Meet Raleigh, All-Around Office Guru
By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator
It’s been a little while since I had a chance to interview someone, so today I sat down with our Sales and Marketing Supervisor, Raleigh Thomas to hear about how she ended up with Cedarglen.
Raleigh has been with Cedarglen Homes since 2005, when a friend referred her to the company (as with many of our employees, they know great people!). She started out as a Junior Estimator, and continued to move up to Senior Estimator. With five years of experience, Raleigh was promoted to Estimating Supervisor. She held this position for two years, until February of this year. The time was right and she moved over to the Sales side of the office. Raleigh is a great addition to our Sales and Marketing team and is always cheerful, no matter what the time!
Before coming to Cedarglen, Raleigh attended the University of Lethbridge. Here, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a Major in Psychology. Raleigh says she puts her education to use more than one would expect, as she deals with customers and suppliers on a regular basis. She also mentioned her analytical mind helped her move easily from psychology to estimating. Throughout her time at Cedarglen, Raleigh has also attended many courses at the PHBIA (Professional Home Builders Institute of Alberta). The most interesting of those, she says, was Land Development, as it gave her a better understanding of what happens to the land before we start construction.
Raleigh’s day consists of a long list of items, and it changes on a daily (or hourly) basis. Raleigh is the one who receives all the new home sales from our sales team. She then reviews them and signs off. In the Design Centre, Raleigh takes care of pricing codes; so far hardwood and granite have been completed, with plumbing next on the list. This way, when a customer comes into the Design Centre, the price will be easy to look up. Raleigh looks after the cabinet pricing as well (in combination with our amazing cabinet guy, Ryan), and also works with customers throughout all of this! Wow! Raleigh considers herself a problem-solver, so everyone in the office knows who to come to for help.
Last, here is Raleigh’s Favorite Things:
Favorite Showhome: The Manning in Riverstone – she liked it so much she bought one for herself!
Favorite Pastime: Traveling with her husband and family; she is going to San Francisco next.
Favorite Restaurant: Brava Bistro on 17 Avenue
Favorite thing about working at Cedarglen: The people! She is never doing the same thing – even in 8 years of work.
Thanks to Raleigh for taking the time out of her day to sit and chat for a bit! Questions for her? Post them below.
- Ashley
Auburn Bay Showhome Decor + Pinterest
By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator
Our new showhomes in Auburn Bay have been open for a few weeks now and everyone is raving over the different styles in each home. We are always getting asked where we find the furniture and décor items throughout the showhomes. Our designer Sandi works tirelessly, scouring the internet and visiting every home decorating store in the city. We decided to make it a little easier and have created a pinboard for each showhome on our Pinterest page, so you can get the look! Of course, we are always happy to tell you where we found something, however, this makes it a little more fun and gives you the opportunity to be your own designer.
The Newbrook V: Country Farmhouse (Traditional)
Get the Look HERE!
This showhome is reminiscent of the French countryside. It features many antique inspired items and art, such the utensil pictures in the formal dining room. The aged wood hutch and side tables add to the farmhouse feel. Lastly, rich fabrics give a final touch to the house; I especially love the black and white patterned chairs in the great room!
The Enchant: Eclectic
Get the Look HERE!
The Enchant showhome combines the best of modern and traditional stylings. Dark wood furniture is used throughout the house. This is complimented by the ivory touches of accent pillows and abstract art. The home has a very relaxed feel, with natural elements incorporated through the many plants and stone wall in the great room.
The Aspen: Modern and Sleek
Get the Look HERE!
Our Aspen showhome is a favorite for its masculine and modern décor. The home is decorated with lots of chrome and ceramic art, such as the miniature dog statues in the office. In this home, less is more. Each room is simply decorated to really showcase the pieces used.
You can see the photos of our new showhomes on our Houzz page here, where you can also ask questions about anything that interests you! I hope this inspires your imaginations and gets your decorative brainwaves working. Enjoy!
-Ashley
Grand Opening: New Auburn Bay Showhomes
By Sarah Ethier, Sales Associate for Auburn Bay
Our new Showhomes here in Auburn Bay are finally ready!! Mike Dwyer (Area Manager extraordinaire) and myself have been (not so) patiently looking forward to moving out of our outdated sales centre and into our brand new updated, modern sales centre! From the dark wood cabinetry to the kid’s play area we are thrilled with the new look! Now our sales centre matches the three gorgeous Showhomes that our very own Designer, Sandi Fedorchuk has brilliantly designed.
First is the Newbrook V – This incredibly bright and spacious 2481 square foot four bedroom home has been beautifully designed by our own Sandi Fedorchuk. From the kitchen’s ivory paint grade cabinets with gorgeous glass detailing, painted storm grey island and white engineered stone countertops, the kitchen is breathtaking. The tile backsplash is intricately laid marble tiles formed into a sunflower pattern. The aged Ash Barrique engineered hardwood flooring and open transoms above the doors give this home has a soft and welcoming French Country style. No woman can deny that the home’s ensuite feels like a spa oasis, complete with beautiful and unique marble tile, a large fully tiled shower and luxury soaker tub. The Newbrook V has become an instant customer (and personal) showhome favorite.
