Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Sense of Pride




On a recent Saturday at Meyer Real Estate we were bidding farewell to our winter guests from cold northern states and welcoming families for spring break. I volunteered to assist with the welcoming process and found myself for the first time able to work in our newly completed lobby at the corporate office in Gulf Shores, Alabama (my office is located on the fourth floor). The original office building is currently undergoing extensive renovation and the new lobby, which is absolutely awesome, has recently opened for vacation rental and real estate sales services.

Our arriving customers are treated to a beautifully landscaped courtyard entrance which allows them to climb out of the car after a long drive and unwind while one person takes care of the business inside. Inside I found that customers were happy to wait in the new surroundings for one of the staff to become available because there is so much to see now. Beautiful paintings depicting life at the beach line the walls and our sand display from around the world has a special area of it's own. We even have a large art display of a "blinking" fish and an even larger sculpture of a blue heron.

It was definitely with a sense of pride that I spent the afternoon interacting with our visitors and watching their reaction to the new office building. We all look forward to the completion of both buildings for a combined total of 36,000 square feet of office space. And we especially appreciate the new opportunities to serve all of our customers in a manner that better addresses their needs.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Flowers and More




We had such a mild winter in Alabama this year at Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan. This phenomenon proved quite confusing for our flowering shrubs. Last week I visited Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, Alabama with our winter guests during one of our tour activities. The azaleas were absolutely breathtaking as were the daffodils and other beautiful flowers. There were indications that some of the plants had bloomed prematurely and were now blooming for the second time. The effect was nonetheless aweinspiring to see these well-groomed gardens in full bloom. The only disappointment was that we were too early for the magnificent rose garden. Each season of the year boosts a wide variety of flowers at Bellingrath but spring is undoubtedly the most spectacular.

Our group also took the Delta Cruise on the Southern Belle and the captain gave an extremely informative presentation regarding the history of the delta region. We learned not only about the estuary but also about the history of Mobile itself.

This event concluded our Winter Guest actities which began and ended at Bellingrath Gardens and Home. In some ways the time flew by and I will miss so many of our guests. I will keep in touch with them via email newsletters and several have promised to call me after they return home.