The Greater Red River Apartment Association (GRRAA) held its 4^th annual Maintenance Mania competition at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fargo on November 17. This competition is held across the nation and includes several skills challenges based on common maintenance issues, such as installing a water heater, a deadbolt lock and even building a small race car.

“If you haven’t done it and you’re a maintenance tech in the area come check it out next year. It’s worth your while. Lot’s of fun.” said Jared Vasek.

Goldmark maintenance techs placed in 12 different overall and individual events.

Goldmark's 2022 Maintenance Mania Results:
 

Overall

Mike Erickson, Lake Crest, 3^rd Place

Jared Vasek, Sunwood, 5^th Place

Daniel Leal, Timberland, 10^th Place

Plank Installation

Mike Erickson, Lake Crest, 1^st Place

Water Heater

Brandon Adams-Knutson, Sunwood, 1^st Place

Daniel Leal, Timberland, 3^rd Place

Icemaker

Brandon Adams-Knutson, Sunwood, 1^st Place

Jared Vasek, Sunwood, 2^nd Place

Fire-CO Safety

Brandon Adams-Knutson, Sunwood, 1^st Place

Mike Erickson, Lake Crest, 2^nd Place

Jared Vasek, Sunwood, 3^rd Place

Key Control

Jared Vasek, Sunwood, 2^nd Place

Congratulations to each of you on a great job at this event!

View Maintenance Mania Photo Gallery

Interested in joining this incredible maintenance team? Check out our current career opportunities!
 

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Each year, we take the time to recognize and celebrate those who’ve gone above and beyond in their roles, persevered and excelled during challenging times, and provided residents, owners, and team members with exceptional customer service. At the Gold Awards Ceremony, nine different awards were presented to Goldmark team members by leadership during the event for all they accomplished in 2021. Take a look at our top performers below.

2021 TOP LEASING LEADERS

This award is given to the Leasing Specialist with the highest monthly average of new leases for the year.

1. Anne – Glen Pond Apartment Community
2. Julie – Lake Crest Apartment Community
3. Corey Burton – Sage Park Apartment Community

2021 TOP RETENTION LEADERS

This award is given to the Site Team that achieves the highest renewal percentage for the year.

1. Crossroads Apartment Community
2. Covington Court Apartment Community
3. Montreal Courts Apartment Community

MARK OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

This award is given to team members who demonstrate excellence in overall performance and in a manner that reflects the Goldmark values. Recipients are nominated by their peers.

• Anne – Glen Pond Apartment Community
• Melanie Weiland – Amberwood Court Apartment Community
• Travis – Bismarck
• Jennifer McKay – River North Apartment Community
• Mike – Stonebridge Apartment Community
• Whitney Shoemaker – Sunwood Apartment Community
• Ashlee Gossett – Parkwest Gardens Apartment Community
• Tiffany Anderson – Fargo Home Office

GOLD SERVICE AWARD

This peer nominated award is given to individuals or teams who consistently provide outstanding customer service to residents, client-owners, and Goldmark team members.

• Krystal Felthauser – Deerfield Apartment Community
• Chris – Maple Ridge Apartment Community
• Travis – Bismarck
• Kenzie Burkes – Sterling Pointe Apartment Community
• Eric Morsching – Montreal Courts Apartment Community
• Jill Wardwell – Minneapolis
• Julie Fischer – The Edge of Uptown Apartment Community
• Jill Mekalson – Crossroads Apartment Community
• Charisse – Kentwood Apartment Community
• Mary Senger – Fargo Home Office
• Kelsey Dahl – Fargo Home Office
• Tanya Fischer – Ashbury Apartment Community
• Maddy Kenninger – Fargo Home Office
• CARE Team – Fargo Home Office

GOLD MAINTENANCE AWARD

This award is given to Maintenance Technicians who excel in quality and customer service.

• Gary – Bismarck
• Carson – Danbury Apartment Community
• Indir – Ashbury Apartment Community
• John Davis – Parkwest Gardens Apartment Community
• Judes – Maplewood Bend Apartment Community
• Travis – Urban Plains Apartment Community
• Alberto Lopez – Beacon Hill Apartment Community
• Dave Mattson – Woodland Pines Apartment Community
• Thomas Rossi – Covington Court Apartment Community
• Mauro Nevarez – Maplewood Apartment Community
• Joseph Linegar – Grand Forks

GOLD NOI AWARD

This award is given to the top 3 site teams and the top Regional Manager who achieves the highest percentage of budgeted NOI for their portfolio for the year.

Sites Teams:

1. Crossroads Apartment Community in Fargo, ND
2. Urban Plains Apartment Community in Fargo, ND
3. River North Apartment Community in Fargo, ND

Regional Manager: Congratulations to Cydni Morgan in Fargo, ND!

GOLD NCR AWARD

This award is presented to the top 3 Site Teams that achieved the highest percentage of budgeted NCR for their portfolio for the year.

