Piedmont Shares TOBY Experience

A1 Orange is so excited for all of BOMA Orlando and Tampa’s 2018 TOBY winners. We asked Christie Crosby, Carol Nash and their triple winning teams to share their TOBY preparation experience and what they’ve gained by participating in the TOBY’s. Their winning properties were:

• CNL Tower II, 250,000 – 499,999 sf
• Suntrust Center, 500,000 – 1 million sf (and Best of the Best Winner!)
• Piedmont 500 TownPark, Corporate Facility Category

Q1:  Why did you decide to enter the 2018 TOBY Awards? How long did it take to get your property “TOBY-ready”?

We decided to enter CNL II, SunTrust and TownPark 500 into the TOBY Awards as we had won the previous year with CNL I and SunTrust Center and enjoyed the experience and competition very much. We feel that it is important to showcase the properties in Orlando and is a great opportunity to give credit to all our vendor partners that assist us in keeping our buildings well maintained and functioning operationally at their optimum level.

Fortunately, our buildings are Class A and are maintained as such at all times but collectively, our team and vendor partners went through extra preparation with paint touch-up, detail cleaning, lighting audits, etc. We were able to get the building “show ready” in just a few weeks.

Q2:  What does winning a TOBY Award mean to you and your team?

Winning the TOBY means a great deal to the Piedmont Team. Our engineers work hard and our vendors are delighted to be part of our winning team. We are proud of CNL II, SunTrust Center and TownPark 500 and it is an honor to have them celebrated by our industry colleagues.

Q3:  Preparing for TOBY judging takes extra time – what did you get back for the extra effort?

Taking a close look at all areas of the property and its management with “fresh eyes” as the TOBY judges would, is always beneficial. TOBY preparation is a great learning tool for the entire team and gives us an opportunity to review and update documents, plans and procedures and ensure that the building is show-ready. The preparation gave us the assurance that the building was “show-ready” for any potential prospective Tenant or VIP tours (which can take place at any time). The review of our files/records allowed us an opportunity to make sure that all inspections, etc., were documented and up-to-date for code and audit purposes.

Q4:  Based on your experiences, would you recommend that other property managers and engineers make the time investment to participate in their local TOBY Awards? If so, why?

We would definitely recommend other property management teams consider entering the TOBY Awards, it is a great team building exercise that benefits all participants. It is exciting to win but the process of entering and representing the building at the awards gala has its own reward even when another takes the trophy.

Q5:  How are you preparing for the Savannah BOMA Southern Region TOBY Awards Competition in March?

We are currently gathering all our photographs and documents for our TOBY Regional submission and participating in BOMA Southern Region TOBY conference calls and meetings.  We will also ask for former winners of the award to review our draft submission prior to final entry.

Good luck to the Piedmont teams as they advance to the TOBY regional competitions!