2021 Employee Picnic & All Company Meeting Recap

Each year, Roers hosts an employee picnic to bring together our employees and their families. After a year without due to COVID-19, we were more excited than ever to have the opportunity to host this event again, this time at our corporate office in Fargo, North Dakota.

Most of our team and their families were in attendance for our employee picnic. There were various activities to enjoy such as crafts for the kids, dog agility and scent demonstrations, face painting, bingo and more. Pancheros catered and Sweet Treats Food Truck joined in on the fun and supplied frozen treats for our event. Our team enjoyed tacos and ice cream treats for the evening.

Dog agility and scent demonstrations were held by our Construction Contract Admin, Lois Eid, who does dog training in her free time. She brought three of her dogs to be a part of the show! An obstacle-like course was set up for her agility demonstration with two of her dogs. Later in the evening, Lois conducted a scent demonstration where various scents were placed under boxes and the dogs were to find them. All dogs found all scents! Lois has been an agility and obedience instructor for 22 years and is also an emeritus AKC obedience judge. (insert photo of her dogs).

Although out Bismarck team wasn’t able to join us due to a tight deadline on our large Missouri Slope project, they were able to celebrate on a smaller level out in western North Dakota. Project Manager, Dustin Fischer, worked hard to put together something special for those in the area. Employees from three different areas and their families were invited to Sertoma Park where they set up under one of the shelters for the evening. Cashwise Grocery provided the food and employees and families brought yard games, some played at the park, and all socialized for the night. We are glad all employees had the opportunity to enjoy an evening together with team members and their families.

Our All Company Meeting was one for the books! Twice a year, we get our company together for an overall update on what’s going on with Roers. For this meeting, we decided to change up the agenda for the day and we scheduled a bus tour highlighting a few of our recent and current projects in the FM area. We loaded up our team on two school busses and headed out around town to drive by some current and recently completed projects.

Here are the projects we visited:

The tour was eye opening for those who don’t typically see projects when they are in the works, and it was great for our employees who were from the western half of the state to come see what we are working on here in Fargo. We hope to host a similar event out west in the future.

Afterwards, everyone met back at the corporate office for a fun team building activity.

Following the activity, staff received a brief company update with President and CEO, Jim Roers and enjoyed lunch.

We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to get so many of our team members together for these events, especially after a year where we could only get together through Zoom or other technology methods.

We at Roers also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Sheyenne High School’s National Honor Society members that helped us set up and tear down at our event. 

All Smiles at SmileCare

SmileCare Dental, owned by Dr. Ryan Nygard, is a well-established family and cosmetic dental practice in Fargo, ND. We truly believe we are unlike any other dental experience.  It is their goal to provide you and your family with professional and comfortable care in a peaceful and clean office environment through state-of-the-art dental practices and technologies. While their equipment has been state-of-the-art since opening, Dr. Ryan wanted the building to match that.

This project was a 5,101 square foot interior and exterior remodel with a new parking lot and landscaping, as well as additional rental space. The goal was to keep the dental office operational throughout the entire process, so we completed the interior remodel in 2 phases. The interior remodel project consisted of a new layout, dental equipment, and implementing an all-around welcoming space. The exterior remodel consisted of new windows, siding, paint, building signage, landscaping and a new parking lot. 

We visited with Roers Project Manager, Nate Mankie, to get some feedback regarding this project. Here is what he had to say:

What was your favorite part of the process?

My favorite part was watching the existing building go from old to new. I also enjoyed watching patients’ and passerby’s reactions as they saw the different stages of progress throughout the remodel.

With the dental office still operating, how did you avoid any issues during the remodel?

The key is maintaining optimal communication between Roers, SmileCare, and the subcontractors. With this, we were able to maintain our schedule to keep each piece running efficiently.

What was it like working on-site?

Everyone worked well on site. Everyone would help if there was a problem and put their heads together to come up with a solution. They would respect that the dental office was still open during construction and that some days we had to work around that but overall it was a good on-site experience.

What was a highlight of working on this project?

The highlight of the project for me was the completion of the exterior of the building. The exterior is like a first impression. It sets the tone for the experience, and I think it turned out great!

This remodel project offered a unique experience for our team, as we got to work along side an interior designer.

Monica Hart, Interior Designer, came in and assisted SmileCare in making the owner’s dream of a new space, with a timeless color pallet and feel, come to life. Dr. Ryan specifically asked for navy blue with an accent of mustard, so she built the palette and selections around that.

At Roers, we focus on building partnerships, so we asked Monica how her experience working with the Roers team was.

“Everyone at Roers was very efficient and organized – I really appreciated that!”

That efficiency and organization played a role in the success of this project. Happy contractor, happy interior designer, happy owner. This was such a fun project to be a part of, and we can’t wait for the next!

Check out the great images below that we received from Monica Hart.

The Importance of Renters Insurance

Now that the busiest time of year at our properties is complete and residents are settling into their new homes, it’s a great time to emphasize the important of protecting your home and your belongings with renters insurance!

When living at a Roers property, you are required to have renter’s insurance. Renters insurance can help you repair or replace property after loss due to many types of damage or theft. It protects your personal belongings, valuable property, and can also provide coverage for an accident at your residence. Policies usually have very affordable annual premiums, that can also be paid monthly. Renters insurance is also important to have because your landlord may have property insurance, but that will not cover your personal belongings.

We recently visited with a local Fargo Insurance Agent, Rena Bjerke, with DJ Coulter Agency Inc, to find out more details on benefits of having renter’s insurance. Here is what she has to say:

What are the differences between having your own insurance policy or staying on your parents’?

  1. For students currently covered under their parents, in the event of a claim, it will not affect their parent’s insurance rates or claim history. It is important to verify with the insurance company that they offer the extension of personal property coverage when their child goes off to college.
  2. Students that carry their own renter’s insurance policy, will start their own “insurance credit history” with that company. Down the road when adding additional policies such as home, autos, families, toys, new business ventures… or anything that will need protection from, having that insurance policy already in place will help with rates and programs.
  3. Students that have their own policy develop their own start of independence – diving into their own relationship with the insurance world and building confidence to take charge of their own responsibilities. They can take pride knowing they have the items they have worked hard to acquire, covered in the event of a claim. This could be the new TV they just bought, the nice new couch, or the new laptop.

We spoke with Roers Property Management General Manager, Madison Maides, for her insight on the importance of renters insurance.

“Renters insurance is important as it protects residents from the cost of accidents or things they can’t control. For instance, if there is water damage from a neighboring unit and you have personal items damaged because of it, your renters’ insurance would cover the cost of your lost items. Or maybe an accident happens in your unit and you are responsible for the costs, your renters insurance would end up paying for the damage and not you.”

If you have questions regarding how much coverage is needed, you should reach out to your family’s insurance agent or start to “shop” for the best coverage and price for you. For questions or more information on renters insurance and required coverage amounts, contact our leasing team at 701-356-RENT.