FRONT PORCH

My family and I were in town back in early January 2021. My firm has an office in Lakewood Ranch and for a few years, I have been considering a transfer. My girls and I lived in Southeast Florida for so long, I knew it simply wasn’t going to be an easy decision and honestly, I never thought that it would happen!

To get a feel for the area’s housing market, we started looking at model homes in Lakewood Ranch and then decided to head up to Parrish as we have heard good things about this up-and-coming location. After touring a few other communities in Parrish, we decided to visit Canoe Creek. I read a few articles about Neal Communities and took a look at the Canoe Creek website but when we arrived, we were very impressed. The neighborhood itself is beautiful, the homes look amazing and the clubhouse/pool area was simply spectacular!

After a good start, we decided to take a look at the models and that is when our lives changed! When we walked in the sales center, we were greeted by Darice Levasseur…to say she was delightful and extremely intelligent about Canoe Creek and Neal Communities is an understatement! Over the next hour or so, Darice shared all of her knowledge with us and I was absolutely shocked as my girls and I really fell in love with the Dream floorplan and we had our eyes on a few different pieces of lakefront property off Old Creek Court.

After our visit and on the way back to our hotel, the only thing we talked about was how much we loved the Dream, the neighborhood and Darice! For me, I have been managing employees for 25+ years and I could not believe how this amazing young woman transformed the permanent relocation of my family from an absolute longshot to more than a spark of hope. As the day went on and the next day began, all we could think about was figuring out a way to make this “Dream” a reality.

When we got home from our trip, my wife and I simply could not put down all the information Darice shared with us. I recall one evening, my wife and I were talking about the potential move. Earlier in the day, I had found an existing home in Parrish online and I really liked it…nice house…nice property, this home was a good one. When I shared the information with my wife, she started to cry. I immediately stopped and asked what was wrong…her reply was simple: “I want the Dream,” and that was that! Over the next week or so, we worked with Darice to make it happen!

Since that day, the process has been amazing…Darice has been amazing! We purchased our homesite right on a big lake, we have been through all design stages and our house is roughly 30 – 40% complete. We sold our house in Southeast Florida and just last week, we moved west and are currently living in Lakewood Ranch while Neal finishes our Dream model!

In closing, I honestly feel like without Darice, this would have never happened! While I am no genius, I know other people and I sure know an amazing employee when I see one…Darice Levasseur is both an amazing young woman and a spectacular young employee! I would bet everything I have that my life is not the only one she has changed and if there has ever been an employee that deserves every single accolade a company provides…it is Darice. We thank God for her every day and so should Neal Communities!

Sincerely,

Brian, Deborah and Rachel Gibbs