Local Teacher Wins Inaugural Grammy Music Education Award.

(January 21st, Westfield NY)
Students and faculty at Westfield Academy and Central School (WACS) had a special surprise when music teacher Kent Knappenberger was announced live on the CBS Morning show as the inaugural winner of the first annual Grammy Music Educator award.  A special assembly was called this morning to announce it to the students.
Knappenberger was chosen out of 30,000 nominations for the award and will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award during the Special Merit Awards Ceremony and Nominees reception to be held later this week.  He will also receive at $10,000 honorarium.
The criteria for selection listed on grammyintheschools.com states that candidates were evaluated based on demonstrated evidence that they:  have made a measurable difference in the lives of students, have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education, are exemplars of the best in the field, have shown a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in our schools, have made a significant impact on their school and community.
Knappenberger has been serving the Westfield Community as a music teacher and choir director at Westfield Academy and Central School for 25 years.   Kent is a graduate of Mayville High School.  He holds a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a master's degree in music education, harp performance and literature from Eastman School of Music, and is a member of the National Education Association.  Knappenberger resides in Westfield with his wife and children.
Congradulations to Kent and Chautauqua Counties other fine educators and thank you for giving us one more reason why people should move to Chautauqua County.  I want more information on Chautauqua County Schools
Editors Note:   As a former student of Kent’s, I have a personal interest in this story as do most people who have been around him.  Beginning in middle school, I was under the direction of Kent for numerous groups both inside and outside of the school.  My younger brother and sister were also students of his.   For my siblings and me, Kent is more than a former-teacher; he is a trusted advisor and friend.  While I can cite the musicals I was in or instruments he taught me to play, I am most grateful to him for showing me and countless other students that with hard work, purpose, and passion we could accomplish things that did not seem possible.  I know it seems amazing that a public school teacher from a tiny town could beat out 30,000 entrants from larger schools with more talent and higher budgets to work with, but if you’ve spent time Kent and his students, amazing is expected.

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Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate donates to Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

Pictured (from left to right): George (Pete) Holt,
 Diana Holt, John Jablonski III,Steve Holt, Judy Porpiglia

A yard sale event hosted by Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate raised $500 for the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy.

We’d like to thank Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate for their generous and long time support of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy,” said CWC executive director John Jablonski III.

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the water quality scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams and watershed of the Chautauqua Region. They are a private, not-for-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization, to learn more or discover how you can get involved visit http://www.chautauquawatershed.org.  You can also find out the latest about their current projects including the preservation of wetlands in Whitney Bay on their facebook page facebook.com/Chautauquawatershed.

We believe that the care and maintenance of Lake Chautauqua is critical to the entire Chautauqua Region and its future,” said HHH President George (Pete) Holt.  “We are proud to do our part to help preserve the natural beauty of the area for future generations.

Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate, offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals.  Owned by the Holt family, the local affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville, on thegrounds of the Chautauqua Institution and at Peek’n Peak Resort and Spa.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United State, the country’s fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation.  The company serves the Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia real estate markets.

Howard Hanna welcomes Matthew Wroda to Sales team

Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate is pleased to welcome their newest REALTOR Associate, Matthew Wroda.

Wroda received his bachelors degree in Marketing and Communications from Ball State University.  In addition to running his auction and appraisal company for the past two years, Wroda previously worked in the Public Relations and Media fields. 

When asked what sets him apart from others in the field, Wroda responded, “I have been able to experience all facets of the advertising world and how to bring ideas to the table along with dealing with the press.  I plan to bring new media to the forefront and apply it to the real estate industry in innovative and user-friendly ways.”

“We are very excited to add Matthew to our sales team,” said Vice President/ Sales Manager Steve Holt.  “He brings a lot of energy to the job and his marketing knowledge and experience as an entrepreneur, should add a new dynamic to our company.”

When asked what drew him to HHH, Wroda responded, “I chose Howard Hanna Holt because I felt it was a place I could learn from the best in the business and I knew I could grow from the agents experiences and knowledge within the industry. I knew that HHH was also a place that I could grow not only as a REALTOR, but as a person.”

Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. Owned by the Holt family, the local affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

Howard Hanna Holt Agents Honored at Hanna Rally

From Left to Right:  Bill Carlson, Hoby Hanna,
 Crystal Ellsworth, Hellen Hanna, Steve Holt

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services’ hosted a regional awards rally to honor the accomplishments of their team of real estate agents. At this event CEO Howard W. ‘Hoddy’ Hanna, III recognized the accomplishments of the top real estate agents in the company. “Our agents did a fantastic job for our customers. In 2012 we increased our sales volume by 21% and hit 7 Billion Dollars in sales for the first time in the company’s 57 year history.”

