Stirling Stewardship Event Raises $25,000!
This past Friday, employees and agents gathered for the first-ever Stirling Properties Office Olympics, an event hosted by the Stirling Stewardship Committee to raise money for charitable causes. The event was a HUGE SUCCESS and a total of $25,000 was raised! Over 50 employees and agents were divided into 8 teams with each team choosing their team name, team colors, team song, and charity to contribute donations and winnings. Charities selected by the teams included March of Dimes, Red Cross, St. Francis Animal Sanctuary, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation (in honor of Lee de la Houssaye), American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, St. Jude’s, and Children’s Advocacy Center/Hope House. Teams collected over $20,000 of the total raised through personal donations and attaining sponsors for their team. Congratulations to our teams! Teams were able to earn points the week leading up to the Olympics by correctly answering Stirling Employee Trivia or the ever-popular “Where’s Marty’s Bobblehead” questions. Special points were also given to the team that raised the most money and the Most Unique Team. On the day of the Olympics, teams competed in 8 events – Golf Chipping, Fish Casting Contest, Wii Bowling, Trash Can Basketball, Shooting Contest, Hula Hoop, Root Beer Pong and a Tricycle Relay Race. Scores were tallied at the end of the day and medals were give to the top overall teams. The Gold Medal overall went to Team Nerdy…congratulations to Paul Mastio, Beezie Landry, Karen Bachemin, Courtney Lehman, Monica Milazzo and Judy McKee! Extra money was donated to their charity by the Stirling Stewardship Committee! Congratulations also goes to Jeff Marshall, Chris Abadie, Samantha Marshall, Peggy Sayler, Sharon Amacker and Nancy Stallings of Snail Team 6 who earned the Silver Medal. Townsend Underhill, Joseph Koon, Cyndie Quave, Jeanne Taravella, Amanda Pfeil, Dina Moran and Angelique Bates of Arrested Development took home the Bronze Medal. At the end of the day, in an effort to raise even more money, the ownership team volunteered to have pies thrown in their faces, but employees and agents had to outbid them for the right to throw the pie. Pies were smashed in all but one owner’s face. Employees were obviously motivated to smash a pie in an owner’s face as over $4,500 was collected toward the overall total. One pie even went for $1,200! A special thanks to the Stirling Stewardship Committee for all their hard work on organizing the event and making it happen. A fun day was had by all and we look forward to more events like this in the future!
Louisiana Tops Nation for Most Engaged Workers
There is not only a very interesting, but very important article about a Gallup study which was recently published.
Louisiana ranked #1 in the nation for states whose workers were most engaged in their jobs – meaning they are inolved in and enthusiastic about their work. Not only is this a feel-good story, but it also has significant underlying implications for new businesses looking to locate here. Worker satisfaction, engagement, and quality of life tied to the cost of living makes our state a very desirable place to do business. When you add this accolade to the many others that have come out lately, we are definitely a place of the future .
From a personal point of view, I know that our team at Stirling is actively engaged and contributing at the highest levels on all fronts.
Summer Celebrations for Mom and Dad at the Square
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day remind us to say “Thanks” for everything our parents have done for us over the years. Hammond Square wants to also take part in saying thanks to the moms and dads that take their kids to the Square for new school outfits, frozen treats at Menchie’s, sporting goods at Hibbets and Foot Locker, and whatever else that finds you driving down Palace Drive.
Hammond Square partnered with North Oaks Health Systems, the local hospital, to put on a free Women’s health event the weekend before Mother’s day. The heart and stroke screenings helped make sure Mom was on track for many Mother’s Days to come. We had some great tenant participation, with Dillard’s free bra fittings, their cosmetics extravaganza, and a summer fashion show! We brought in a Pampered Chef representative to show Moms and people shopping for Mom some new gadgets for the kitchen. A financial planning representative from Primerica was set up to answer any financial health questions anyone may have had.
We made sure to have some fun activities for everyone. North Cypress, a local health club close to the mall, hosted two free fitness classes, Zumba and Body Combat. Unfortunately, we found out most people out for a day of shopping are not ready for a professionally-led athletic class! North Cypress is a great partner to work with, we just have to try something different for the next health event. Painting With A Twist was another free activity we had for the day. An art instructor teaches everyone, from kids to adults who have never picked up a paint brush, how to paint a scene in 1 hour. We had moms, kids, and dads as art students for the day in this fun and relaxing activity. All who participated were excited to head home with their very own Louisiana sunset work of art!
