Gilbert & Sheppard Group honored Nationally and Locally in the same week.
Two events relevant to our team took place this week which honored the efforts of businesses and individuals throughout 2012. At the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show (IBS), Gilbert & Sheppard Group was honored with a Silver “Best of 50+ Housing Award” for a Print Advertising campaign targeting “boomer buyers” for Saluda River Club.
During IBS, Betsy was acknowledged along with others from the Atlanta-based chapter of Professional Women in Building for their successful membership drive to start a new chapter for Georgia’s HBA.
On the local front, at its annual Gala, the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce gave our team the very special honor of local “Business of the Year.”
We are sincerely humbled by these accolades and look forward to the many opportunities ahead for 2013.
Even in this month filled with special events and parties, the annual holiday party hosted by NAHB’s 50+ Housing Council stood out! Betsy Sheppard and Louise Plonowski of The Gilbert & Sheppard Group celebrated on Tuesday, December 11 with fellow 50+ Housing Council members and guests at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta.
In addition to a great lunch and some splendid networking opportunities, the guests appreciated the thoughtful and illuminating keynote address by NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. He highlighted the current state of the economy in the US, and in Atlanta in particular, including the prospects for the 50+ housing market.
Some of the major points of Mr. Crowe made during his speech were:
- There is no consistent national trend.
- Recovery is local, and it is spreading.
- The country is transitioning from a lack of demand to a lack of supply.
- We are seeing promising housing data in a not so promising economy.
Above all, he noted that consumer confidence is increasing, and there are currently more serious homebuyers than in the past few years.
“I am especially encouraged by Mr. Crowe’s focus on the positive housing indicators that show promise for the future,” noted Betsy Sheppard, who will serve on the 2013 board of directors for the Atlanta 50+ Housing Council. “I also was very interested in learning more about the NAHB expectations for the next 24 months.”
For more information and insights in the current housing market, check out NAHB’s blog, or visit www.housingeconomics.com.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is thrilled to be promoting the work of Scott Foster – Illustrator/Author of “The Magic Series” Christmas stories. Be sure to “like” The Magic Snowflake” on Facebook.
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Illustrator-Author Scott Foster presents a sneak peek into “The Magic of Santa’s Elves.”
In the third book of The Magic Series, Bradley explores the wonder of The North Pole and shares details about Santa’s Elves and other magical mysteries previously known only to Santa and his helpers. Creator, Scott Foster is sharing snippets of the next book at this season’s book readings and signing events. The much-anticipated release of book three will be announced after Bradley’s journals and sketches have been carefully assembled and re-told through Foster’s magical writing and illustrations.
Foster’s imaginative explanations of Christmas magic and captivating illustrations transport us to a world where snow tastes like sugar cookies, snowpeople talk, a sled really flies, and the North Pole is home to Santa and many other special helpers. Continue reading The Magic Series by Scott Foster Continues…
The 2012 OBIE Awards were held November 3rd and Gilbert & Sheppard Group was honored with 2 GOLD Awards and 1 Silver Award. The creative team earned the judges’ top scores for a print ad campaign, a direct mail campaign, and an overall advertising campaign.
Betsy Sheppard and Kerrie Gilbert accepted the 3 awards on behalf their team who worked on the award-winning campaigns.
“We’re very proud to be acknowledged for our work and its positive impact on our client’s success.” (Betsy Sheppard)
Each year the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s OBIE Awards recognize outstanding achievement in home building, sales, and marketing for the North Georgia real estate industry.
“We are humbled and grateful to be among those awarded for excellence in what we enjoy doing.” (Kerrie Gilbert)
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is a team of award-winning marketing consultants, brand experts, creative writers, graphic designers and website innovators. We each have multifaceted talents and expertise to help our clients succeed. www.GilbertSheppard.com
Betsy Sheppard of Gilbert & Sheppard Group was recently invited to become a Charter Member of the new Ellijay, Georgia Chapter of “Optimist International.” The Optimist Club is an outstanding youth service organization. By believing in young people and empowering them to be their best, Optimist volunteers make this world a better place to live. If you are interested in more information about their efforts, please email betsy@gilbertsheppard.com or visit http://www.optimist.org/
Kerrie Gilbert and Betsy Sheppard attended the 2012 Lifelong Communities Summit: Transforming the Way We Live Together. As marketing specialists for the senior housing industry, they also participated in a Pre-Summit Meeting held at The Commerce Club in downtown Atlanta on October 3. At the Pre-Summit, a select group of attendees shared information about programs and initiatives related to Lifelong Communities and provided input for the national conversations about creating communities people want to grow up in and grow old in. A reception was held afterwards at the offices of Atlanta Magazine.