The Enchant Showhome boasts three full floors of developed living space, totaling 3038 square feet. Upon entering the Enchant, you find a quaint office space backing onto a large pantry, leading from the mudroom with an incredible locker-style storage organization system, into the beautiful and bright kitchen. This kitchen offers plenty of space with two-toned cabinets and contrasting granite countertops, and overlooks the stone wall surrounding the gas fireplace in the great room. Walking up the stairs, you are met by the central bonus room, giving the home an open and inviting feeling, while also allowing a perfect “buffer zone” between the kids’ rooms and the Master Retreat. All three bedrooms on the upper floor feature built-in closet cabinets for added space and functionality. The basement features a fourth bedroom and bathroom, as well as open bonus room for entertaining.
The minute you walk into the Aspen Showhome you will see why this is our most loved home. You are greeted with airy open-to-above ceilings in the front foyer and miles of gorgeous stair railing. The main floor showcases a dark tile floor complementary of the dark wood slab cabinets and distressed stone countertops in the kitchen. Upstairs, the master bedroom leads to a fully-loaded 5-piece ensuite with modern glass vessel sinks that are sure to please. The upper floor also features two additional bedrooms, optional upstairs laundry, and a vaulted bonus room which opens up to a balcony overlooking the sunny west facing street.
Now that we have drawn you in with details of our three new showhomes, come see them for yourself at our Grand Opening, Saturday April 27 from Noon to 5 pm. We are celebrating Mom this weekend with complimentary flowers, face painting for the kids, as well as pastries from Good Earth Cranston and lattes care of Wendy at Cruisin’ Cafe. Enter to win a surprise package for Mom valued at $1500! To top it all off, Fuzzy from 98.5 Virgin Radio will be on location for this exciting afternoon!
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Time: 12 PM to 5 PM
Address: 187 Auburn Springs Blvd SE
Contact: Mike Dwyer or Sarah Ethier at 403.252.9040
We look forward to seeing you at our Grand Opening this weekend!
- Sarah
Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter – Turning Points Event
By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator
Next week Cedarglen Homes is fortunate enough to be attending the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter Turning Points dinner. Supporting organizations throughout Calgary is very important to Cedarglen, and we are honored to be a Platinum sponsor for this event.
The focus of this event is partnering up to solve family violence in our communities. The Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter helps thousands of women, men, children, and youth every year through various programs such as their 24 Hour Family Violence Helpline, their Emergency Shelter facility, counseling, and many other services. Although the shelter is the namesake to their organization, the Women’s Emergency Shelter provides over 90% of their services outside the shelter. Without donations, many people may not receive the protection, counseling, and prevention services offered that help to ensure a safe quality of life for all Calgarians.
The Turning Points event features special guest speaker Nancy Southern, the Chair, President and CEO of ATCO Ltd. Nancy was named Business Person of the Year in 2011. In addition to her extensive work with ATCO, Nancy also advocates for strong public health and education systems. I look forward to hearing Nancy speak as she is truly an inspiration.
Check out our Facebook page on Wednesday, April 25 for updates on the event, including photos, clips from Howard’s speech, and donation totals.
For more information on family or domestic violence, or to make a donation, visit the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter website here.
- Ashley
Here’s a sneak peek at Allison’s favorite showhome, opening this weekend at 187 Auburn Springs Blvd
By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator
This week I was lucky enough to sit down with our Sales and Marketing Manager, Allison Harvie, and get to know a bit more about her. Our department already knows she has a sweet tooth as we get regularly spoiled with jub-jubs and other sugary delights. But there is oh so much more to her, take a look:
Allison has worked for Cedarglen for over 15 years; she is the epitome of a hard worker and truly dedicated employee of Cedarglen. In 1995, Allison started as a Sales Associate in a showhome and quickly moved to Sales Representative. After two years, she moved up to Co-Area Sales Manager for the community of Prestwick, and from there becoming the Area Sales Manager for Cranston. In 2003, she moved into the office, working as Contract Manager, where she would review all the incoming new home sales contracts. Quickly moving to Sales Manager the next year, Allison stayed in this position until 2009, when she became Sales and Marketing Manager.
Having worked in virtually every sales position in the company, Allison brings her extensive experience and knowledge to her current role, and is continuously looking for ways to expand her knowledge. After completing her education in Criminology, Allison considered pursuing environmental sciences, but found that wasn’t a good fit. Since then, Allison has taken countless classes with the Professional Home Builders Association (PHBA), Adobe Creative Suite courses, and is currently looking forward to attending an Executive Marketing Program at Queens. As most people wonder, I asked Allison how she got from criminology to sales and marketing. Her explanation? Criminology helped her learn to deal with all types of people, and this skill has been a factor in her success.
