You work hard, you work long hours, you work to impress on each and every project. And every once and a while you get that little bit of recognition that makes it all worth while. Recognition can come in many different ways but a direct hit always makes the largest impression.

We are currently in the middle of an impressive new home build located in a mostly completed golf course development, so have a lot of neighbourly eyes on the project, as well as the local municipal officials who are close residents. About a week ago, we were packing up for the day and making sure the site was buttoned down for the night, when a neighbour in a high end sports car pulled over and rolled down his window.

When he first introduced himself as the leader of the local Residents Association, we assumed the worst. We were certain he was going to issue a complaint about the noise, or the dust, or something else that is often associated with a large building project in a confined area like a subdivision. Let the condemnation begin…

Well, we were wrong. He immediately began to state how pleased he was that our site was the cleanest he had seen in his time as head of the association. What made it even more precious was that also standing with us was a well-known trade contractor that we have been talking to about Market Partnership. I have to believe that he was impressed as he called us the very next day to arrange another meet.

The next day was inspection day by the local municipality, always an uncertain day as you never know what the interpretation of the Building Code will mean to different inspectors. As it turned out, the only comment he had was that it was a very clean site, which he said makes his task easier. He actually thanked us as he left the site. No deficiencies.

Sweeping and blowing the street in front of the site, picking up scraps and garbage every day, making sure the bin is not overloaded and unsightly, are items that we address regularly. We think this helps to contribute to our identity and is taken seriously by all of our people.

At Alair Homes Collingwood, we are very proud of all of our projects and want that to shine through every time. Getting these little victories helps to fuel our focus.