San Francisco Resident Manager of the Year: Ed Milestone

Lightner Property Group is very excited to announce that our very own, Ed Milestone, won the San Francisco Apartment Association's (SFAA) award for 2009 Resident Manager of the Year. Ed Milestone and the rest of Lightner Property Group's resident managers are headed up by Art Swanson, Chief of Operations, and last year's recipient of the SFAA's Property Manager of the Year.

Ed won this award for his exceptional work as a resident manager of 1935 Franklin Street and 1920 Pacific Avenue. In addition to being a resident manager, Ed is also one of our on-call staff, responding to emergencies at any of the Lightner Property Group-managed properties (LPG has a 24/7 on-call staff). Ed’s work philosophy includes remaining optimistic and tackling all issues with a positive mental attitude.

All of LPG's resident managers are trained extensively so they are empowered to take on more responsibility. This allows our resident managers to  respond well to all situations that arise at our properties.

As a San Francisco resident, having a resident manager who is well-trained can make a significant difference in your tenancy. In the case of an emergency, a well-trained resident manager can remain calm and know the necessary next steps. Additionally, for day-to-day matters, you receive a different level of customer service. If you are looking for an San Francisco apartment, and are interested in living in a property that is taken care of by one of LPG's well-trained resident managers, we encourage you to take a look at all of our currently available apartments for rent.

SFAA 2009 Resident Manager of the Year Certificate

Halloween-Themed Recipes from LPG

Jason Swanson, LPG staff member and fabulous cook, in his kitchen in San FranciscFor all you San Francisco renters who enjoy a nice holiday-themed recipe, we thought we would blog a few recipes from Jason, who in addition to being the Lightner Property Group office coordinator is also a fabulous chef.

The two recipes that Jason has provided, Pumpkin Soup and Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds, can be created using 1 pumpkin and a few other basic ingredients.

Pumpkin Soup

What you will need:

• 1 large pumpkin
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 white onion
• 2 low sodium 18 oz. chicken broth

Directions:

• Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Step 2: Cut out the top of the pumpkin, as you would if you were carving it and gut the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin seeds to the side. Rinse to get rid of all the gunk, seeds should be completely cleaned.
• Step 3: Peel the pumpkin rind using a knife or vegetable peeler. Jason always uses a knife.
• Step 4: Cut the pumpkin into cubes. Place to the side.
• Step 5: In a large mixing bowl, mix together ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), ¼ cup honey, 1/8 cup brown sugar and salt and pepper.
• Step 6: Toss cubed pumpkin in mixture in the large mixing bowl.
• Step 7: After tossing cubed pumpkins in mixture, place the cubes on a large baking sheet. Be sure to use a spray of Pam before placing the pumpkin cubes on the baking sheet to avoid “stickage.” Place baking sheet in preheated oven.
• Step 8: Bake pumpkin until cubes are “fork-soft” If you have chosen as Jason puts it, “a good, hard pumpkin,” it will take approximately 45 minutes for pumpkin cubes to get “fork-soft.”
• Step 9: Dice the white onion. In a large soup pot, sauté the diced onions until they are translucent. Fill the pot halfway with chicken broth, this will take approximately 2 18 oz. chicken broth. Jason recommends using low sodium chicken broth to reduce the amount of sodium intake. Bring mixture to a boil.
• Step 10: Once pumpkin is “fork soft” add to the chicken broth and onion mixture in the large soup pot. Cook until the pumpkin is breaking apart, which should take about 15 minutes.
• Step 11: Use an immersion blender until you get the desired consistency for your soup. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can alternately transfer the soup mixture to a blender and blend. Just keep in mind that you should not completely cover the blender to avoid it exploding.

Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds

What you will need:

• Cleaned pumpkin seeds
• EVOO
• Salt and Pepper (or a variety of other spices, see the recipe for options)

Recipe:

• Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Step 2: Mix all EVOO and salt and pepper together. Alternatively, if you want sweet pumpkin seeds you can mix brown sugar and cinnamon with EVOO. If you want spicier pumpkin seeds, try mixing spicy cayenne pepper and garlic salt with EVOO.
• Step 3: Spray a large baking pan with PAM and spread cleaned pumpkin seeds. Place in preheated oven . Cook until seeds are browned.
• Step 4: Take out seeds after they are browned and immediately transfer to spice and EVOO mixture. Toss in large bowl. Jason recommends doing this step last because the seeds tend to hold onto the spice mixture better when they are hot.
• Step 5: Serve and enjoy!

Art Swanson Meets the Governator!

Art Swanson (Chief of Operations & Property Manager of the Year) was invited to meet with the Governator earlier this week!

The Governator's office called the San Francisco Chamber to get a small group of business representatives together from the Bay Area. Our very own, Art Swanson, was asked by the San Francisco Chamber to represent the San Francisco Small Business owners. Former Mayor Willie Brown was there too. Cool!