, Nicole
We want to wish this year’s recipients the best of luck in the year to
come and we look forward to seeing the next group of outstanding
applicants.
Longmire, Tyler
Students and their families gathered in the Marlton headquarters
to receive their awards and enjoy
a lunch with the employees from
the home office. Pat Levitt spoke
to the scholars about the wonderful
journey each student is about to
embark in, and encouraged them
to “enjoy all the twists and turns,
Bower, Justin
Canaday, Steven
Conners, Lacey
Conroy, Cristina
Daroshefski, Nicholas
Davis, Katelyn
Eastburn, Jamie
Fida, Giavanna
Fida, Giuseppe
Glenn, Jason
Halley, Lauren
Howard, Jayme
Kony, Resy
Lugli, Colleen
Malusis, Macey
Merrick, Avery
Mitch, Mike
Ridge, Logan
Rola, Allyson
Rola, Stephen
Scanlon, Dillon
Sperle, Phaydra
Spicer, Shaun
Michaels Scholar
Joe Williams with
proud dad Darrell
Williams, IRM
District Property
Manager
Stackhouse, Nicole
Taylor, Briana
Tomaso, Alexandra
Willard, Patrick
Williams, Joe
Woods, LaTasha
21
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R e s i d e n t Sc h o l a r s
Mountain Vista Communities at Fort Huachuca
went all out to celebrate the achievements of
their three scholarship recipients.
using’s Community
Michaels Military Ho
eks with Ft. Belvoir
Director Amanda We
Cook
ip Recipient, Dawn
Resident Scholarsh
Liberty Park Celebrates Senior Airman Scholar
On 27 August 2013 Senior Airman James S.
Barrett, Joint Base Andrews, was presented
with The Michaels Organization Educational
Foundation Scholar Academic Achievement
Award, at the Liberty Park Liberty Room during
a ceremony that included a luncheon for his
command and family. Present at the ceremony
was Senior Airman Barrett’s First Sergeant and
other members of his command; representatives from the 11th Wing; as well as his wife,
daughter, and infant son.
Senior Airman Barrett is studying Contract
Management and plans to eventually use
his experience and education to apply for a
Commission in the United States Air Force. The
Michaels Educational Foundation scholarship
of $2,000 allowed him to complete his course
work at Trident University International without
having to apply for educational loans. He stated
that for a Senior Airman with a growing family
having the scholarship was a tremendous
blessing for his family.
Senior Airman Barrett’s First Sergeant spoke
briefly during the ceremony about what a fine
individual Senior Airman Barrett is and what
a credit he is to his family, his unit, and his
country.
Another Record Year for The Michaels
Organization Educational Foundation
The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation awarded a record number of educational grants to aspiring students who reside
at our communities for the 2013-2014 academic year. The grants
can be used by recipients to pay tuition costs at any accredited
college, university, or vocational training program in the country.
Grants totaling almost $450,000 have been awarded to 183 scholars, a significant increase from last year when the awards totaled
a then-record $315,000.
All private contributions to the scholarship fund are matched twofor-one by The Michaels Organization’s founder and CEO Michael
J. Levitt and his wife Patricia Levitt, who established the foundation in 1991. Since then, more than $3.5 million in scholarships
have been awarded, benefitting more than 1,600 students.
Michaels thanks all of its community managers, site staff, and Better Tomorrows social services coordinators who encouraged and
assisted our scholars!
Project Director Bryan Market of Frontier Heritage Communities poses with our Ft. Leavenworth scholars after a celebratory lunch in their honor.
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good works
Kings Row Apartments Benefits from
Partnership with Push to Win Outreach
Kings Row Apartments in Houston, Texas, has
established a relationship with a local outreach
ministry called Push to Win that has resulted in many
innovative programs and services being delivered to
Michaels’ residents there.
Houston Texans give bicycles to PUSH participants
PUSH summer program students enjoy a field trip to City Hall
PUSH participants returning to Kings Row after a fun-filled day with
goodie bags
Wow! “Project Me” at Westhaven Park Introduces Teens
to the Music Industry
Project ME is an afterschool program for
teens designed to introduce them to the
entertainment industry while they discover
their own talents as they make a music video.
“Project Me” has been offered at Westhaven
Park for the last three years. “Project Me” was
initially offered as part of the Chicago Housing
Authority’s (CHA) Youth in Action Campaign.
Near West Side Community Development
Corporation developed the program with
Instructor Andrew J. Kirkland, owner of OOO
Multimedium Inc.
Teen participants create a music video from
beginning to end over twelve weeks. They
develop a mutually agreed upon concept,
write poetry and lyrics together, craft choreography; record music and video both on
location and in the studio. As they create
music they are building skills in communication, planning, team-based ideology and
task execution. They also learn leadership
skills and develop quality work ethics.
