HOMETEAM RECEIVES ARTHUR RUTENBERG HOMES – VENDOR OF THE YEAR HONORS

Clearwater, FL – August 11, 2014– The 23rd annual Arthur Rutenberg Homes Pride In Partnership awards dinner was held June 18th at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on Clearwater Beach. Awards were presented to ARH franchisees and vendor partners who exhibited noteworthy performances during the past year.

Mark Refosco, Franchisee and Adam Merrill, Building Company President, were named the 2014 Builders of the Year. Mark and Adam were honored for their first class internal organization, aggressive and professional marketing and for their satisfied customers who speak to the high quality of construction and service they provide.

Barry Rutenberg presented the Chairman’s Award to Mitch Genda. The Chairman’s Award is an award to recognize special achievement and is not awarded every year. Mitch was honored for his extra effort and perseverance that helped make Paragon Homes of Charlotte the leader in showcasing the new Southern Plan Collection. Also, for his willingness to share his experience and perspective in support of the ARH Franchise network. He has welcomed franchise candidates to his company and spent generous amounts of personal time explaining the benefits of the ARH Franchise with great success.

Vendor of the Year honors went to HomeTeam Pest Defense. This award speaks for itself, as it is voted on by the ARH franchisees. HomeTeam started with one franchise over 12 years ago and have worked diligently over the years proving their product enhances the value of our homes. Their commitment to servicing our franchises and homeowners has propelled them to one of our premier vendors. Accepting the award for HomeTeam was Steve Beam, Laura Claypool, Mike Prewitt and Sergio Terzado.

The Builder Gold Cup Award went to Jim Sanders and Larry Sandles of SandStar Homes for the third straight year. The Builder Gold Cup is awarded to the franchise with the highest customer satisfaction rating this past year based on customer surveys. It recognizes outstanding performance in critical success factors, including service promptness, courtesy of staff, quality control, and the addressing of customers’ concerns – all as rated by its customers. SandStar Homes scored 95% in overall satisfaction and 98% of those respondents would recommend them.

The Vendor Gold Cup was presented to Moen for this vendor partner’s exceptional customer service to our franchisees, their homeowners, the Design Studios and ARH Model Home designers. For over 34 years Moen has demonstrated exemplary dedication and commitment to all of our franchises. Accepting the award for Moen were Chris Forbrick, Alex Hernandez and Shane Kelly.

Two Best Model Awards were presented. The Best Model Southern Plan Collection was awarded to Monterey Bay-Raleigh for the Silver Oak model in Seville. The Best Model Florida Plan Collection was given to Nelson Homes for the Amalfi model located at The Concession. Both models exhibit good decisions from the choice of a great lot to the right plan, specifications and furnishings.

The Best Model Interior Designer for the Southern Plan Collection and the Florida Plan Collection were also presented. here is no such thing as a great model without great interior design. Cindy Alander won the Southern award this year for her outstanding work on the Bordeaux at The Club at Longview. The Florida award went to Kelley Vitorino for her excellent display of styling, sophistication and livability in the Castellina model in Port St. Lucie.

The Award for Communication Excellence, the ACE award, is presented to Arthur Rutenberg Home’s vendor partner who, over the past year, has provided the best product training and customer service to ARH builders and Design Studios. The recipient of this year’s ACE Award was KitchenCraft Cabinetry in recognition of their great field representation and superior training. Tim Sempek, Scott Tilley and Mike Matson accepted the award.