Holiday Builders

There's something to be said for keeping it local. At least that's what Melbourne, Fla.-based Holiday Builders' marketing director Gary McCann said when he chose CK Communications (CKC), a local full-service communications firm, to work closely with the builder's marketing team on a new branding campaign for 2006. Although CKC's portfolio includes a host of national and international clients, it was the firm's close proximity—barely a half-mile—to Holiday's headquarters that sealed the deal in November. More

Melbourne, Fla.-based Holiday Builders this month is building three models at Beaver Dam Crossing, a community in Stone County, Miss., near Biloxi, where Holiday plans to build 396 homes. Kim Shelpman, Holiday's president, says her company expects to start selling homes at Beaver Dam in February. She says the company is "going full force in Mississippi," where Holiday has already posted billboards stating that its homes will start in the $130s. More

In a bold move to help Holiday Builders cut critical overhead costs, which should ensure the company's survival through 2010, Kim Shelpman resigned her position as the company's president and CEO, effective immediately. However, Shelpman, who had served as chief executive since August 2006, will continue to serve on the company's board of directors and board of trustees for the foreseeable future. COO Bruce Assam and CFO Richard Fadil will assume her responsibilities at the employee-owned company. More