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Our History continued...
 EpiCity
credits its success to relationships. According to Tom Stokes, president
and managing broker of EpiCity, you have to recognize synergy and
opportunities that come from relationships and be ready, willing and
able to change when conditions require it. Building the right team of
people, with the same values and motivations who share a common
objective, is EpiCity’s fundamental catalyst for success. EpiCity
nurtures its strong team of people.
Continuity is also important and
evident as Tom’s parents, along with his aunt and uncle, continue to be
active real estate investors and clients of the
 business.
And it’s not unusual to find employees who have been with the company
for 30 years or more. Tom Zachary has worked continually for the
company’s Lindmont property since helping to plant the first trees there
in 1949. Sandy Haithcock, on-site manager of EpiCity’s Towncreek
Manor Townhomes in Smyrna (now Epic Manor Townhomes), has been the
manager and a resident of the property nearly 30 years. She raised
her children there and has seen many changes. One thing hasn’t
changed though – the unique customer service offered to the residents.
For example, Sandy knits booties and blankets for her residents’ newborn
-- truly customer service from a different era!
Today, the
leadership of the company is grounded in Julie Tulodieski, Director for
Management Services, Velinda Bowman, Director for Accounting Services,
and Dwayne Bowman, Director for Maintenance Services. The senior
management team brings a high level of education and experience to
EpiCity.
Once you
have the right people and relationships in place, you need the right
tools.
“My dad
always says that 90 percent of getting the job done is using the
right tools,” says Stokes.
 So, EpiCity
maintains a wide area network that provides site access to property
management software in “real time,” email and personal information
management software to all its associates, and the industry’s premium
software, Geac/AMSI and Yardi Professional, for reporting on income producing real estate. EpiCity’s
advanced telecommunications system allows smooth integration among
personnel in various locations and departments and ensures prompt and
professional after-hours maintenance response, even routing faxes, email
and telephone calls to
staff members as they move from one location to another during the day.
These are but a few examples of EpiCity fulfilling its promise of
“yesterday’s service with tomorrow’s technology,” according to Stokes.
Another
important tool is management style. Again, relationships come into
play. Stokes has an easy-going management style. Simply put, people
like him. He has worked hard to create an enjoyable yet motivating
environment for his staff. He does this by promoting discipline,
believing discipline yields freedom. He relates this to his chorale
director, the late William Lemonds, during his studies at Emory.
Lemonds credited discipline with the 120-member choir’s ability to
vocalize as if it were a single voice.
“It was a
marvelous experience to be a part of something so beautiful and so
powerful,” Stokes reminisces, adding, “and it all emanated from the
discipline Lemonds elicited from a diverse group of college students,
often with little formal musical training.
It made an impression on me even then.”
Because the
staff is trained to the company’s demanding and high standards for
customer service, they have the freedom to make decisions to serve the
customer. This means they occasionally make mistakes.
“The EpiCity
philosophy is that staff will learn and grow from all experiences, both
good and bad, and we encourage that, as long as the decisions are made
based on good intentions,” said Stokes.
 The
full-service commercial real estate company continues to be re-energized
as it reconstitutes itself in the face of a changing market. The
company’s prime objective continues to be meeting the needs of its
clientele. Today EpiCity is increasing its level of representation of
the owners and lenders of distressed properties while expanding its
business of assisting clients who want to purchase unique investment
properties. EpiCity has a proven track record locating such properties
for clients requiring residential, industrial and commercial properties.
Examples of
this include EpiCity’s representation of the Metropolitan Atlanta
Serenity House (MASH), a residential treatment facility for adolescent
males suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. EpiCity helped identify a
corporate campus facility in Norcross, then assembled five acres from
three owners and renovated the one existing structure to serve as the
primary treatment and education facility. More recently they assisted a
regional restaurateur structure a sale-leaseback of their 5,000 square
foot restaurant building in Fayetteville, Georgia. EpiCity regularly
assists its clients with difficult and special-use properties by
offering the added value of in-house expertise to perform renovation or
development, as well as brokerage, leasing and management, depending on
the client’s needs.
Through its
changes, the business remains focused on the values on which it was
founded, and creating and maintaining quality relationships will always
be its most important asset. Stokes advises small business owners to
keep that in mind, as well as to remember a few key points.
“Always
operate on integrity and consistency,” said Stokes. “Stay focused and
make sure that you are doing something you enjoy. So many people fail
to engage their passion, we don’t want to be one of them.”
He also
stresses that a ‘boss’ needs to support the staff’s decisions. “Don’t
second-guess your staff,” said Stokes. “Give them the opportunity to
make their own decisions and support those decisions that are made with
good intentions. This will build their confidence to continue making
good decisions and allows the manager to truly lead.”
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