The Economic Development Pulse October 2015 | Page 15

7. In 2014, Mayor David Turner proposed a request from developers to build housing for families under $150,000. How does the company plan to undertake this request?

Betenbough Homes continually strives to provide the highest-quality home at the most affordable price. We continue to be the best value in the markets we serve with our homes starting in the $150s in Odessa’s North Park community. This equates to a monthly payment of approximately $1,170. A number of factors go into determining our affordability including our systems, processes and negotiating.

8. Many Betenbough employees are passionate and enthusiastic about the company culture. How can other companies adopt a similar environment?

We have found our unique company culture is attractive to many and our employees readily adopt our mission to build, serve, impact. After joining the company, employees go through Betenbough University, which educates them about each department within the company. Following the completion of Betenbough University and one year of employment, employees can then go through the recently launched Betenbough University 2, which digs deeper into the brand and our practices. We have found these programs afford employees the opportunity to truly learn about the company, and engage them in the mission and empower them to serve as ambassadors for the company.

The company places such importance on the well-being of its employees that it has a ministry coordinator in every city where it builds. This individual is solely focused on the betterment of employees and their families. The ministry team coordinates several employee events throughout the year to build community among employees and bless families. These events include date nights, baseball games, cookouts and other family-focused events.

Betenbough Homes also provides its employees numerous service opportunities. Every employee can join our giving team, which determines where donations are made within the community. The company also has an employee matching program, where the company matches personal donations of its employees to nonprofit organizations. Employees are encouraged to serve throughout the community whether that be on committees or service projects. Lastly, employees and their families are able to go on company-sponsored mission trips where they can see first-hand the work of organizations our company partners with financially. These trips have been to countries such as Kenya, Macedonia, Haiti, Brazil, India and more.

Our focus is loving people -- whether that be our team members, trade partners, home buyers, lenders, etc. When we love one another deeply and set out on the same mission with a worthy purpose, amazing things can begin to take shape such as a small homebuilding operation selling just a dozen homes in one year joining the ranks of the nation’s best with 700+ sales in one year. We encourage every business to focus on its employees and the community. We would be happy to speak with anyone wanting to learn more about our practices.

Quality of Life

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