Local manager recognized for exceptional service

 

June 25, 2009 - SAVANNAH, Tenn.—Sheila Cox treats residents of Hunter Hill Apartments like members of her own family.  As manager of the 60 unit complex her job is to maintain the property and ensure needed repairs are made in a timely manner. Since Cox became the on-site manager in 1999, she has gone the extra mile working closely with local leaders and her residents to turn the property into a safe, friendly part of the community.

 

City officials and residents expressed their appreciation for Cox's management of Hunter Hill by writing letters to nominate her for USDA Rural Development (RD) Site Manager of the Year.

 

On Thursday, Rural Development Area Director Harriet Cannon and staff Kathy Brantley and Vernice Williams joined CMS Management Company owner Herbert Peterson, III to deliver the news that Cox is one of only three Tennessee Site Managers to be honored for their service this year. Managers of more than 380 apartment complexes financed by RD were eligible for nomination.

 

"A good manager guarantees the success of any apartment complex,” said Brantley. "Beyond managing day-to-day operations, the best managers, like Ms. Cox, devote a great deal of their own time to provide tenants with a safe, affordable place to live and to become a part of the community."

 

According to the nomination, Cox devotes extra attention to the needs of residents, responding quickly and thoroughly every time. She also spends lot of her personal time making the tenants feel like part of a community. Cox arranges special events for back-to-school, Memorial Day and Labor Day cookouts, and other holiday celebrations. She also adds her own seasonal touches to the complex year round.

 

"Sheila is an exemplary manager and an even more exemplary person," said Peterson. "She continually goes above and beyond the call and puts the needs of her tenants and the apartment complex above her own. We are so proud of Sheila and all her accomplishments."

 

Tenant Penny Hollin added, "Sheila has worked so hard to keep our complex drug free and free from unwanted problems, I could not think of anywhere else that would make me and my family feel this safe."

 

In addition to residents of Hunter Hill Apartments, others participating in the presentation included Hardin County Mayor Kevin Davis, Hardin County Chamber Chairman Dave Geisler, Chamber Board Member Larry Arendall, CMS Management representatives Paula Little and Jeni Bobo, RD Area Director Harriet Cannon and staff  Kathy Brantley, Vernice Williams and Barbara Williams.

 

Brantley said that Cox has also been nominated for USDA Rural Development's National Site manager of the Year.

 

In partnership with private lenders and non-profit borrowers Rural Development provided more than $7.9 million in financing for the purchase of, or improvements to affordable apartment complexes in rural areas of Tennessee in 2008. These developments meet the housing needs of families, senior citizens and the disabled. Rural Development’s rural rental housing program provides financing with interest rates as low as one-percent to developers who build or repair affordable multi-family rental housing to meet the demand for housing in rural communities.

 

For information about Hunter Hill Apartments, call 731-925-1520.

 

USDA Rural Development is committed to the future of rural communities in Tennessee by providing financial and technical assistance through housing, community and business-cooperative programs.  In Fiscal Year 2008 Rural Development assisted more than 678,000 Tennessee families and businesses with more than $435 million in financial assistance through loans and grants. 

 

For more information on home ownership, rural business, or community development programs in southwest Tennessee contact the Rural Development Area Office in Jackson at 731-668-2091, toll free at 1-800-342-3149 extension 1495 or visit us online at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/tn.

 

###