After weighing the repercussions of what
the street offers versus the gratification and
feeling of accomplishment felt by the end of
the course, they identify with the benefits of
quality decision making and how safer alternatives equal a higher standard of living. They
reap the rewards of starting a project and
following it through to its completion!
Watch the youth’s creation “Feel Good” at this
You Tube Link:
//youtu.be/izxgbei7FoA
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good works
Golf Tournament Raises
Record Funds for The
Michaels Organization
Educational Foundation
The annual TMO Education Foundation golf outing was held on
Wednesday, September 11, 2013. It was supposed to be the beginning
of fall and a cool 75 degrees; instead it was a hot and humid 98 degrees!
Even though there was near record-breaking heat, the golfers turned out
in droves for this wonderful cause!
One hundred and sixty participants (160) hit the links of Little Mill Country
Club in Marlton, NJ to once again, chase the small, dimpled, white ball
that has “hooked” so many to the sport of golf. There were approximately
200 people in total who participated in the day.
Among the many sponsors that deserve recognition for making the day a
success are:
PLATINUM SPONSORS: CALECO, Multi-Home Depot (ARI),
RestoreCore, Herrick & Feinstein, Malvern Capital Partners, and TSB
Capital Advisors.
GOLD SPONSORS: Corbett Exterminating Corp., HD Supply, Levine, Staller, Sklar, Chan, & Brown, P.A., PNC Bank, and RJC
Midwest, LP.
SILVER SPONSORS: National Tenant Network, and Wilmar/
Interline.
BRONZE SPONSORS: InControl Maintenance Management and
Ronnie and Gerry Schwam.
CART SPONSOR: Bozzutto & Associates, Inc.
CIGAR SPONSOR: CPR Services, Inc.
PUTTING SPONSOR: Ernest Bock and Sons, Inc.
GOLF BALL SPONSOR: Buyers Access
TEE GIVE SPONSOR: RestoreCore
SPECIAL PRIZE SPONSOR: The Phillies Organization
LUNCH SPONSORS: Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., InDatus, and
Westgate Management.
HAPPY HOUR SPONSORS: Belfor USA Group, Inc., Central
Wholesalers, Inc., Converged Services, Inc., Liberty Bell Bank, Parkcrest
Builders, LLC, and TD Bank.
LEMONADE-STAND SPONSORS: Coinmach, EVCO, Hessel, Aluise and Neun, P.C., MSB Recruiters, Northern Waterproofing, P.
Cooper Roofing, Screening Reports, and Taja Construction,.
PRIZE SPONSORS: ABC Coin Laundries, Ace Lock & Key Shop,
Aeromark Mechanical, Affordable Construction & Maintenance, American
Climate Control, Andreano Plumbing, Bank of America, Caterina Painting,
CBRE—Bob Miller, DMS Systems, E. Allan Mack, Family Landscaping,
Fine Design Landscape & Maintenance, Gladstone Lock & Safe, Ameri-
can Home Appliance
Service, International
Security, Jackson Lewis
Attorneys, Jeff Kushner,
Attorney, Kitchen & Associates, P& C Painting, P.
Cooper Roofing, Payton
Elevator Co., Platinum
Painting, Queen City
Carpet, The MacDonald
Companies, and Tower Economics.
BASKET COMMITTEE: Cheryl Hernandez, Chairperson and
Sue Langley, Basket Wrapping Chairperson.
VOLUNTEERS: Arlene Fiorentini, Belinda Gebrail, Cathy Freas,
Cheryl Hernandez, Chris Bauer, Dolly Dube, Jessie D’Alessandro, Jodi
Abrams, Kelly Mecca, Kerrie Pokusa, Lisa Capelli, Lynne Davis, Melanie
Gilbert, Robin Becker, Sabrina Gompert, Sharon D’Alessandro, Sherri
Spicer, Sue Langley, Theresa Rogers, and Trish Boughton—all TMO
employees.
The day started with lunch, then golf, then happy hour and dinner. There
were the golf prizes, a live auction, gift basket and prize tables—and
those prizes consisted of two 55” and one 65” TV’s among many, many
other wonderful items (head phones, Coach purses, wireless surround
sound systems, two 35” TVs, and too many more things to list). Congratulations to Dexter Scott who won the 65” TV and had to come
back the following day to take it home because his vehicle was not
large enough!!!!! Hope you are enjoying the NFL season with your new
65” TV Dexter.
While the day was very upbeat, it did not go unnoticed that it was the
12th anniversary of 9/11. There were tributes to the victims and their
families of 9/11 throughout the day as we will forever remember the
personal as well as national devastation from this unthinkable assault on
America!