At the rally William “Bill” Carlson, Crystal Ellsworth and Edward Miller III were recognized as the top producers in each of their offices. William Carlson & Edward Miller were also recognized as two of the top listing agents in the entire Howard Hanna organization.  In total 16 agents from Howard Hanna Holt were recognized for their sales production. Lisa Barber, Roger Britz, Catherine Brooks, William Carlson, William Corsi, Diana Holt, Steve Holt, Olivia James, Anne Lapaglia and Edward Miller III were recognized as multi-million dollar producers. Crystal Ellsworth, Adele Harrington, Connie O’Connor, Renee Pchelka, Patricia Prusha and Jennifer Wohler were recognized as million dollar plus producers.

William Carlson, Edward Miller, Diana Holt and Steve Holt were awarded the Realty Alliances National Sales Excellence Award. This award is presented to the top 1% of sales agents in North America.

“2012 was an amazing year”, said Steve Holt Vice President of Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate. “We increased our sales in Chautauqua County by over 20%. Our agents did a phenomenal job selling properties in Chautauqua County. The fact that we had sixteen agents receiving awards speaks for itself. Our motto in 2013 is, If You List It We Will SELL IT”

Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate, www.HowardHannaHolt.com, offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. Owned by the Holt family, the local affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

As part of our new weekly feature, Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate's Resident Nerd, Nick Holt discusses technology and internet, both related and independent of the Real Estate Industry. New Segments posted every Tuesday. Follow @howardhannaholt, or visit http://facebook.com/howardhannaholt or http://howardhannaholt.blogspot.com to follow or visit Chautauqua County Real Estate for more.

Pchelka Joins Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate

Seated left to right Roger Britz Manager, Renee Pchelka,
Standing left to right Steve Holt Vice President,
George Holt Broker and Diana Holt Broker

FREDONIA (NY) – Renee Pchelka has joined Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate.
Renee Pchelka, among Chautauqua County’s top residential Realtors for over 20 years has a new home. Renee has moved to Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate’s Fredonia office on Sunday July 1st, 2012. Howard Hanna opened their Fredonia office in 2007 and has quickly become the number one company in the Dunkirk-Fredonia market place.
“I am really excited to be joining the Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate team,” Pchelka said. “The real estate market has changed so much over the past 3 years. Some companies have struggled. However, Howard Hanna Holt has continued to grow. They have increased sales every year for the past 16 years by offering innovative programs to their clients to help them sell their homes.”

“Renee has been one of the top producing agents in Chautauqua County for over 20 years,” said Roger Britz sales manager of the Fredonia Office. “We have a great team of agents that have helped us become the number one office in Northern Chautauqua County and Renee will be a great addition to help us better serve our customers.”

Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. Owned by the Holt family, the local affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville and Westfield, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, at the Bemus Bay condominiums and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

HOWARD HANNA HOLT REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCES CHANGE

Chautauqua County headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate, citing a changing industry, has announced  an adaptation of their business model, with an increased focus on web and tech-based initiatives.

“The Real Estate industry has changed dramatically during the quarter of a century we’ve been in business,” said company Vice-President Steve Holt. “We pride ourselves on changing with it, and I believe our 16-consecutive years of increased sales demonstrate that we’re succeeding.”

“Our efforts are two-fold”, said Pete Holt, principal broker of Howard Hanna Holt.  “We are trying to not only focus on our web visibility, but also it’s impact, which means we need to have customers find us online, along with a system and agents who are prepared to serve those customers efficiently.”

As part of the ongoing change in the business  model, the Main Street satellite office in Westfield is being merged with the Mayville office only seven miles away. “We are committed to the Westfield marketplace and will continue to expand our presence there” said Diana Holt, co-owner. “We live in Westfield, as do more than a dozen of our agents and staff; it is our home. We’ve listened to our customers and clients who have made it clear that they want us to come to them rather than them to us, so we go where they are, either in person or virtually at www.howardhannaholt.com. We have seen dramatic changes in how our day to day business is conducted.  There was a time a client had to stop at an office to get property information. Now our listings are viewable at home to buyers on over 300 websites.  Our agents don’t need to go to an office to send a fax, they can send a pdf anywhere from their smart-phones or tablets. This change permits us to serve the needs of the community more effectively.”

Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. Owned by the Holt family, the local affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville and Peek’n Peak Resort and Spa, as well as seasonal offices at the Bemus Bay condominiums  and on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution.  Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

 

 

Pictured in photo from left to right Adele Harrington Sales Associate, Steve Holt Broker and Lisa Barber Broker Associate.