Florida’s Largest Privately-Held Residential Mortgage Company Appoints Two Veterans to Head Jacksonville Office

Lake Mary, Fla. -- Integrity Home Loan, Florida’s largest and most active residential mortgage provider, recently appointed two veteran mortgage specialists to its Northeast Florida Regional Office at 8130 Baymeadows Way in Jacksonville. Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., said he appointed Jim O’Neal and Keith C. Evans loan officers in Jacksonville. O’Neal, appointed Senior Loan Originator for Northeast Florida, is a veteran loan officer with more than 25 years of experience. A lifelong Jacksonville-area resident, O’Neal graduated from Orange Park High School in 1988. His mortgage experience includes positions with Jacksonville-based Vystar Credit Union and PHH Mortgage in Jacksonville, where he originated and processed loans for Charles Schwab and Merrill Lynch. Evans, appointed Loan Originator in the Jacksonville office, has more than 15 years of experience as a lender. Evans founded EQ Financial, Inc., in Jacksonville in 1999 and grew the company to include five locations with 76 employees. “We are very proud to serve Northeast Florida with two of the most experienced residential mortgage officers in the northeast Florida region,” Malloy said. Integrity Home Loan provided more than 2,700 mortgage loans last year totaling more than $600 million from 11 branches including the Central Florida headquarters in Lake Mary, and locations in Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich. Malloy projects Integrity will serve up more than 3,200 residential mortgage loans in 2013.

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida Appoints Two Veteran Loan Officers in Lake Mary Office

Lake Mary, Fla. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., Florida’s largest and most active residential mortgage provider, recently appointed veteran mortgage specialists Cliff Taylor and George Carlton Thornton III loan officers in its headquarters office at 901 International Parkway in Lake Mary Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., said Taylor has more than four years of experience as a loan officer with Ameriquest Mortgage and two years of experience as a licensed Florida Realtor. Thornton, who attended Southern Illinois University, has more than 10 years of experience as a loan originator. “Cliff Taylor and George Thornton are highly experienced residential mortgage officers who will play a big role in our continued growth in the Central Florida region,” Malloy said. Integrity Home Loan provided more than 2,700 mortgage loans last year totaling more than $600 million from 11 branches including the Central Florida headquarters in Lake Mary, and locations in Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich. Malloy projects Integrity will serve up more than 3,200 residential mortgage loans in 2013.

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida names new underwriter, sales manager

LAKE MARY, Fla. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, which ranks as one of the state’s fastest growing mortgage loan companies, has named a new FHA-VA underwriter. Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, said Robert L. Mayrand II who has close to 10 years of experience is the new underwriter for the Jacksonville branch. Mayrand attended Florida Community College in Jacksonville. At the same time, Malloy named Don Almeida, sales manager for the central Florida region. Almeida is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has been in sales for five years. Integrity is Florida’s largest fully integrated privately owned mortgage company with 11 branches including the headquarters in Lake Mary and locations in Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich.

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida Appoints Veteran Reverse Mortgage Specialist to Work with Seniors in Central Florida

Lake Mary, Fla. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc. recently appointed veteran mortgage specialist Barbara D. Sayre a loan officer in its headquarters office at 901 International Parkway in Lake Mary. Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., said Sayre, who has more than 20 years of experience as a residential mortgage professional, will focus solely on helping seniors obtain reverse mortgages, which provide them with cash from equity in their homes while they remain in their homes for life. “Barbara Sayre is one of the most experienced residential mortgage professionals in Central Florida and she is one of the leading experts in Florida on reverse mortgages,” Malloy said. Integrity Home Loan provided more than 2,700 mortgage loans last year totaling more than $600 million from 11 branches including the Central Florida headquarters in Lake Mary, and locations in Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich. Malloy projects Integrity will serve up more than 3,200 residential mortgage loans in 2013.

Stonegate Golf Club Promotes Claude Eastwood To Head Golf Professional, Kurt Frizzell to First Assistant Golf Professional

Kissimmee, Fla. – Stonegate Golf Club at Solivita in Poinciana, a Celebration Golf Management golfing facility, has promoted Claude Eastwood to head golf professional and Kurt Frizzell to first assistant golf professional. Arto Rahmani, general manager of Solivita Club Services, said Eastwood joined Stonegate Golf Club at Solivita six years ago and was formerly assistant golf professional. He is a U.S. Army veteran and has more than 10 years of experience in the golf industry. “Claude Eastwood has been a key part of our team since Celebration Golf Management took over management of Stonegate Golf Club in late 2011,” said Gene Garrote, president of Celebration Golf Management. “He has been an influential leader at Stonegate and his professional attitude has affected our whole management team,” Garrote added. Frizzell joined Stonegate in Spring 2012 after graduating from the Professional Golf Career College in Orlando. In his new role Frizzell will focus on restructuring and improving Stonegate Golf Club’s outside service team. “Kurt will be directly be responsible for implementing new policies and procedures to enhance the productivity and customer service of the outside staff,” Rahmani said “As Kurt continues to grow as a golf professional he will be an important part in our continued success at Stonegate Golf Club,” Garrote said.