On October 4, the main conference took place at the Atlanta Regional Commission’s office at the Loudermilk Center for Regional Community. Over 200 attendees were present as they enjoyed presentations and open discussion about Lifelong Communities Programs. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please click on www.atlantaregional.com/aging-resources.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is excited to congratulate Saluda River Club on winning the 2012 Pinnacle Award for Best Overall Sales & Marketing and the first ever Pinnacle Award for Best Community in South Carolina by the Home Builders Association of South Carolina!
The Pinnacle Awards, announced at the Homebuilders Association of South Carolina’s 2012 Celebration of Excellence on September 20th, are a great honor in the real estate industry. The awards represent exceptional craftsmanship as well as excellence in sales and marketing. Saluda River Club’s Pinnacle Award for Best Overall Sales and Marketing included Best Website, Best Brochure and Best Color Ad. This is the second straight year SRC has won the Pinnacle Award for Best Website.
We are proud to be working with Saluda River Club as their marketing partner and website design-management team. It is an honor to be associated with the only community in South Carolina to win “Best Community” awards on the local, state and national levels. Saluda River Club has won the Regal Award for Community of the Year from the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia twice and the Best in American Living Award from the National Association of Home Builders.
Congratulations to Saluda River Club and all of the wonderful people on the SRC team! It has been a pleasure working with you to make Saluda River Club the Best Community in South Carolina!
To learn more about Saluda River Club, visit their award-winning website, SaludaRiverClub.com or call 803-358-3969.
For more information about Gilbert & Sheppard Group, visit GilbertSheppard.com.
Olde Town Grayson has sold all completed inventory including the two model homes which opened in December. More homes are under construction as the community is enjoying a resurgence of home-buyer interest.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group has worked with the developers of Olde Town Grayson to re-brand and re-position the active adult community located in Grayson, GA. The Lock & Leave Lifestyle of the beautiful gated neighborhood offers attached villa plans and detached single-family homes ranging from 1,800 to 3,200 square feet, with maintenance-free exteriors. For more information, please visit OldeTownGrayson.com.
Members of Gilbert & Sheppard Group will be speaking at the 2012 50+ University Day in October. The annual event is hosted by the Atlanta 50+ Housing Council and offers Continuing Education for builders, remodelers and real estate professionals. Our team will present case studies and proven practices for successful real estate marketing – specifically for the 50+ buyer. We will show how effective uses of traditional and non-traditional marketing can attract qualified leads and influence sales. For more details about the event visit 50plusuniversity.com
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is happy to share incredible news for the active adult community! It is an exciting time for seniors who are looking for work now that the AARP’s new Work Reimagined program is being implemented. The program is aimed at helping the older population to find jobs and keep financially secure for retirement. A recent article featured on SeniorHousingNews.com titled Labor Department, AARP Focus on Helping Seniors Gain Jobs, Retirement Security, discusses the new initiative.
According to the article, Work Reimagined is a “free program [that] gives users access to job listings posted by employers committed to recruiting workers of all ages and provides work resources and tools.” It will be one of several new initiatives benefitting from nearly $260 million in grants from the Labor Department to increase employment and retirement security for seniors.
“Through the program, individuals age 55 and older receive training through part-time, service-oriented positions in their communities while earning the highest of the federal, state, or local minimum wage.” This is a wonderful new development for seniors who are not financially stable enough to retire and will need to find new jobs in order to live comfortably.
The AARP received the largest amount of funding from the grants. In total, the 16 one-year grants from the Labor Department will support over 35,000 positions in addition to the more than 10,000 that have previously received funding through the Senior Community Service Employment program.
To read the entire article on SeniorHousingNews.com, click here. For more information on the Work Reimagined program, click here.
As marketers for the active adult and retirement communities, Gilbert & Sheppard is excited about these amazing new opportunities for the adult population! To learn more about Gilbert & Sheppard Group and how we can help grow your business, visit our website GilbertSheppard.com.
