River Region Apartment Association
December 2018
Thank you, Angie Ingram, Attorney at Law, for your generosity and support of the River Region Apartment Association. Without your sponsorship, the 2018 events and education for our membership would not be possible!
Diamond Sponsor - Apartments.com
Thank you, Apartments.com, for your generosity and support of the River Region Apartment Association. Without your sponsorship, the 2018 events and education for our membership would not be possible! Be sure to reach out to our local Co-Star Rep, Brandy Hitson, for all of your advertising needs.
Diamond Sponsor Testimonial
My company and I have gained so much from being a River Region Apartment Association Diamond Sponsor for 2018! We have been highlighted at each event throughout the year, and given opportunities to host events that directly placed myself and my team in front of decision makers and signers. Being allowed as the only vendors at each and every RRAA Education Event was one of our main benefits from this year’s sponsorship opportunity. I would recommend this opportunity to any company who has to request approval for sponsorships. This one-time fee allowed us an ALL ACCESS PASS to the River Region leaders we were interested in forming and maintaining relationships with. Five Star Sponsorship Opportunity!
Brandy Hitson
Apartments.com
Diamond Gems
Trending Tips and Noteworthy Info From Our Diamond Sponsors
Apartments.com
Celebrate Change- As the end of 2018 approaches, there are some quick things that you can do to help increase your lead to lease ratio on site. Take a few moments to log in to your Apartments.com ad and refresh your information. Studies have found these tips to be most successful when leading online searchers into becoming lease holders.
1: Give it a SHOT! 20-25 Photos are all you really need to get started. Studies show most renters will not view more than that at one time. If you have more, you can move some to the storage folder on the site and not lose those incredible images.
2: Highlight your best features: Make sure your online advertising cover photo is of something that matters to your prospective resident. Try to showcase your best features including the community center, pool, fitness center, or kitchen of an actual apartment home. Monument signs are great for in person curb appeal, but renters tend to click on photos of things they can’t see when they drive by.
3: Give 24 Hour Tours: Communities with 3-D tours receive on average 45% more leads than those that don’t have them. A prospective resident can tour your community 24/7 with most package levels on Apartments.com. Ask your local rep how to schedule yours ASAP.
4: Change it up! When is the last time you searched for something online, and came across the same information you read 5 years ago? How did that make you feel about the product or service offered? You can update your ad with apartments.com in less time than it takes to read these hints. Change the wording, rearrange the photos, or simply show current availability or specials. Bonus: Whenever you update your listing on Apartments.com, you move to the top of your package level in the search results.
5: Show who you are! Do you have photos of you or your team helping a resident with packages, or giving a treat to a pet? Share them! Make your residents famous for being part of your community by tagging them online as often as possible. Get their permission of course, but residents stay longer at communities that they have an online connection with. Have them write a review or tag your community in their posts to gain life-long residents!
Use PIN: 9736 to download photos.
River Region Industry Awards Winners
We had a FANTASTIC evening recognizing our industry's finest! We even managed to solved a murder or two!
As always, thank you to our Diamond and Gold Sponsors!
A big thank you also goes out to our event sponsors, Darby Law Firm and RentPath.
Congratulations to our 2018 RRAA Industry Award Winners!
Leasing Consultant of the Year
Karleagh Taylor
Assistant Manager of the Year
Megan Wilson
Property Manager of the Year
Deanna Moreland
Maintenance Team of the Year
Legends at Taylor Lakes
Regional Manager of the Year
Lisa Baker
Community of the Year
The Reserve at Billingsley Place
Property Management Company of the Year
Matrix Residential
Vendor of the Year
Larry Darby Law Firm
Associate of the Year
Angie Ingram
Bill Johnson Award
Mark Courson
Congrats to our IGNITE SCHOLARSHIP Award Winners!!
NALP Designation
Ashley Stoddart
CAM Designation
Kalyn Guthrie
CAMT Designation
Tommy Smith
In 2019 we'll change things up a bit. We're planning to combine Beautification Awards and River Region Industry Awards into one night fantastic evening in December.
We'd love your thoughts and feedback!
Please complete survey by Wednesday, December 19th.
O’Connor Communications, a Knoxville, TN based publishing company, is excited to announce the acquisition of the Montgomery Apartment Guide in November 2018. O’Connor Communications has been successfully publishing and managing apartment guides throughout the Southeast for the past 40 years. Their plan is to launch a brand new magazine and website in January 2019. O’Connor is also pleased to announce that Kim Mulkey is the Regional Sales Manager working in both the Montgomery & Mobile markets. You can reach Kim locally at 334-312-6451 or kim@alaptguide.com.
2019 RRAA Events Calendar (Dates Subject to Change)
January 16th - Membership and Legislative Update Brunch
February 13th - Open Committee Meeting
February - Fair Housing Seminar
March - Golf Tournament
April 10th - Committee Meeting
April 25th - Maintenance Appreciation
April - HVAC Class and Leasing/Marketing Class
May - CPO Course
June 12th Committee Meeting
June 13th - Unwind Mixer
July - Mold Remediation and Bedbug Education Breakfast
August 22nd - Legal Review/Legislative Update
September 11th - Committee Meetings
September - Cornhole Tournament
October 17th or 22nd - Maintenance Mania/Karaoke Night
November 13 - Committee Meeting
November 14th - Safety Breakfast with MFD and MPD
December 12 - RRAA Awards
CHECK OUT OUR CHARITY OF THE YEAR!