While everyone had a FUN day, it was also a HUGE success for the
Education Foundation as $112,000 was netted—40% more than 2012
and 103% more than 2011!!!!! What is better than a GREAT day truly
benefitting a wonderful cause—educating the current, and future leaders
of our country!!!!
Thank you all for your continued support and we look forward to seeing
everyone again next year on september 10, 2014—mark your calendars
now!!!!
—Sandy Cipollone
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{
live, work, play, michaels
Summer Picnic
at the Corporate
Office, Western
Style
Team Jackie Jones Rides Again!
Gin Dawson, Vice President of
Michaels Development, gets her
rodeo on.
These young cyclists, along with staff and
volunteers, from The Michaels Organization,
completed the annual Philadelphia Bike-aThon to raise thousands of dollars for the
American Cancer Society.
Here she comes, Miss AmeriCAT
Congrats to our teammates
who play on Michaels
Management Services
softball team at Fort Benning
(Georgia) for placing 3rd
Place in the league!
Belinda Gebrail, an assistant supervisor in accounts payable in the home office, captured the
attention of the local newspaper photographer
when she attended the Ms. America parade in
Atlantic City accompanied by her cat, who was
wearing a crown.
Keeping Up with Bob Greer
MDC’s President Emeritus, Bob
Greer, keeps attempting to stay
retired, but the industry doesn’t
seem prepared to let him go just yet.
In November, Bob made an appearance at the Affordable Housing Live
Conference in Chicago, where he was
a featured speaker on a Hall of Fame
Power Panel.
Follow Us on
FACEBOOK
For more news from
our sites around the country
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{
live, work, play, michaels
Good Cause
Prea McNeil, Senior Accountant for
Michaels Management Services, Inc. and
Michaels Military Housing LLC, (pictured
here with her daughters) successfully
completed a 5K race to raise money for
Lupus. She successfully finished the race
and raised $700 for this good cause.
Rick Slagle, Vice President
of Prestige Affordable
Housing Partners, gets his
Philly game on!
He’s Number One!
Congrats to IRM VP Roger Williams who scored his
first ever hole in one while representing IRM at an
apartment industry golf outing.
The Hole in One was on the second hole at the Pine
Crest golf course. Roger used a 7 iron for the 156yard shot. Roger came home with a new set of golf
clubs as his prize and a Trophy for Closest to the Pin.
Live Generously, Give Generously
– It’s The Michaels Way
Lynne Allen, who runs the Food Pantry at the
Wiley Church, dropped our teammates at the
Corporate Office this note of thanks for their
generous help.
“Dear Michaels Organization,
Thank you so much for all the food
you collected and the monetary
donation that was given to the Wiley
Church Food Pantry. It truly was a
wonderful surprise and a huge help
in filling the bags! When Lois called
and said she was dropping off food,
I had no idea the it would be a whole
car full of food!
On Friday, the shelves were empty
except for a few cans of tuna and
soup. We had no idea what we were
going to give the families and all
cereal, pasta, sauce, canned goods,
and mac and cheese that were donated from your company was such
a blessing! Thanks to all of you, the
pantry was able to provide food for
48 families this week! Your donation
helped to put food on the table for
these families this week. Thanks,
again, for everything! It was greatly
appreciated!!”
Michaels Baby Boom
Callen Chambers snuggles with his new dad
Joe Chambers, development officer with
Michaels Development Co.
Lindsay Castagna, an Executive Assistant
with IRM, is the new mom of this gorgeous
little girl named Hannah.
IRM District Property Manager Brenda
Marucci enjoys her new grandson Rocco.
26
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better tomorrows
How to Spell
Learning Fun?
I-R-M-S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G-B-E-E
On Friday, August 9th, 2013,
more than 20 youngsters from 13
different IRM apartment communities gathered at our 8 Diamond
Community in Philadelphia for the 7th annual Interstate
Realty Management Company/Better Tomorrows Spelling Bee Finals. The students participated in either the
8- to 10-year old age bracket or the 11- to 14-year old
age bracket. Each participant had already won their local
spelling bee held earlier in the summer at their home
apartment community and were invited to participate in
the Finals.
