AMC Honors Employees at Company’s 26th Annual Tribute Awards
Employees gathered for high-class pageantry and entertainment in an Academy Awards-style evening of celebration.
IRVINE, CA—March 19, 2024—Advanced Management Company’s 26th Annual Tribute Awards are officially a wrap! Employees and guests gathered recently for an evening of upscale pageantry and entertainment while celebrating the company’s top achievers throughout the past year.
Hosted at the City National Grove of Anaheim, AMC pulled out all the stops at the annual event, complete with employees walking the blue carpet under the towering palms in the Grove courtyard, live social media photo galleries and mingling and socializing. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were followed by dinner and an awards ceremony, topped off with dancing the night away to live band Soulville.
According to AMC Cofounder Frank Holloway, the annual Tribute Awards gala is AMC’s opportunity to shine a spotlight on the people who deserve it most: the company’s employees.
“This is our chance to really give thanks to the team members for all their hard work,” Holloway said. “Year after year, they’re in the trenches. They’re dealing with all the issues that arise in property management. Our message to them is, ’Thank you. We appreciate you, and we’re glad you’re part of our team.’ We hope to continue growing and giving more opportunities to all our team members.”
The event, which in many ways evokes an overall Academy Awards presentation vibe, is something employees at AMC — an Irvine-based property management company overseeing more than 60 apartment home communities, with nearly 12,000 individual units — look forward to all year long. With the company spread out across Southern California, AMC President Danielle McCarthy said it’s always a welcome occasion when everyone gets together under one roof.
“With our various locations, we don’t get to see everyone every single day,” McCarthy said. “The Tribute Awards have evolved over the last several years, and we’ve really raised the bar in how the entire evening unfolds. This year’s event was wonderful! Team members were dressed to the nines in black-and-white attire. I love to see everyone having a great time with their coworkers and plus-ones. It really feels like a family event.”
When it comes to the awards presentation itself, McCarthy served as cohost with her brother-in-law Scott DeMint, who is General Manager of R³ Construction Services, Inc., AMC’s in-house construction division. The pair traded off announcing nearly all of the program’s 26 awards. DeMint, who always gives an introduction in Spanish — the first language for many of the company’s employees — said the entire event embodies the inclusive company culture AMC and R³ have built over the last 42 years.
“We’re here to celebrate uniqueness, celebrate everyone’s accomplishments and really try to demonstrate how much we all appreciate the on-site teams putting in tremendous work day in and day out,” DeMint said. “I think that’s really the cornerstone of the company since its founding. The way the owners treat everybody across the board is reflected in this whole event.”
Employees are nominated for awards in advance by their coworkers, but the nominations are not revealed until the presentation the night of the event. Like most award programs, each category included multiple nominees before one winner was revealed. Winners didn’t have to give an acceptance speech, but McCarthy noted that some of the most memorable and heartfelt moments each year occur when they do step up to the microphone.
“It is so fun to see the shock on people’s faces when they win, and it’s inspiring to see everyone cheering for their teammates and to hear their emotional acceptance speeches,” McCarthy said. “When people win who are so deserving, that’s always just such a highlight for me.”
One of the evening’s biggest awards, the Bruce H. Dohrman Memorial Award of Excellence, along with $2,500, was presented to Asael Sepulveda. The Dohrman family has been a close partner of Advanced Real Estate since the early days of the company. Bruce Dohrman was an incredibly smart, kind and influential man, and this award is given in his honor to someone who carries out these same qualities.
Other noteworthy honors included the Crystal Rhino for property of the year, as well as awards for Community Director, Service Director and Foreman of the Year, seven AMC Hall of Fame inductees, among others.
Nikki Lizardi, AMC’s Director of Human Resources, has been involved with the Tribute Awards from their inception and now handles the lion’s share of the planning and preparing. She’s seen the event grow from modest beginnings into the huge production it is today.
“When we first started, it was held in hotel banquet rooms as a luncheon event for employees only,” Lizardi said. “It kept getting bigger and bigger, and now it’s a bit of a challenge to find some place large enough to host us all. But we’ve turned it into this wonderful evening celebration for all the team members. It’s a magical night.”
Each year’s event has a different theme. This year’s was black-and-white elegance, but previous themes have included “The Great Gatsby” and a masquerade ball. The night generally closes with a live band, dancing, late-night snacks, gambling tables and a photo booth, and this year was no exception.
“We have quite a number of employees who love to dance and they really enjoy the band Soulville,” Lizardi said. “Everybody just knocks the house down with their dancing.”
Above everything, all the pomp and circumstance that goes into delivering such an enchanting evening is really just one big thank you to AMC and R³’s workforce.
“Our industry can be really challenging, so to be able to give back to the people who work so hard every day is very rewarding,” McCarthy said. “They deserve a night to let loose and celebrate all their dedication and hard work. It’s a great event to be a part of!”
About AMC and R³
AMC is a subsidiary of Advanced Real Estate Services, Inc., a real estate investment company founded in 1982 by Richard Julian and Frank Holloway. AMC maintains and operates nearly 12,000 multifamily units in Southern California. R³ is a leader and innovator in the construction industry, specializing in high-volume renovations for multifamily clients in Southern California. Find out more at amcliving.com or r3construction.com.
