Five Honored as 2004 Icons of the Industry - 4/12/2004 - Real Estate Education Training Schools Conferences

Five Honored as 2004 Icons of the Industry

Richard J. Brown of Cambridge Homes, William E. Colson of Colson & Colson Construction, Victor Regnier of the University of Southern California, KraftMaid Cabinetry and Myril Axelrod of Marketing Directions Associates will be honored for their leadership in developing communities, products and educational services targeted specifically to the growing 50+ seniors housing market.

“The 50+ market is constantly evolving, and our Icons winners have played prominent roles in elevating the quality of housing for older consumers across the country.” said Bonnie Solomon, chair of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council and a vice president of several retirement communities in St. Louis and Kansas City, MO, and Atlanta.

• Richard J. Brown, chief executive officer of Libertyville, IL-based Cambridge Homes, is the Icons winner in the active adult builder/developer category.

Under Brown’s leadership, Cambridge Homes grew to become the largest home builder in Illinois and is regarded as a pioneering force in the development of active adult lifestyle communities in Chicago’s suburbs. In 1970, the company developed Cambridge-on-the-Lake, a 500-home condominium community in Buffalo Grove, IL. In 1995, Cambridge built the award-winning Cambridge at Carillon, the first large active adult community in Greater Chicago. Cambridge Homes became a division of D.R. Horton, Inc. in 1999 and has since opened several Carillon active adult communities in the area, each offering clubhouses and other amenities to meet the active lifestyles of its 55-and-older residents.

Brown also earned the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago. He also earned the 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban Land Institute’s Chicago District Council and was inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors® Hall of Fame in 2001.

• William E. Colson, president and managing partner of Salem, OR-based Colson & Colson Construction Co., is the Icons winner in the service-enriched builder/developer category.

Colson & Colson builds retirement communities for Holiday Retirement Corp., the largest retirement community operator in North America. Colson serves as president and CEO of Holiday Retirement Corp., which he founded in 1971 as Holiday Management Co. Today, the company operates more than 280 facilities in 39 states, Canada and the United Kingdom, offering meals, housekeeping and other services to residents. Colson built Holiday’s reputation by providing a stable, caring environment for residents and by offering an array of activities and amenities so residents feel as if they are on a permanent vacation.

Colson was honored by the United Nations with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with seniors worldwide. The National Real Estate Investors Association also named him as one of “40 Who Made A Difference.”

• Victor Regnier, FAIA, is the Icon of the Industry in the educator category.

Regnier, an architect, gerontologist and one of the world’s leading authorities on housing design for older people, is a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture and Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in Los Angeles. A former European Fulbright Scholar, Regnier has received numerous awards for his research and design efforts from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Progressive Architecture magazine and the Gerontological Society. He also has authored five books, the most recent titled, “Design for Assisted Living: Guidelines for Housing the Physically and Mentally Frail.” He also has consulted on more than 250 seniors housing projects in 28 states, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany.

• KraftMaid Cabinetry, based in Middlefield, OH, is the Icon of the Industry winner in the product manufacturer category.

KraftMaid is the world’s largest cabinetry manufacturer and a pioneer and innovator in built-to-order cabinetry. KraftMaid was honored for its Passport Series, which is designed to be accessible for people with physical or height limitations, multi-generational households or for those who want to design their homes to accommodate life changes. The Passport Series earned the universal design certification from the Institute for Technology Development and a platinum award for best new product for the mature market from the American Society of Aging. The product line also meets specifications outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Myril Axelrod, principal and president of New York City-based Marketing Directions Associates, is the Icons honoree in the newly established Lifetime Achievement category.

Axelrod, a pioneer in qualitative research, was one of the first to introduce focus group research into marketing. She also is credited for being one of the first researchers to give builders the tools to look at their product from their customers’ perspective and helped to provide a deeper understanding of senior consumers. Axelrod is co-founder of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association and an active member of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council. In addition to writing and teaching a marketing course for seniors housing professionals, she served as the editorial board chair for the council’s magazine, Seniors’ Housing News, and was the editor of the book, “The Best of Seniors’ Housing News.”

The Icons of the Industry Awards is one of many programs offered by the NAHB Seniors Housing Council. The council provides information, education and networking opportunities for its members and represents NAHB on seniors housing issues.