It's just the beginning for Engle Homes

Bruce J. Hershey As a marketing tool, "The End is Near" worked really well for Bruce J. Hershey, vice president of sales and marketing for Engle Homes of Southwest Florida.

The advertisements, meant to establish that the inventory of Engle Homes neared depletion and that the market is bottoming out, made the point, Hershey said.

Engle Homes has

20 homes left. Considering that when Hershey came on board in April the company needed to sell 200 homes, that is encouraging to him.

The company is now ready to build to demand.

"I like working with the team at Spiro and Associates to come up with slogans," Hershey said. "I also like working with our sales people and clients to find them the right home in the right community."

Born in Bath, Ohio, Hershey was raised in Texas from the age of 1 until he was 16. Moving to Gainesville, Hershey attended nearby Central Florida Community College. He was offered a job before graduation and moved to Lee County.

He attended Edison College, eventually graduating from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor's in business marketing and advertising in 2001.

PHOTO COURTESY/ENGLE HOMES Engle Homes has gated communities with clubhouses throughout Southwest Florida. This is the company's Tuscany model. That degree could explain his love of coming up with the right idea to get his company's message across.

Next to a site plan for Engle Homes' Reflection Isles in Fort Myers off Daniels Parkway hangs a picture of a smiling girl and a house drawn in red, blue and green crayon by Hershey's 5-year-old daughter, Makenzie.

"I like to help people move into homes with their families," Hershey said. "A family in their home means a lot. I like to see a development through to see how it grows and people like where they live."

Before overseeing the Engle Homes Southwest sales division staff, Hershey worked as vice president of corporate sales for Palm Beach Gardens-based EH Building Group, the director of sales and marketing for KB Homes and in marketing for the Florida Everblades.

"I started out as an intern at the Everblades," Hershey said. "After I graduated I stayed on until KB Homes came calling."

An avid soccer fan, he takes time out of his 70-80 hour work week to coach his daughter's team. Hershey treats his team as a coach would, with respect.

While being interviewed for this story, a business call came in from Cindy Mancari, one of his salespeople. Listening to the call, one had a sense of Hershey helping clarify any problems or issues that may have arisen.

"I'll help you through it," Hershey said. "We'll all get better at our jobs."

By the time the 15-minute conversation ended, Mancari's voice came through the phone receiver loud and clear.

"I know you have a heart and you care about our staff," Mancari said. "We both have a passion for our homes and for the company."

That passion, for family and home comes through when meeting Hershey in his office. The only other piece of art in it is a framed screen with picture that changes about every 20 seconds sitting on a bookshelf filled with sales manuals.

COURTESY PHOTO Engle Homes' developments sit within proximity of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, in Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Naples. On the screen flash various pictures of Hershey's daughter, dressed for Halloween or for soccer, his wife Jennifer and other family members.

Hershey relates to others as a family man. He may work long and hard but he tries to get family time in with soccer, boating and fishing.

Fishing for new customers for Reflection Isles among other Engle Homes developments has kept Hershey in contact with Spiro and Associates to come up with a new slogan to sell their homes.

"It'll be ready in January; I can't tell you what it is until then," Hershey said. "We will be selling our 'value- engineered' homes."

The "value-engineered" program started by Engle Homes, a company with more than 25 years of experience in the business, slightly narrowed the focus of already designed home.

Through its market research, the company came up with a list of things consumers didn't really care about for their homes and dropped the extras.

If a double-wide window looked and worked just as well as a more expensive triple window, the triple window was dropped. If there were three outdoor water spigots where two could really do the job, one was taken out if the plans saving plumbing costs.

Straight kitchen walls as opposed to curved ones saved on construction costs. All the little changes added up to significant construction savings.

"If we can build what is essentially the same model for less, we can then sell it for less," Hershey said. "That's just common sense."

Engle Homes provides gated communities with clubhouses throughout Southwest Florida. Engle Homes' developments sit within proximity of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, in Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Naples.

Homes at Coral Lakes, one of Engle Homes' newest communities, sit closer to parks and convenient access roads throughout Cape Coral. The community is a private, controlled-access community of single-family and multi-family homes.

Single-family homes range in size from two bedrooms with a den, to six bedrooms. The homes feature attached two-car and three-car garages with floor plans up to 3,000 square feet of living area. Coral Lakes residents can enjoy the resort-style Club Coral, a 4,655-squarefoot clubhouse located along one of the community's many lakes. Club Coral plans call for a fitness center, meeting and entertainment rooms, central lounge area and a fully-appointed kitchen.

A sports complex currently under construction will include two soccer and softball fields, basketball and tennis courts and covered picnic pavilions.

Olympia Pointe, located just minutes from I-75, Southwest International Airport, and local dining and shopping attractions, offers single-family and multi-family homes in many expansive floor plans.

The multi-family units in the Odyssey Collection feature six floor plans ranging from 1,129 to 1,386 square feet of living area. The plans offer two-bedroom and three-bedroom options. The garages are attached.

Olympia Pointe's single-family homes include the Athena Collection with four different floor plans of one and twostory homes with two to five bedrooms all ranging in size from 1,685 square feet to 2,961 square feet of living area.

Reflection Key in south Fort Myers puts homeowners just moments from the world-famous beaches, attractions and fine dining of Sanibel and Captiva islands. If there's not enough to do outside the community's gates, there is plenty of room to roam in spacious two and three-bedroom garden condominiums in addition to a resort-style community clubhouse.

The amenity-rich Reflection Isles, located just off of Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers is closer to the travel options provided by the area's main highways and international airport.

Twin villas, single-family homes and town homes ranging from 1,800 square feet to 3,510 square feet, are surrounded by 2,200 acres of scenic preserves and 39 acres of sparkling lakes, offering privacy.

Privacy complements the affordable prices at Reflection Lakes Naples. Engle Homes presents its collection of distinctive homes and exceptional community amenities in this fast-growing area, near the best of Naples and Marco Island, close to fine dining, beaches, schools, shopping and the rest of the good life.

As one of the country's leading homebuilders, Engle Homes is a member of the TOUSA family. TOUSA (NYSE: TOA) operates in various metropolitan markets in ten states located in four major geographic regions: Florida, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas and the West.

For more information call 1-888-879- 1319 or visit www.EngleHomes.com.