CONTENTS SPECIAL SECTION:

Building Community in Privatized Housing

6 Growing Communities Through its dynamic community centers, Piceme Military Housing works to develop and maintain unique and desirable communities. By Karen Orwin

10 Connecting Single Soldiers A busy calendar of Life Works events at Marne Point Unaccompanied Personnel Housing, Fort Stewart, brings residents together to improve their quality of life. By Andrea Theil

12 Communities That Thrive Forest City Military Communities engages staff and residents to create a sense of place. By TI·oy Knivila-Ritchie

16 Building Something Greater Lend Lease communities offer military families a place to bond, communicate, and build lasting relationships. By Dixie Lanier Johnson

18 Scholarship Opportunity for High Schoolers The Lend Lease Community Foundation plans to award a total of 12 $5,000 scholarships to eligible applicants for the upcom­ing 2013-2014 school year. Adapted from a Press Release

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20 20 Flooring Factors

As flooring options abound, it's important to do the necessary research to determine which type fits your needs and budget. By Tim Skufca

22 A Personal Touch The right flooring goes a long way in creating an upscale aesthetic with long-term value and sustainability. By Ben Saylor

2 4 Flooring for Wounded Veterans Mohawk continues its partnership with Operation Finally Home to provide mortgage-free homes for wounded veterans and their families. Adapted from a Press Release

FEATURES

2 6 Fiscal Crisis Brings Threat of Base Closures The nation's current fiscal uncertainty ensures that base closings remain a threat in the years ahead; here's how to prepare in case closures become a reality. By Elizabeth Ferrell, Jim SchweiteJ; and Patrick Stanton

SPECIAL SECTION: Building Community in Privatized Housing

Well-connected staff and a sense of place help to

create camaraderie in military housing

By Troy Knivila-Ritchie

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C reating a sense of community in military housing is vital fo r both the residents' and associates' morale. It is very stressful for families to move to a new location, away from friends and

family. Forest City Military Communities gives families ample oppor­tunities to create new bonds and feel as though they are a part of the new community they have chosen to call home, even if it might just be for a matter of months.

As a public/private venture (PPV) partner with the Navy in providing on- and off-base multi-family housing, we know that incoming service members and their families have a choice in where they live. We make that choice an easy one by offering a sense of community that cannot be experienced when living out in town. By offering residents activities where they can interact with peers, Forest City associates help create camaraderie that is not common in non­military housing.

Victory Ten·ace kids' playroom, looking towards fitness room

But that sense of community does not just simply hap­pen because the neighborhood is comprised of military members. It is cultivated and nurtured by our caring and dedicated associates. Community activities are not always big, lavish productions. In fact, some activities, like our story time in the kids' playroom, family movie night, board games, "60 minutes of play," cooking classes, and arts and crafts for both children and adults do not always have a mili­tary theme. In addition, we also offer homework assistance and tutoring, which is supervised by high school-aged resi­dent volunteers. Our devotion to our residents is exemplified in our continued efforts to not only plan but also participate in community events.

By offering residents activities where

they can interact with peers, Forest

City associates he I p create

camaraderie that is not common in

non-military housing.

Engaging residents Getting residents' input regarding what activities to plan helps us a great deaL We invite our residents to share their ideas with us via email, in person, and on our Facebook page. The more input we receive, the better we are able to tailor events to reach the most residents. Our goal is to get residents to participate in the process so they know they have a voice. Another communication channel we have been building is the Resident Advisory Board (RAB).

The RAB is made up of resident representatives from each of our neighborhoods, with an elected president, vice presi­dent, and secretary for the overall community. The elected officers act as a liaison with Forest City's management team, while the individual RAB members ideally have their fingers on the pulse of the residents. It was established to give the residents a forum to speak among themselves in a manner similar to a Navy Ombudsman. Residents can bring griev­ances forward, share ideas with the RAB, and know that they will be heard through official channels with the Forest City management team. We simply provide the structure and the opportunity, but the RAB is run by the residents, for the residents. The RAB is really all about the residents.

Team building Our staff encompasses both leasing and maintenance associates that are located in three different regional areas

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SPECIAL SECTION: Building Community in Privatized Housing

throughout Puget Sound who do not see each other on a regular basis. Bringing them all together in groups helps them to better understand how their individual roles affect one another. While they may not interact often with each other, they do interact with residents on a daily basis. That fact alone binds them together and helps to provide the fertile soil for cultivating that sense of community we strive for at Forest City Military Communities.

Our team meets at least twice a year as an entire region­there are about 80 of us across the Puget Sound region. The general manager usually shows a training video or has the team participate in some fun team building activities, which help keep communication channels open between these groups long after the exercises have ended. It is not always obvious, but team building exercises also help to improve customer service.

The exercises can take many forms. Our bi-annual staff events often include activities like team scavenger hunts, team pumpkin carving and decorating using non-traditional items, trivia, and games like "Minute to Win It." These activi­ties bring together people who do not regularly work face­to-face, encouraging them to step outside their comfort zone. Stepping even further outside one's comfort zone is a little thing we refer to as "Video Showcase."

At least once a year, we ask the leasing and maintenance departments at our three regional locations to create a themed video. This tends to bring out the creative thespians or creative video editors in each region. We have focused on such topics as customer service, energy savings, and compliance. From those topics, each department is given a theme such as action movie, reality 1V show, etc. Given those parameters, as well as a time limit, each department is free to create their masterpiece, which will be displayed at one of our bi-annual events. The videos are voted on, and the winners receive a trophy that they proudly display in their office until the next video submission.

While you won't find these videos on YouTube (hopeful­ly), they do help to create a sense of community by drawing our associates together in a fun way, under a unified goal. The more fun the staff have, the more they will look forward to coming to work every day, and that is infectious. Happy asso­ciates have a more positive demeanor, which is demonstrated in their interactions with military families and the customer se}:Vice they provide daily. •

Tlvy Knivila-Ritchie is the community services coordinator for Forest City Residential Management, Pacific Northwest Communities, LLC. Reach him at troyknivila-ritchie@forestcity.net.

Committed to creating economically and environmental ly sustainable communities, Balfour Beatty Communities is providing up to 4.700 military homes with so lar energy systems at Fort Bliss, Texas, a Net Zero Installation. Once completed this project will be the largest solar powered community in the world.

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