Often times displaced Residents are placed into a vacant apartment home or even in the clubhouse until a plan is devised for the next steps. Hatching Hope will be providing air mattresses, comfy bedding, and much needed supplies for that first night or two following a disaster. We will also have special focus on children by providing hand made blankets from local churches and schools and a book or coloring books to keep them focused on the good things! Each and every dollar will be used to build awesome care kits for these victims. And you can actually sponsor someone for $30! This will provide a victim with a air mattress, comfy bedding, and much needed toiletries. There is no greater feeling than that of helping others. Join us in this effort to make a difference across the state of Alabama! As always, we graciously accept your gift of time, so feel free to email Keli @ hatchinghope@gmail.com to see how you can help today! Find us on Facebook: Hatching Hope
RRAA is a corporate sponsor for Hatching Hope of Alabama!
Membership Mentions
LOTS OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE!
Maintenance Technicians WANTED - Matrix Residential is hiring two full time maintenance techs in Montgomery. They must be HVAC certified with at least 2 years of maintenance experience. Please send your resumes to cdpeppertree@matrixresidential.com and cdtapestry@matrixresidential.com
- LMS is seeking a Full Time Property Manager, Assistant Manager, Leasing Consultant and Maintenance Technicians. Please contact Lesley at ltraver@lms-realestate.com.
- Arden Pointe is looking for a full time leasing consultant. Must have a minimum of 2 years experience. Qualified individual must be organized, detail oriented, friendly, self motivated, and eager to face challenges. Must be willing to work some weekends and do some outside marketing. Email resumes to rochell@arbourvalley.com .
- The Retreat at Dublin Creek in Montgomery is looking for a qualified leasing consultant with strong marketing and customer service skills. Please contact Lisa at dublin@hallmarkco.com for more information.
- Prattville at Highland Lakes is looking for an experienced leasing consultant. Please email Susan at speroni@bmresidential.com
If you would like to add to our mentions section, please submit all mentions to rraa1972@gmail.com by the 25th of every month.
2019 NAA IMPORTANT DATES!
February 12 - 13
Omni Orlando at Championsgate | Orlando, FL
NAA Spring Governance Meeting and Capitol Conference
March 5 - 6
Grand Hyatt Washington | Washington, DC
NAA Education Conference and Exposition
June 26 - 29
Colorado Convention Center | Denver, CO
Get Involved!
About the River Region Apartment Association
In 1972, a group of Montgomery apartment industry professionals met and formed The Montgomery Apartment Managers’ Association. Since 1972, this association has grown and transformed into what is now known as The River Region Apartment Association and includes twenty-five counties in south-central Alabama. The River Region Apartment Association is a non-profit trade association dedicated to unifying apartment industry professionals through education, legislative advocacy and member services. RRAA members are rental housing owners, property management firms, apartment communities and companies that supply products or services to rental properties.
RRAA provides educational opportunities each year such as legal seminars, leasing seminars, and annual fair housing training. Much thought and planning has been put into annual events such as the Beautification Awards, Maintenance Mania and the River Region Awards in order to recognize our industry professionals and to allow industry professionals an opportunity to network. The Association communicates to the members through a monthly newsletter, The RRAA Insider, and the RRAA website has a fresh and informative look to provide members with local, state and national apartment industry information.
As always, a membership in the River Region Apartment Association makes you a member of the Alabama Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.
Contact:
Association Executive
Email: rraa1972@gmail.com
Website: www.rraaonline.org
Location: P.O. Box 640422, Pike Road, AL 36064
Phone: (334) 450-1455
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rraa1972/?ref=settings
2019 Board of Directors
President
Samantha Lord, Barrington Place at Somerset
334-356-6850
President-Elect
Taylor Holley, Halcyon Park
334-244-1946
Treasurer
Angela Tucker
334-450-1455
Secretary
Ashley Stoddart, Inland Residential
334-239-7783
Past President
Jeff Davis, Hunt Companies
334-262-1630
Parliamentarian
Eddie Gillenwater, Arbour Valley
334-676-1342
Association Executive
Katie Suchocki
334-450-1455
Board Members
Christine Kessler, The Heights
334-261-6333
Amy Owens, The Grove at Stone Park
334-277-8770
Joe Johnson, Hunt Companies
334-262-1630
Rochelle Crawford, Arden Pointe
334-272-1995
Mary Alison McGuire, Grandview Pointe
334-285-1220
Kalyn Guthrie, The Heights
334-261-6333
Kevin Kiser, HD Supply
334-462-8600
Brandy Hitson, Apartments.com
334-313-2261
Cori Byrd, RentPath
334-324-4013
Angie Ingram, Angie Ingram, Attorney at Law, LLC
205-440-1786
Logan Hardy, Landscape Workshop
334-318-3264
Brett Wallace, Carol's Carpet
334-272-5400