Don Wilford of ICI Homes took the major individual award and Centex Homes and Pulte Homes got the top company awards at the 2005 Laurel Awards this month.
The Academy Awards-like event drew an estimated 750 to the Sawgrass Marriott. It’s the major event of the year for the Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
Wilford, who heads the ICI operation in North Florida, won the Dick Baker Memorial Award for service to the community.
Centex was the Grand Award winner and Pulte won the Golden Service award.
In addition to the major honors, 61 awards were given out in four categories: Individual, Architectural Design, Marketing/Advertising and Interior Merchandising.
In the Individual competition, Susan Kennedy of Vanguard GMAC was named Realtor of the Year, Adrian Shepherd of Ryland Homes took Site Agent of the Year, Naomi Lumley of Palencia was the Marketing Director of the Year and Karen Sutherland of ICI was the Builder Member of the Year.
Leading award winners in Marketing/Advertising were Full Circle Productions with six Laurels and The Montello Agency with four.
Centex took two of the eight Architectural Design awards.
In Interior Merchandising, Merchandising Plus won two of the seven.
The event’s theme was a masked ball and guests were welcomed in a lavishly-designed ballroom at the hotel. The Laurels were held previously at the Florida Theatre but have grown so much in the past two years that the downtown theatre couldn’t handle the event.
Amber King of Richmond American Homes was the chairman.