Allison’s daily routine is pretty fast-paced. In January 2013, she took the Customer Relations team under her wing, and now works with dozens of people on a daily basis. This seemed like a natural extension of the sales team, Allison explained, as the focus of our CRRs is working with our customers and sales teams. Another task Allison takes on (which she considers very important) is allowing her employees to grow and be the best they can. She wants everyone to take classes to expand their knowledge, sign up for courses, and cross-train in different departments. One of the parts of her job Allison enjoys the most is getting to go out to the sales centres and experience life as a Sales Representative again; helping people create their dream homes is one of her favorite things. Sometime during all this, Allison finds time to run, one of her favorite activities, and her way of relaxing.
Now for the fun bits! Here are Allison’s answers to the Favorite Questions:
Favorite Showhome: Although this is cheating a bit, our upcoming Newbrook V showhome in Auburn Bay (Opening April 27) has to be her favorite; the decor and styling is just beautiful.
Favorite Sport: Running. Allison has two half marathons this year and is also competing in the Spartan challenge.
Favorite Weekend Activity: Spending time cooking with her son, Denver.
Favorite Restaurant: Mercato downtown. The atmosphere of the market and decor is just right.
Favorite part about working at Cedarglen: The people (this appears to be a trend) and the culture. Cedarglen has such a youthful culture that encourages everyone to be happy and healthy and think outside of the box.
Have a question for Allison? Share below!
- Ashley
Spring DIY + Pinterest
By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator
As promised, I have a great spring DIY project to do this weekend between all the Easter activities. A while back in winter, I had posted some ideas on making a winter wreath for your front door. So now that spring is here, it’s about time to put away the christmasy wreaths and trade up for something bright and cheerful. I have pinned a number of ideas, from wreath design to decorating tips, onto the Spring DIY pinboard (click here to see it on Pinterest), so feel free to get inspired.
To start, I took a trip to the craft store to get some supplies. You will need the basics such as scissors, a hot glue gun, and a wreath form (Any shape, size, and material is fine). Then you need to decide what you want your wreath to look like and pick up the rest of your supplies. Since I could not decide, I got everything to make two wreaths. Now time to get crafting!
First, you want to cover your wreath form (unless you are using a wicker wreath). Here I used yarn, and wrapped it around the wreath form. Glue the end of the yarn to the back and start wrapping the yarn around. Every few times you want to make sure to squish the yarn towards the beginning so there are no gaps. Heads up: this takes a long time…well longer than I expected, although there was some cake taste-testing in the middle.
Once your wreath is covered, the decorating part begins. I made felt flowers, which are super simple to do. Cut a circle of felt, and cut the circle into a spiral. Wrap the spiral into a rose shape, gluing as you go. The wavier you make your spiral, the more “petals” your flower will have. I pinned a bunch of different felt flowers, so use your imagination and get creative. You could also use silk flowers for a realistic look.
I also found a cute ribbon wreath on Pinterest, so I thought I would try this at the same time. Using ribbon is much quicker than the yarn, but they both give very different looks. The yarn is more rustic while the ribbon is a little fancier. You start out the same way by gluing the end of your ribbon to the back of the wreath. Take your time wrapping the ribbon around, and glue every so often to make sure the ribbon stays tight to the wreath.
I decided to try and make paper flowers for this wreath (with the intention of putting it inside, since you never know what the weather will be like here). For these flowers, all you need is some wire, mini and regular size cupcake liners, hot glue gun, and needle nosed pliers (or just improvise if you don’t have any). Since I wanted my flower stems to be white, I also used thin ribbon. Cut a piece of wire and make a little ball at the end with the pliers. This will keep the “petals” on the stem. One at a time, poke the cupcake liner through the wire and move it to the end. After a few of the mini cupcake liners, move on to the regular sized ones. On the last one, put a bit of glue to keep them all in place. I wrapped my ribbon around the wire then for a finished look.
Once all your decorations are ready, arrange them on your wreath and glue them down when you are happy. I finished my yarn wreath with some ribbon to double as something to hang it from. Craft store and home improvement stores also have decorative metal wreath hangers to put on your door if you like; however a nail or hook will work just as well. Here are the finished products:
I would anticipate spending a couple hours at most on a single wreath, so it makes for a great way to spend the afternoon. Post your thoughts or questions below and make sure to check out the great ideas on Pinterst here.
- Ashley
A word from our President
Howard Tse, President of Cedarglen Homes
Well Done, Charron!
Well, the dust has finally begun to settle. After a couple of weeks of tension between our industry’s leading association, CHBA-Calgary Region and the Mayor’s office, it looks like we are on the road to mending our relationship. From the time the first comments were made, it comes down to one thing, dealing with the facts. We are ecstatic to be back at the table after unceremoniously removed as volunteers on all city committees.
I wanted to take this opportunity to commend our association president, Charron Ungar for his poise in the face of unprecedented reactions from the Mayor’s office. He handled the situation with dignity. As partners in the future development of the City of Calgary, we both need to be present at the table.
Despite all the rhetoric that has taken place, there are definitely a few positives to be taken away from this experience. First, it brings heightened awareness to the public that there are two sides to every story. Second, this highlights the importance of the work that the CHBA-Calgary Region performs to ensure housing choices for Calgarians in the future. Finally, we have opened lines of communication with the Mayor’s office.
Thank you,
Howard Tse