We knew we had a little more of a challenge to honor dads for Father’s Day. Most men don’t think of heading to a shopping center to have some fun with the kids, so we had to get creative…and we had to break out the big toys! This Saturday, June 15th, the day before Father’s Day, Hammond Square is working with Louisiana Cat, Volvo Rents, Evergreen Tractor, the local Police and Fire Department to host Dad’s Day at the Square. In the parking lot across from Albasha from 10 am to 2 pm, we will have large construction machines, tractors, ATV’s, a new police car and a fire truck. This is Dad’s chance to get up close to the machines and even see a couple of big toys he might want to add to his collection!
Dad won’t walk away empty handed from the event. We have a craft table where little ones can make their Dad some great gifts from a giant fish, to a fancy guitar, and even an oversized tie. From Hammond Square, 100 Dad’s will receive mugs and 100 kids will get hard hats!
We want to bring out the silly side of Dad as well. Hammond Square brought in fun photo stand in’s. Dad can become a surfer man, a giant hot dog, a captain of a boat and a few other fun adventure scenes you’ll have to come by to see. The best thing is you use your own camera to take dad’s picture so no waiting to get something back. It is Facebook ready instantly if your dad, or you, are into social media.
Our Mother’s Day event was an overall success. We hope to say the same thing about our Dad’s Day at the Square. See you this Saturday! Shop local. Shop Tangi!
President’s Message: What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t Stay in Vegas!
Last month’s International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) RECon 2013 in Las Vegas was very encouraging. Overall attendance for the retail real estate industry’s biggest annual global event was over 35,000, a 10 percent increase from 2012 and a post-Recession record. Attendees and exhibitors, including retailers, developers, lenders and brokers, expressed optimism about the health of the U.S. retail real estate industry. I also noticed more young people coming into the industry, a trend I haven’t seen in many years…or maybe I’m just getting old.
It was quite obvious to me that everyone at the convention was more relaxed, but busier than in recent years. Our Stirling team had a full slate of productive meetings for all our properties, and we were all touting the strength of the Gulf South market. There was significant interest in our current development projects – Mid-City Market that will open next month in New Orleans, Fremaux Town Center under development in Slidell, and our recently announced Magnolia Marketplace project in New Orleans. We expect to finalize many deals from our meetings for these and other properties.
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Another exciting development at Stirling Properties is the opening of our new office in Mobile, Alabama! Our new office will help us to expand our presence in the region in an area that is experiencing exponential growth. You will be hearing more specifics about this in the very near future!
The window of opportunity is definitely open for us now and we are all working hard to take advantage of this momentum. What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas – it will produce positive outcomes for us at Stirling and the Gulf South. Stay tuned for more news!
Stirling Properties’ Marty Mayer to Serve as Divisional Vice President of ICSC
Marty Mayer, President & CEO of Stirling Properties, has been elected to serve as the Vice President of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) Southern Division. This was made official during ICSC’s Annual Meeting of Regular Members, held during ICSC RECon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As an ICSC Divisional Vice President, Mr. Mayer has also been appointed to serve on the Government Relations Advisory Committee.
Mr. Mayer currently serves on the Executive Committee of ICSC’s Worldwide Board of Trustees and has previously served as the Co-Chairman of ICSC’s Open Air Center Committee and as Louisiana State Director and Louisiana State Operations Director for ICSC.
Stirling Properties Collects Donations for Tornado Food Drive
Pictured: (Top Row, L-R) Marty Mayer, Cyndie Quave, Tracy Gandy, Ellen McCain, Tara Slater, Samantha Marshall, Courtney Lehman, Jeanne Taravella, Marsha Smalley, Sharon Amacker, Eugene Schmitt, Chris Abadie; (Bottom Row, L-R) Gena Randall, Monica Milazzo, Marcia McGarrity, Tina Crouchet, Judy McKee, Beezie Landry, Jeff Marshall, Nancy Stallings, Amanda Pfeil, Paul Mastio, Kristy Beach, Laura Wallace, Elizabeth Schmelling, Dina Moran, Karen Bachemin, Gerry Catanese
In an effort to help with the disaster relief in Oklahoma, employees and agents of Stirling Properties collected donations of non-perishable food items for the St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 in Slidell, Louisiana. Firemen of the district are collecting and organizing donated items and will personally deliver them. On Saturday, June 8, the donations will be transported to Norman, Oklahoma for distribution to residents affected by the recent tornadoes.
There is still time to donate! They are accepting donations at fire stations throughout the Slidell area until Friday, June 7.
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