USNA News Article

Annapolis Navy Housing Wins 6th Consecutive Award

Feb 16, 2012

By Danian Douglas

Naval Support Activity Annapolis won their sixth consecutive Bachelor Housing Crystal Award and made the CEL & Associates Real Estate “A List Platinum” Award for customer service.

Supporting the Naval Academy, Naval Support Activity Annapolis Unaccompanied Housing caters to single and unaccompanied enlisted service members stationed in Annapolis.

According to CEL’s website, the National Real Estate Awards are the most sought after recognition programs within the real estate industry, and the “A List” awards go to firms that truly provide a superior level of service.

Housing Manager E.J. Farmer, who accepted the awards at a presentation in San Diego, Calif., Feb. 2, said that his staff feels honored to be recognized yet again, because it was the residents’ feedback that made the difference.

“This award reflects the level of care and customer service that the residents receive,” he said. “We pass out residential satisfaction surveys to each resident. They are then collected and sent to the agency where they are compared against all the other housing complexes throughout the Navy.”

To achieve such outstanding ratings from residents on a continuous basis requires an extraordinary level of commitment, said Farmer.

“It shows that we take great pride in going the extra mile for our members to make them feel like family,” he said.

The housing complex staff believe in the small details that help single and unaccompanied sailors feel at home, such as turning down the bed and leaving chocolates or congratulatory notes for residents.

“When I first got there they had a welcome package and candy on the bed so that made me feel really special,” said Seaman Sharay Thomas, who has lived in unaccompanied housing for more than a year.

Other amenities include desk radios, auto shut-off irons, bicycles with locks available for residents to check out, a car wash space, and lounges with pool tables, big-screen monitors and cable television.

“I like the fact that they have someone at the security desk 24 hours a day,” Thomas said. “There is also surveillance inside and outside all the way to the parking lot, so that makes me feel very safe.”