The competition at the Finals was rigorous and both age
groups went many rounds before the first and second
place finishers were determined. The 8-to 10-year old
category was won by Ryneah Mallory from Chester
Apartments with Ke’Ajah Coleman from West Poplar
Apartments finishing second (Ke’Ajah has finished second 2 years in a row). The 11- to 14-year old category
was won by Antoine Allen from McGuire Gardens
Arts, crafts, and a giant slide were all part of
the fun at Orchard Apartments (Camp Hill, PA)
National Night Out Celebration, organized by
Talleen Brehm, the community’s Better Tomorrows Social Services Coordinator
with Kymeah McCready from Chester Apartments
finishing second. In the seven year history of the program, Antoine is the only 3 time winner; the only participant to ever win in both age groups; and the only
participant to win back-to-back titles (8 to 10 in 2010; 11
to 14 in both 20121 & 2013). Nice job, Antoine!
Each participant in the Finals received a certificate and
their choice of a reference book (dictionary, thesaurus,
atlas, book of knowledge, etc.). The second place finisher in each age group received a $50 gift card and the
winners both got $100 gift cards. Again this year, Frederick Stroud, Voice of the IRM/Better Tomorrows Spelling
Bee, served as emcee and presented the words to the
contestants. Following the event lunch was served to the
participants and the crowd that attended the event—all in
all, a great day with the students demonstrating courtesy
and good sportsmanship.
Belmont Heights Estates
Celebrates “Unity in the Community,” with a Hawaiian theme
and plenty of good food and
friendship. (Shared by Tina
Lack, Belmont Heights Estates’
Social Services Coordinator).
27
{
better tomorrows
Intergenerational Fun at Leighton Elderly
Thanks to Good-Hearted Volunteer
Jean Getz, a former Sunday School teacher
has volunteered to read to the local children
who attend Jack and Jill Preschool in
Lehighton, PA.
Approximately once a month ( as weather
permits) starting in November, the children
will come to the Leighton Elderly with their
teachers.
The children enjoy their walk from their
preschool to the high-rise as they get to see
the many sites of the town and travel into the
community.After a warm welcome from Jean
and other residents when they arrive, a wonderful story is read by Jean and the children
are served cookies and juice.
While the children are regaling the story
among one another, Jean asks them questions about the story that was read.
Its a wonderful connection between the
residents and the children, and they both are
looking forward to this time together in the
community.
Making “Back to School” Fun
Janie’s Garden hosted a celebration for its young
residents to kick off back to school. Derrick Kirce,
Better Tomorrows Social Services Coordinator,
for our Janie’s Garden community in Sarasota,
Florida, tells us 100 Backpacks with school
supplies were distributed along with 150 school
supply bags. They served 200 hotdogs, 200 hamburgers and they even provided free haircuts for
75 boys and free hairstyles for 20 girls. Hundreds
of Smiles were created!
Are you on Linked-In?
The Michaels Organization has a
Linked-in Group. You can access
all Michaels’ social media accounts,
Twitter, Facebook, and Linked-In,
from www.TheMichaelsOrg.com
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Employee Resources
Michaels Offers New Employee
Assistance Program to Employees
In September 2013, The Michaels Organization introduced a new benefit for all employees and
their household members. MHN, a partner of MetLive is providing confidential and voluntary assistance through an Employee Assistance Program. When you experience life’s challenges, your EAP
is here to help. There is no charge to employees or their household members who use the services
of the EAP. Work and Life Services available through the EAP include:
n Legal Services
n Financial Services
n Childcare and Eldercare Assistance
n Identity Theft Recovery Services
n Daily Living Services
n Employer Consultation Services
Learn more by calling Member Services at 1-800-511-3920 or visit the EAP website.
[https://members.mhn.com/external/public/default/homepage]
2014 Holiday Schedule
erv
been established for obs
The following schedule has
Holiday
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
President’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veteran’s Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
ance by all full time emplo
yees for the year 2014:
Date
January 1, 2014
Day
Wednesday
January 20, 2014
Monday
February 17, 2014
Monday
May 26, 2014
Monday
July 4, 2014
Friday
September 1, 2014
Monday
October 13, 2014
Monday
November 11, 2014
Tuesday
November 27, 2014
November 28, 2014
Thursday
Friday
Wednesday
Thursday
December 24, 2014
December 25, 2014
yees.
ty and home office emplo
le is the same for proper
The 2014 Holiday Schedu
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10/31/13
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O n e La s t L o o k
Three Cheers for 40 Years!
The Michaels Organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary
this year, but for Mike Levitt, success goes even further back
than that. In this photo, Mike holds one of his favorite possessions – a mortgage stamped “Paid in Full” for a property Mike
built in 1968. Mike says that “our commitment to communities
has made those communities committed to us.” Staying in a
community for 40 years and then some and “keeping properties in our portfolio for generations” is just one more reason,
The Michaels Organization has been able to grow and thrive
for four decades.
Happy Anniversary year and THANK YOU to all the Michaels
teammates in all our companies whose hard work has led to
40 years of housing excellence.
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