Happy Holidays by Steven Parker, President
As we approach the end of another remarkable year, I want to extend my warmest wishes for the holiday season and the upcoming New Year. December is when we come together with our loved ones, reflect on the year's achievements, and look forward to new opportunities. It is a time for gratitude, celebration, and the spirit of giving.At FirstService Residential, we are deeply committed to enhancing the quality of life for the residents in our communities and our associates onsite or in the office providing them support they need to be successful in their role. We also want to ensure that FirstService Residential remains a “Great Place to Work.”
On behalf of the entire FirstService Residential team, I wish you a holiday season filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments. May your homes be filled with the warmth of the season, and may the New Year bring you happiness, good health, and the fulfillment of your personal and professional goals.
Deliver Exceptional Service by Michael Quagrello, VP, Community & Lifestyle
As we head into the New Year, we continue to look for ways to DELIVER exceptional customer service to enhance the lives of our residents. Here are three easy steps to ensure our teams DELIVER!- Established Expectations: Our teams must know what we expect of them.
- Hold Teams Accountable: Coach and Reward
- Be Consistent and Lead By Example: Set the tone and create a winning environment.
Annual Business Meeting Peer Nominations
We take great pride in our commitment to exceptional service, setting high standards, and recognizing the extraordinary efforts of our associates. So, we invite you to nominate associates who have personified our core values and delivered excellence, innovation, and exceptional customer service throughout 2023.
Please submit your nominations using the QR code to the right and help us spotlight those who truly embody our Mission and Core Values.
Veteran Appreciation Spotlight: Kenyatta Robinson
Each November, FirstService Residential honors the bravery and sacrifices of our associates who are members of the military community as part of our #FirstServeOthers Pillars. Whether you are a veteran, an active reservist, or have a history of service in your family, we pause in humble recognition of the demands and costs inherent to that service. Thank you for all you have done for our country and its grateful citizens.Today, we recognize Kenyatta Robinson, General Manager at Allure Las Vegas.
Thank you, Kenyatta, for all you have done for our country and for us as American citizens.
As a reminder, below is a list of organizations that do what’s right in support of those who have, and continue to risk, so much for our safety and freedom. Click on the names of each organization and if you find one that resonates with you, consider donating or volunteering.
Others have served us, and it’s the perfect time to do something in service to them.
- Operation Gratitude provides ways to express gratitude through volunteering time, resources, letter writing, sending care packages to deployed troops, first responders, veterans and recent graduates, among many others.
- Operation Care and Comfort is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization that provides ways to donate toiletries, greeting cards, restaurant condiments, money or tickets to sports games to troops, veterans and their dependents, and adopts military families to support them throughout the year.
- Operation Homefront is another 501(c)(3) nonprofit which provides critical financial assistance relief, transitional housing programs, caregiver support and recurring family support services to help military families overcome short-term difficulties so they don’t turn into long-term hardships.
- Soldiers’ Angels is a nonprofit organization that works to provide morale-boosting support to deployed servicemembers within VA hospitals across the country to support wounded veterans with military families through their relationship with Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
- The Mission Continues deploys veteran volunteers to under-resourced communities to work alongside nonprofit partners and community leaders to improve educational resources, tackle food insecurity, foster neighborhood identity, and more.
- The United Service Organizations, or USO, is a nonprofit providing a variety of programs and services to more than 250 locations, focusing on connection, strengthening, wellness and resiliency.
- A Million Thanks, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, provides support and appreciation to active military and veterans by sending letters and granting betterment of life wishes as well as providing higher education scholarships to their children.
Christina Marrero promoted to General Manager at One Queensridge Place
Congratulations to Christina Marrero who has been promoted from her position as Assistant General Manager to General Manager at One Queensridge Place in Las Vegas.
With nearly 20 years of experience as a Community Manager, Christina earned her CAM license prior to being hired as Assistant General Manager at One Queensridge Place where she uses her knowledge of HOA laws and procedures and her experience overseeing assets and managing operations, teams, and maintenance, and financials to oversee the Finance Committee, Social Committee, helped with Board meetings, manage financials, and works with the department heads to oversee operations.
Marrero says the support that she's received from FirstService Residential, and the One Queensridge Place community has been instrumental to her success,
“One Queensridge Place is one of the premier high rises in the valley and I feel blessed to be able to be given this amazing opportunity. The homeowners have been overwhelmingly supportive, and I enjoy working with the onsite team and amazing Board to improve the property and facilitate the many projects that One Queensridge Place has going on right now. I have learned so much in my short time here and look forward to continuing my growth at One Queensridge Place and First Service Residential.”
Marrero is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. After starting her career in retail and reaching Associate Store Manager, Christina leaped into Multi-Family Property Management where she found her passion for overseeing day-to-day operations and creating value for the client, the customers, and her team.
This year, Marrero was nominated to the Emerging Leaders Program before she was selected to be General Manager by the One Queensridge Place board and homeowners.
David and Bonnie Epstein Scholarship now accepting applications!
FirstService Residential has launched our 3rd annual David and Bonnie Epstein Scholarship. FirstService Residential established this $5,000 scholarship, renewable for up to four years, is open to associates in the U.S. or Canada, or their children, grandchildren, or spouses, who plan to continue their education at an accredited two- or four-year college or university (or equivalent) or CEGEP institution. The deadline to apply is January 17, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
One of the four recipients who received the scholarship in 2022, is Matthew Gallegos, the stepson of our very own Scott Jaegel, General Manager of Panorama Towers. Read all about it here.
On June 24, 2021, due to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, our FirstService family suffered the profound loss of David and Bonnie Epstein. David joined our leadership ranks in 1997 with the acquisition of Wentworth Property Management in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Through his passion for our business and entrepreneurial spirit, David’s significant contributions became the foundation for our East and New York business, as well as FirstService Financial.
After many years and leadership roles, David retired in 2018. He and his wife, David and Bonnie are survived by their son Jonathan, who shares their devotion to education and learning. David and Bonnie's passion for academics sparked the initiation of this program. Through this initiative, we continue to honor their legacy.
Click HERE for more information about the Epstein family and to access the application and program details.