PRESS RELEASES

Richardson Housing Group Earns Top Design Honors
RHG Earns Two OBIE Awards for Best Floor Plan from Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association

(Lawrenceville)—Richardson Housing Group has been awarded two OBIE Awards by the Sales and Marketing Council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, recognizing the real estate and development company for its quality construction, design innovation and industry achievements.

The OBIE Awards are the highest level of recognition given by the Atlanta housing industry. Each year, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association presents OBIE Awards for major achievement in building, marketing and remodeling.

The OBIE Awards, previously called the Professionalism Awards, began in 1980 and have grown throughout the years to now feature more than 125 building, remodeling, marketing and personal achievement categories. This year, more than 650 entries were received.

Richardson Housing Group received a gold award for the Danielson floor plan at its Thorncrest community in Tucker and a silver award for the Walker plan at the Wynterberry Parke neighborhood in Lawrenceville. This is the third consecutive year that Richardson Housing has won at least one gold award at the OBIEs.

"We are so proud to be honored by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and to earn this standard of excellence," said Mark Richardson, vice president of development, Richardson Housing Group. "Being recognized by industry experts and among our outstanding peer group is a very significant accomplishment, and reflects the priority we place on quality and innovation."

Thorncrest, a mixed-use community, includes both single family and town home plans, built in a traditional style. The Danielson plan, from in the town home section, is a three-level, three-bedroom plan, with the garage and a bonus room on the lowest level. Plan features include granite counter tops in the kitchen, a marble fireplace, nine-foot ceilings, and a separate shower and tub in the owner's suite.

Wynterberry Parke offers craftsman-style homes. The Walker plan is a five-bedroom home, with sought-after features including a bedroom and bath on the main level and a loft on the second floor. Features in the owner's suite include vaulted ceilings, dual walk-in closets and vanities, and separate garden tub and shower.

Each entry was judged by a distinguished group of highly qualified, out-of-town judges selected for their expertise in building, remodeling, sales and new home marketing. A total of 40 judges from throughout the country participated.
 

Richardson Housing Group is Georgia’s 2007 Family-Owned Business of the Year (Lawrenceville development company awarded Jeffrey Butland Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration)

Richardson Housing Group has been named the Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year in Georgia by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Nominated by the publishers of the Gwinnett Business Journal for the company’s model approach to business, community and family, Richardson Housing Group’s President and Founder, Allen Richardson, will accept the award at a luncheon hosted by the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle this spring.

The SBA Award recognizes a family-owned business with outstanding growth in sales and profits while also providing employment opportunities for both family and non-family employees. The award acknowledges a company that shows potential for long-term business growth while providing voluntary community services.

“Our team at Richardson Housing Group is so touched and thrilled to be recognized in this capacity and to receive the award for the 2007 Family-Owned Business of the Year in Georgia,” Richardson said. “It is such a compliment and very rewarding that the way we have been growing and operating our family-run business throughout the last three decades is being applauded by the Small Business Administration.”

Richardson Housing Group was officially formed in 1973 with just two employees – father Melvin and son Allen – and in that first year built just 10 homes. Since then, the company has built more than 3,000 homes, creating more than $127 million in federal, state and local revenues and fees and providing more than 7,400 full-time jobs with more than $238 million paid out in wages. Since its inception, the company has grown from two to nearly 40 employees, and continues to develop growth and expansion opportunities within the company and the industry.

Richardson Housing Group has experienced sizeable growth in recent years, which is expected to continue into 2007 and beyond. Its annual gross profits were $6.2 million in 2005, doubling its gross profits since 2001.

Last year alone, the company sold 220 homes, a company record, and generated approximately $45 million in revenues.

The standard Richardson Housing Group home is a two-story traditional plan with four or five bedrooms, beginning in the mid-$200s. To meet changing needs for housing, the company also offers town homes and other options in the mid $100s.

Within the family business, Allen’s wife Ann serves as the company’s vice president. Their son Mark joined the business nine years ago and serves as vice president of development. Son-in-law Jason West joined Richardson Housing Group in 2003 and serves as vice president of corporate affairs.

As Richardson’s wife and children are active contributors to making their family business strong and successful, they are equally active participants in making their community a better place. All four principals are involved advocates in various organizations that are dedicated to the housing industry and the betterment of the community. Employees and owners alike participate in raising funds for specific causes, like Relay for Life and Habitat for Humanity. In addition to sweat equity, the company has also given more than $45,000 to various civic and charitable causes in recent years.

“Now with a third generation at work in the company, Richardson Housing Group still operates with its founding business value: always treat people the way you expect to be treated,” said David Greer, Gwinnett Business Journal publisher. “The company’s success can be measured in impressive numbers in sales and profits. But what speaks volumes is the fact that the average tenure for company employees is an impressive eight years, while many have significantly topped that figure.”

The SBA’s Family-Owned Business of the Year Award is not the first time Richardson Housing Group’s excellence has been spotlighted. The company was honored last year by Governor Sonny Perdue as a Georgia Small Business of Excellence, and Allen Richardson was also named Builder Member of the Year by the Georgia Home Builders Association.

In 2005, Richardson Housing Group was a finalist for the Georgia Family Business of the Year, an award of the Cox Family Enterprise Center which recognizes family-owned enterprises for business and family success. It also received a Professionalism Award from the Sales and Marketing Council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. Allen Richardson was named the 2004 Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Person of the Year and has been twice honored as the Gwinnett County “Builder of the Year.”

Allen Richardson is past president of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and the Georgia Home Builders Association (GHBA). In 1992, Richardson was one of the original founders of the Home Builders Self Insurance Fund, which later became known as Builder’s Insurance Group. Builder’s Insurance has had a major impact on the building industry and is the largest writer of workers’ compensation in Georgia.
 

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