Luhse Tea Introduces New Poster, Characters

Kissimmee, Fla. -- Luhse Tea LLC, the edgy Kissimmee-based retailer of fine imported teas and tea accessories that set out to demolish the stodgy stereotype normally associated with teas, has introduced a new poster and iconic characters to market the trendy pleasures of loose tea and capture a younger hipper demographic. Mindy S. Ferris and Brittney M. Wholihan, co-founders of Luhse Tea, said the new poster will be used to announce new tea flavors, such as the recently introduced Butter Me Up, a sweeter white tea that offers a strong hint of butterscotch. With the new poster, Luhse Tea has also introduced two new characters to help communicate the brand: Boxer, Luhse Tea’s ‘loggie’, and Sheba, the retailer’s ‘Girl Friday’. “Business is booming, our gangsters are talking, and Luhse Tea is listening,” Ferris and Wholihan said. Luhse Tea’s wide variety of fine teas and tea accessories is available online at www.luhsetea.com, on FaceBook at facebook.com/luhsetea, and on Twitter at twitter.com/luhsetea. Luhse Tea is a client member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program’s Kissimmee incubator.

Grand Opening April 6 at Flagler Station to Feature New Single Family Home Designs and Model Tour

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- Pulte Homes will host a Grand Opening Saturday, April 6 to showcase four distinctive new single-family homes at Flagler Station the gated community located off Flagler Center Blvd. at 14180 Corrine Circle in Jacksonville. Sean Strickler, vice president of sales for Pulte Homes in North Florida, said admission to the Grand Opening, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. is free and the public is invited. Along with tropical beverages and various snacks, Pulte Homes is sponsoring two unique entertainment opportunities: the Franzini Family Circus, with jugglers, a unicyclist, balloon art and face painting, and the exciting Floribbean music of Lawrence App on guitar and steel drums. “We’re going to have a party,” Strickler said, “and the new homes we’re showcasing are the main attraction,” he added. Pulte Homes is building 79 three and four bedroom single-family homes priced from the upper $100s at Flagler Station in four distinctive floor plans. Pulte plans to showcase its new Penrose model home. The two-story Penrose model home at Flagler Station offers three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths in 2,145 square feet of living space and three distinctive elevations to choose from. The open floor plan features a spacious kitchen that serves a large great room and adjoining dining room along with a flex room that can serve as a family game room or study and an outdoor patio. “Flagler Station has been a very popular town home community and we expect the same excitement and demand for our single-family homes Grand Opening,” Strickler said.

Pulte Homes to host grand opening April 13 to showcase new community amenity center at The Preserve at Corkscrew in Estero

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Pulte Homes will host a grand opening Saturday, April 13, to showcase the new community amenity center at The Preserve at Corkscrew, located off Corkscrew Road two miles east of I-75 in Estero. Scott Mairn, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte Homes in Fort Myers, said admission to the event is free and the public is invited from 1 to 4 p.m. Tours of the new community amenity center and newly decorated model homes at The Preserve at Corkscrew will be provided, along with live music, food and refreshments. The new amenity center features a community clubhouse with a grand lobby, a state-of-the-art fitness center, yoga studio, gathering room and covered verandah with fireplace. Outdoors, the community center features a beach-style entry resort pool complete with a private spa, cabanas, lounge chairs and table seating. The outdoor oasis also includes a green space with hammocks, tennis courts and a playground. “Cameratta Companies built the perfect community center for both family recreation and active adults and we’re very pleased to unveil it to our homebuyers,” Mairn said. Pulte Homes builds two, three and four-bedroom homes in 10 distinctive one and two-story designs at The Preserve at Corkscrew priced from $232,990 to $526,554. The Preserve at Corkscrew, which is being developed by Cameratta Companies, boasts more than 300 acres of natural preserves.

Ashton Woods Homes nears closeout at Grand Hampton in New Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. --- Ashton Woods Homes has only seven home sites remaining at Grand Hampton, located on Dunham Station Drive off County Line Road just west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa. Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing at Ashton Woods Homes in the Tampa Bay region, said Ashton Woods’ homes at Grand Hampton offer three, four and five bedrooms and range in size from 1,981 square feet of living space to 2,972 square feet and are priced from $217,990. Grand Hampton features a community clubhouse with multi-use aquatic center, tennis and basketball courts, excessive conservation areas, a park and lakes. Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Killeen, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio, Sarasota, Raleigh and Tampa. Recently named the #1 Most Trusted Homebuilder in America in the Lifestory Research Most Trusted Builders in America Study SM, Ashton Woods is known throughout the industry for building homes with award-winning designs that inspire, and offering homebuyers a high level of personalization options. Ashton Woods is also the only builder to nationally utilize the Environments for Living Platinum Program, a program that certifies the energy efficient status of our homes.

First Green Bank Officials Attend Global Alliance for Banking on Values Summit in Berlin

Mount Dora, Fla. --- The chairman, president and two directors of First Green Bank, headquartered in Mount Dora, recently attended the Global Alliance for Banking on Values summit conference in Berlin. Kenneth M. LaRoe, chairman of First Green Bank, Paul Roundtree, president and bank directors Shannon Carlyle and Randy Strode attended the conference. First Green Bank was admitted to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values last year. The Alliance, which includes 22 banks in 16 countries, including four U.S. banks, is an independent network of banks using finance to deliver sustainable development for unserved people, communities and the environment. First Green Bank launched its first capital offering in January. LaRoe said First Green Bank has raised more than $4 million in investments.