New Homes Propel Rita Williams Merchandising Plus Team to Excel, Grand Aurora Awards

Another testament to their tremendous success for outstanding interior merchandising, Rita Williams Merchandising Plus captured five prestigious sales and marketing EXCEL Awards and five Southeast United States AURORA Awards and including a GRAND AURORA during the 2007 Southeast Building Conference in Orlando.

"We had quite a weekend. I'm very proud of our team, our clients and suppliers. It's a testament to everyone's dedication to meet client expectations while enhancing their customer's vision for creativity, quality and design," said Williams, a member of the Florida Housing Hall of Fame and owner of Merchandising Plus, of the multiple honors.

The award winning Jacksonville, Fla -based firm has won numerous accolades throughout the country for their innovative work, thoughtful attention to detail and strong eye for a fresh, invigorating approach for developers and builders.

The EXCEL Awards signify outstanding interior merchandising and marketing throughout Florida and are conducted by the FHBA Sales and Marketing Council.

Among the Excel accolades was Best Interior Merchandising for Resort Space. The Devlin Group chose Merchandising Plus for their work at the luxurious Ocean Villas at Daytona Beach Shores along with Charlan Broch Architects.

The clubhouse at Ocean Villas sets the standard for fashionable, coastal living in Daytona Beach Shores. Ocean Villas at Daytona Beach Shores boasts architectural brilliance, distinctive exteriors, spacious interiors and world-class amenities.

"We are very proud of our work for The Devlin Group. It symbolizes our commitment to our clients in creating interior environments that are aesthetically satisfying and functional," Williams said.

Another Excel was awarded to the Cordova model at Augustine Island in Palencia in the $75k to $1 million category. Trident Realty and Rink Reynolds Architects created excitement through details and colors throughout this five-diamond condominium resort.

This amazing three store condo features a bypass the iron detailed staircase or ride in the raffia-lined artful filled elevator. The Cordova offers a sophisticated color mix of Asian reds, apple greens, and sunrise hues backdrop the finely detailed furnishings, accessories and art throughout.

"The most dramatic of all rooms is the finely detailed dining room with its Asian red wall dressed in a magnificent artwork of white orchid and black, red and white coral custom upholstered dining chairs with a grandly set table in fine crystal, china, mixed in florals, corals and sea sands," Williams said.

Merchandising Plus teamed up with Standard Pacific Homes to capture an Excel for the Ruby model in Timberlake at Eagle Landing in Orange Park. The home won in the under $300K category for Best Interior Merchandising of a model home.

"One thing all these winning homes have in common is value. In the past we have not gotten much credit here in Northeast Florida for the designs, solid construction and unmatched value represented by our builders and developers. But in the last four year we have blown the competition away with our spectacular new homes and communities," noted Williams.

Teamwork played an important role in winning the Excel for the Best Single Family Home Plan. Standard Pacific's Casa Tierra Model at Palencia was a combination of skills and talent by the builder, the architectural excellence of Deryl Patterson of BSB Designs and Merchandising Plus for the interior merchandising.

The Merchandising Plus team of Williams, Lisa Gielincki, Lisa Lapkovitch, Sharon Blank, Terry Duguid and Kate Schmidt were included in an elite group of housing industry professionals in a 12-state region that received the prestigious AURORA Awards for new home construction and design excellence during an industry gala in Orlando.

Judges were impressed with the Manchester showhome in Hillcrest, a condominium community in Arlington, a suburb of Jacksonville. So much so they awarded the Engle Homes built model an Aurora for best under $200K and the Grand Aurora among all entries for Best Interior Merchandising for under $1 million.

"This goes back again to the quality and value that is in our market. We worked with Engle Homes' Andy Chambers and Glen Reynolds and their team. Winning the Grand Aurora is special and shared by everyone on the teams," Williams said.

Engle Homes and Merchandising Plus weren't done. An Aurora award went to the Caracas Model at Silvercreek in Green Cove Springs, Fla. in the $200K-$300k category.

"Each year, the Aurora Awards are presented to outstanding builders, planners, architects, developers, designers, interior merchandisers, designers and other housing-related professionals. These awards show the very best," said chair Michelle Harrison, Vice President of Sales at Gates McVey Capitol LLC.

Following their Excel win, The Club at Ocean Villas won two Aurora's for Best Interior Merchandising for a Recreational and Resort Facility and Best Community Clubhouse.

Making it even more is impressive is the fact that the nationally recognized AURORA Awards honor builders, designers, architects and other home building industry professionals in 12 states from Texas to Virginia and Florida Coast. This was the third consecutive year that Merchandising Plus won a Grand Aurora for the best condominium model in the Southeast United States.

Earlier this year Merchandising Plus was honored with five Laurel Awards from the Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA).

Williams was inducted into the Florida Housing Hall of Fame in 2003. She is a veteran Northeast Florida interior merchandiser. She is a life director member of the NEFBA Board of Directors and the Florida Homebuilders Association.