1. Sierra Ridge Apartment Community in Bismarck, ND
2. Urban Plains Apartment Community in Fargo, ND
3. Pinehurst Apartment Community in Fargo, ND

KINGSLEY EXCELLENCE AWARDS

This is presented to the top 3 properties in resident overall satisfaction received from our resident survey responses.

1. North Sky I
2. Sierra Ridge
3. Stonebridge

View all our communities that exceeded the Kingsley Apartment Industry score in our 2022 Kingsley Excellence article.

We'd like to thank all our award recipients for their dedication to our team, our residents, and our property owners. It does not go unnoticed! Check out the event photos on our Facebook page.

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Goldmark was founded in 1981 and has grown from two employees to over 600 employees managing more than 16,000 units. Over the years, diversity and inclusion have been a priority for Goldmark and a staple in their company culture. Goldmark's mission is to "Transform the lives of those we work with and those we serve." Goldmark President, Charley Poynter, pledges the following in the Goldmark Team Member Handbook: Goldmark will welcome and promote diversity at all levels of our organization, make inclusion part of its culture in creating a better living, be a safe place to have transparent conversations about diversity and inclusion, and to be a business where employees are safe to be their authentic selves. Diversity and inclusion are what Goldmark believes creates a great company, full of unique individuals that use their own strengths to better their work and the individuals around them.

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion has always been a focus for Goldmark, and can be seen in their training, policies, and partners. Annual training on topics of diversity, inclusion, and equity for all employees, as well as strict adherence to policies and training for Fair Housing Laws creates an inclusive environment for current and future employees and residents. Partnering with LanguageLink to create high-quality communication between residents and team members minimizes language roadblocks to better serve our residents. Additionally, partnering with community organizations such as the United Way, YWCA, Lutheran Social Services, and universities to actively recruit diverse individuals, including New Americans, Immigrants, and Refugees is an on-going focus.

Because of their commitment to recruiting diverse individuals, in July of 2019, Goldmark earned the “Inclusive Workforce Employer” (IWE) designation, which is a designation developed by the West Minnesota Community Workforce Inclusion Council and Department of Employment and Economic Development as a blueprint for internalizing the priorities and values of diversity and inclusion. The IWE requires the following:

Goldmark leadership’s consistent commitment to diversity and inclusion made them one of the first recipients of the IWE designation. The I-WE designation reflects the fact that everybody, regardless of who they are, how they define themselves, or to what population or demographic they belong, are welcome at Goldmark. Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Whether your dance is the Time Warp, the Macarena, or the Running Man, we are glad you came to our party. Now, can you teach us some of those sweet moves?

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The Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce held it’s annual corporate cup on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Thirteen team members represented Goldmark in a variety of friendly competitions including kickball, volleyball, obstacle course, and tug of war. It was a great team building day and a fun way to connect with other professionals in our region.

View our photo album.

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Our leasing team members from across North Dakota joined together in Fargo, ND, on May 14th, for an afternoon of learning and motivation in our Creating a Better Living Sales & Service Summit.

Team members started the day with a word from our CEO, Joel Thomsen. He explained who Goldmark is, how we serve, and the vision of the company. After a Q&A, Joel turned the microphone over to one of Fargo’s Regional Managers, Kristen Sullivan. Kristen explained different selling personas, and inspired the team to think of themselves as consultants and build relationships with prospective and current residents. We also heard from local speaker, Mitch Johnson about customer service and how we interact with residents on a daily basis before wrapping up the day with brainstorming led by Vice Presidents Jay Duden and Amanda Welk.

After a day full of learning, inspiration, and celebration, everyone enjoyed relaxing and connecting with each other before the day was concluded.

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To celebrate another successful year at GOLDMARK, awards were given at the Annual Meeting to honor those who serve GOLDMARK and its customers with the highest level of customer service and dedication.

GOLD Maintenance Award

The GOLD Maintenance awards recognizes Maintenance Technicians that consistently provided top notch service as indicated by our residents using the Kingsley Survey feedback program over the past year. The recipients are selected from nominations from the Field Managers.

• Steve Heier, Senior Maintenance Tech, Sierra Ridge – Bismarck
• James Schumm, Senior Maintenance Tech, Carlton Place – Fargo
• DeWayne Simonson, Senior Maintenance Tech, Timberland – Fargo

GOLD Leasing Award

• Sheldon Lang, Assistant Site Manager, Sierra Ridge – Bismarck

GOLD Retention Award

• Beacon Hill Team, Omaha

GOLD Service

Individuals are selected from nominations from peers for providing great customer service.

