Phil Cyphers delivers a decade of customer service excellence

Connor Group aids Hurricane Ian disaster response teams

Ben Leonhart’s journey from Marine Corps to TCG regional service trainer

Connor Kids Academy, one of several non-profit programs conceived, funded and administered by The Connor Group Kids & Community Partners, is an innovative approach to youth sports programming. It provides under-resourced kids with a potentially life-changing three-year experience, leveraging professional and college athletes and coaches to provide impactful in-person experiences and an interactive app that promotes healthy habits and choices. And while the program impacts kids year-round, the highlight, undoubtedly, occurs during the summer when the program hosts its annual sports camps. In its second year CKA grew from 33 students and one market to 88 students in two markets – hosting camps with the University of Dayton men’s basketball program and University of Cincinnati men’s basketball program. Coaches and players worked with campers not just on basketball skills – reining NBA slam dunk champion Obi Toppin made an appearance at the Dayton camp – but on life skills as well. Staff and special guests led lessons and activities tied to the program’s curriculum, which focuses on healthy habits, as well as decision-making. “Like everything we do, we raised the bar from Year 1 to Year 2,” said Kids & Community VP Chuck Denning. “We looked at the mistakes we made in the first year […]

Our Awards Breakfasts are filled with surprises, but nothing quite compares to promotions to partner. Today five associates walked down the red carpet at our Central Support Office, bringing the total number of Connor Group partners to 63. Cheers and applause filled the atrium as each promotion unfolded. Indianapolis market founder and veteran lead tech Phil Cyphers is best known for his customer service. He started with the company 10 years ago and now has earned the distinguished title of partner. “People love to be around you,” partner and senior regional trainer Rob Murray said. “You service everyone with a smile. Everybody knows your name at the properties. It’s amazing all the customer service you give to everybody. You’re one of a kind.” Senior director Tiffany Montoya teared up as her name was announced at this morning’s celebration. Since joining The Connor Group in 2018, she’s brought a can-do attitude, moving to Columbus and then across Cincinnati and Dayton. “You’ve been the difference maker in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets,” partner and regional head Sal Gracia said. “You’re now one of the cornerstones, the foundational pieces of the market. A go-to resource that trains and sets new standards.” Three CSO […]

Chesley Lewis could be the answer to any number of Connor Group trivia questions.  Who moved to a new market to sell a property 45 days into her tenure? Chesley. Who took part in the largest acquisition in company history and one of the largest dispositions in company history? Chesley. Who was awarded a trip for two to Bora Bora for re-engineering Highland Park? Chesley. And who is the newest Connor Group partner?  If you guessed Chesley … as of today … you’re correct.  The veteran Dallas manager learned of her promotion Thursday at that market’s awards breakfast. She brings the total number of Connor Group partners to 58. “She’s the backbone of the Dallas market,” said regional head Dan Pisegna. “There isn’t one person in Dallas who doesn’t rely on her as a knowledgeable and believable resource and as someone they can count on to motivate and inspire them.” Chesley joined The Connor Group in 2015 and became Ashley’s first trainee. “She was always very talkative; she asked all the questions; she overthought everything,” Ashley said. “I was concerned with her buy-in because she asked so many questions about why we did things the way we did. But she […]

At the bottom of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, transaction lead Emily Lazar flipped on her new 1,200-lumen scuba dive flashlight, ready to explore a shipwreck. The new tool lighting the way on her latest dive was just one of four Reward & Recognition gifts Emily earned within one week at The Connor Group. Reward & Recognition (R&R) is a cornerstone of The Connor Group’s award-winning culture. When associates go above and beyond, they are rewarded with items they have on their wishlist and then recognized in front of their peers. “By no means was I expecting it,” Emily said. “I was just doing my job at the best level possible.” The waterfall of R&R came at a critical time in the Acquisitions and Dispositions Department. In May, another transaction lead left. Emily quickly went from managing five transactions to 10. Instead of being responsible for closing $591 million in deals, she now had a hefty $1.1 billion in transactions she was personally responsible for. Without hesitation, Emily looked at this challenge as an opportunity and took extreme ownership. “I think when the decision point came for Emily about whether she was going to step up her performance and take on […]

Our traffic peaks in the summer months, and sometimes, even the most seasoned sales staff needs an extra hand. In Denver, senior lead tech Caleb Kresge is committed to each part of our business, even if that means picking up the phone when he’s walking through the office. “Caleb will stop at nothing to ensure that our residents, and even our prospects, are taken care of,” general manager Sarah Drewes said. “When Caleb was in the office to retrieve an air filter for a work order and saw that all of us were on the phone, he picked up someone’s twinned cell phone. “Caleb answered the call confidently and with a friendly tone.” Caleb has proven he’s all in and a team player. In August, he celebrated five years with The Connor Group. Loop caught up with him to ask about his journey, challenges and what he’s learned along the way… Question: How would you describe your five years with The Connor Group?Answer: I’ve learned a lot, and the time went quicker than I thought. I didn’t have any maintenance experience when I started. I did turns for a year and a half and got really comfortable. I’ve been promoted […]

August 5, 2022 – The Connor Group closed three transactions over the course of the last three weeks for $233 million, including the record-setting sale of Waterford Place in Nashville. The Dayton-based real estate investment firm sold the property and delivered a 159% internal rate of return to its investors, the highest in the company’s 30-year history. The company purchased Waterford Place in August of 2020 for $27.6 million. After just 24 months of owning and operating the 184-unit property, The Connor Group sold Waterford Place for $53.25 million. The company’s basic business model, which is to buy under-performing properties, re-engineer them by improving customer service and maximize returns for investors, has proven to thrive in all market conditions. “When we purchased Waterford Place, we knew it had the potential to deliver outstanding returns to our investors, but with the right people, plans and processes, we’ve exceeded expectations,” managing partner Larry Connor said. “We’ve seen unprecedented demand across the country for apartments amid volatile market conditions. And we believe, at least for the foreseeable future, that will continue.” The Connor Group also closed transactions in its Louisville and Chicago markets in July. In Lousiville, the company acquired Sawyer East End […]

Kids & Community Partners is a non-profit born out of a high-performance for-profit business. So when our associates began researching and vetting Road to Hire, it felt a bit like looking in a mirror. The Charlotte-based non-profit provides training and career guidance for underrepresented youth in the tech sector. It began as an equity and diversity initiative within Red Ventures, an innovative Internet marketing and technology company. “We basically incubated this for three years inside Red Ventures,” said Road to Hire CEO Kacey Grantham. “We were basically volunteers, running a non-profit like a business. It worked, so we spunt it off into its own non-profit.” Road to Hire provides training, internships and scholarships for youth typically underrepresented in tech careers. The program then partners with companies to place alums in high-paying jobs and provide support and professional development. Kids & Community Partners’ five-year, $5 million investment will help Road to Hire scale its services to reach more youth, potentially in new markets.