• Della Alick, Site Manager, Covington Court Apartment Community – Minneapolis
• Wendy Jondahl, Senior Accountant, Home Office – Fargo
• Govinda Nepal, Assistant Site Manager, Maplewood Bend Apartment Community – Fargo
• Peter Schaub, Senior Maintenance Tech, Covington Court Apartment Community – Minneapolis
• Alyssa Sitz, Site Manager, Stoneview Apartment Community – Fargo

GOLD CUPS

Gold Cup – NCR – Oxford Apartment Community

Gold Cup – Service – Operations Support Team

Gold Cup – NOI – Cheryl Gallo, Minneapolis

Kingsley Awards

The following sites were recognized for exceeding the apartment industry’s score (4.10 out of 5) for the category of Overall Satisfaction :

1. Valley View Apartment Community, Minneapolis – 4.52
2. Stonebridge Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.40
3. Sterling Pointe Apartment Community, 4.38
4. Deerfield Apartment Community, Omaha – 4.36
5. Crossroads Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.35
6. Stonefield Apartment Community, Bismarck – 4.31
7. Crookston Apartment Community, Grand Forks Region – 4.28
8. Urban Plains Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.20
9. Pinehurst Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.19
10. Sierra Ridge Apartment Community, Bismarck – 4.19
11. Ashbury Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.17
12. Oxford Apartment Community, Fargo – 4.16
13. Covington Court, Minneapolis – 4.11

The Gold Cup in Customer Service was given to Valley View for achieving the highest Overall Satisfaction score in 2018.

Mark of Excellence

The Mark of Excellence is the highest award given at the Annual Meeting. It is awarded to individuals nominated by peers and selected for demonstrating high level performance and commitment to GOLDMARK values.

• Cheryl Gallo, Area Manager – Minneapolis
• Cate Heinen, Site Manager, Danbury Apartment Community – Fargo
• Dion Johnson, Maintenance Tech – Minneapolis
• Scott King, Human Resources Generalist, Home Office, Fargo
• Marisa Thomas, Director of Financial Operations, Home Office/Fargo
• Stephanie Wohlenhaus, Site Manager, Luxford Apartment Community – Fargo

For photos of the Annual Meeting and the award recipients, visit our Facebook Album.

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The benefits of practicing gratitude are nearly endless! People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the people and things they’re thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems!

Additionally, research shows that regular gratitude practices even changes the way our brains function. A recent research study found that simply expressing gratitude may have long lasting effects on the brain!

To get people thinking and practicing their acts of gratitude, we started a month long Attitude of Gratitude Challenge.

Each week, team members filled out a tracker with 3 things they are grateful for and a weekly focus reflection. At the end of each week, there were bonus challenges like random acts of kindness, thanking someone, and sharing how we’ll practice gratitude beyond the challenge going forward. Each bonus completed earned team members an entry into a drawing for fun gratitude prizes!

At the conclusion of the 4 week challenge, team members emailed their gratitude tracker for an entry into the grand prize drawing for gift cards to a local charity on Giving Hearts Day!

There 5 grand prize drawing winners were:

1. Tara B, Business Support Specialist
2. Mary S, Director of Innovation and Field Support
3. Amanda Voelkel, Leasing Specialist
4. Melissa Baker, Maintenance Manager
5. Samantha Christle, Assistant Site Manager

Our next wellness challenge will start in March!
 

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Team members and their families in our Fargo region were invited to enjoy a picnic and Redhawks baseball game at Newman Outdoor Field. An enjoyable time was had by all as we were graced with beautiful weather.

The game also served as Military Appreciation Night, thanks to the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce, providing some incredible extras, including a beautiful delivery of the flag from the U.S. Navy SEAL team of Patriot Parachuters. Country music artist Lee Greenwood also sang one of his greatest hits prior to the start of the game. To top it all off, the Redhawks won 5-3 against the Texas AirHogs.

Thank you to our team members for all you do to serve our residents! We'd also like to express our appreciation to our team members and residents, both active and retired, who serve our country via the military.
 

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Our leasing team members from across North Dakota joined together in Fargo, ND, on April 25, for an afternoon of learning and motivation in our Elevating Sales and Service Summit.

Team members celebrated the successful ratings we've received for leasing in through our resident survey program. We also heard from three of our most successful leasing specialists on tips and best practices. Teams then had an opportunity to talk about how they can positively impact the lives of our prospects and residents while providing great service.

We were also joined by local speaker, Eric Piela, who shared great insights on creating a Successful State of Mind through finding your passions, self-confidence, and mastering your motivation. After Eric's energetic presentation, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to network with each other.

View our photo album on Facebook.
 

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To celebrate the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, our wellness program introduced a new challenge to get team members moving!

The goal? With a partner, make the 6,000 mile trek from Fargo to PyeongChang by March 4th. This equates to each individual exercising at least 15 minutes a day to reach the host city in 47 days.

From January 15th until March 4th, team members were encouraged to track their daily exercise minutes, and convert those minutes into miles to count for their journey. 15 minutes of exercise equaled 60 miles.

Team members were able to track their mileage online to see how far along the journey they were compared to other teams who were racing for gold.

Between the 15 participating teams, the total distance traveled was 139,692 miles! That’s equivalent to 34,923 minutes of exercise over 47 days!

Everyone is looking forward to the next challenge, Ripped & Lean, a weight loss challenge

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