Windsong Ranch announced today that it was named the People’s Choice Community of the Year at the 37^th Annual McSAM Awards presented by the Dallas Builders Association (DBA).  The awards program is held each spring to recognize outstanding achievement and “maximum creativity in sales and marketing.”    More than 300 entries were received this year and winners were named in 58 categories judged by housing experts from across the country. 

“The People’s Choice Award is THE coveted award of the night because it is a customer satisfaction award that shows our success in creating the best community for our homeowners,” said Craig Martin, Founding Partner of Terra Verde Group, the developer of Windsong Ranch.  “Our residents ranked Windsong highest in overall lifestyle, amenities and customer service compared to all the other communities in DFW. 

For the People’s Choice Award, a third party research firm surveys homeowners from each community entered and residents rate their community in a variety of categories. The winner is determined by the community receiving the highest rating.

“Residents love this community and the outstanding lifestyle programming that Lauren Stephan, our lifestyle director, has implemented,” Martin said.  “It has created a very close knit, happy community and these industry awards reemphasize what an incredible development we have built.  Windsong Ranch has exceeded our expectations in every way.” 

The development has received 20 local, state and national awards in just two years including the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Award for Best Welcome Center earlier this year and the Dallas Builders Association 2015 Master Planned Community of the Year.

Windsong Ranch is being developed by Terra Verde Group.  The design team includes Good, Fulton and Farrell as architect; TBG as Master Planners and Landscape Architect; Creative License International for the Welcome Center design and interior design and Anderson Hanson Blanton as the advertising agency.

Windsong Ranch is located 2.5 miles west of the Dallas North Tollway on the north side of Highway 380 in Prosper, TX.  Upon a projected 8- to 10-year build-out, Windsong Ranch will consist of 3,100 single-family residential lots, 150 acres of mixed-use development along U.S Highway 380, and 600 acres of open space with native preserves, trails and parks.  Homes range from the upper $200s to $900s and feature builders Highland Homes, Drees Custom Homes, Darling Homes, Huntington Homes, David Weekley Homes and Chesmar Homes.  This year American Legend Homes and Grenadier Homes will also open new models to kick off their building programs in Windsong Ranch. 

The 2,030-acre development promotes a healthy, active lifestyle and a strong sense of community. There are 600 acres of green space woven throughout the community that include parks, open play areas, creeks, ponds and miles of hike and bike trails.  The Commons area is the heart of the neighborhood where residents enjoy Windsong Café, an outdoor living room, resort-style pools with cabanas and grilling areas, an event lawn, a lakeside amphitheater with floating stage, a state-of-the-art fitness center, four tennis courts and a kids creative play area.  New amenities nearing completion include a mountain bike course and a championship disc golf course. For more information on Windsong Ranch, please visit http://www.windsongranchliving.com.

The Dallas Builders Association (dallasbuilders.com), chartered in 1944, is a non-profit trade association representing all segments of the residential building industry in the Dallas Metropolitan area. Its mission is to enhance its members’ ability to provide safe, affordable, quality housing to the citizens of the local communities by promoting positive public policy through active participation in the legislative and regulatory processes; providing industry information and education to the members and the public; enhancing the positive image of the industry and the members through training and encouraging ethical behavior and professional standards; and making membership in the Association an essential element of a successful residential building industry company.

Millions of Americans deal with back and neck pain every day.  Spinal injections can help but it takes precision and experience for doctors to get it right.  Now a new medical device called AsTris 1.0 is on the market and it’s designed to help doctors get the experience they need without having to practice on a real person. The newly patented AsTris 1.0 makes its debut this week in Dallas at the 2016 American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) conference April 14-16 at the Hyatt Regency.

For pain management doctors Johnny East and Brandon Knutson, owners of BioTras, the product launch of AsTris 1.0 at ASIPP is the culmination of several years of vision casting, research and design.

“As an emerging med-tech company based in Dallas, this is the perfect venue to launch our first medical device,” said East, who is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine and has performed over 20,000 spinal injections over the course of his 14-year career.  “We will get the chance to showcase AsTris 1.0 in front of thousands of the best minds in interventional pain management, including physicians, nurses and other health care providers.”

The AsTris 1.0 body is clear, which allows the practitioner to observe needle movement as the needle is advanced towards the spine. It can also be customized to include a variety of skeletal structures to meet a wider scope of training needs.  The simulator is different than anything currently on the market and is made of a fusable thermo plastic material.  It is also made of re-constructed human vertebrae, and other real bone elements that can be viewed under X-ray. 

“AsTris 1.0 will change how pain management training is done,” said Knutson. “It allows resident physicians, fellows, post-grad physicians and other health care professionals to practice performing hundreds, even thousands of injections before ever injecting a real person.”

BioTras expects the second and third generation models of AsTris 1.0 to be used in training for specialties outside of pain management such as neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.  You can see AsTris 1.0 spine simulator model at booth 700 at the ASIPP conference as well as videos of the spinal injection process and interviews with the inventors, East and Knutson.

Based in Dallas, BioTras is an emerging med-tech company that focuses on the development of bio-anatomical training systems.  For more information on BioTras and the AsTris 1.0, go to www.biotras.com or call (214) 444-3117.  Photos and a video demonstration of AsTris 1.0 can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/hcba7aa

The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) supports the needs of physicians who practice Interventional Pain Management through its pursuit of excellence in educational programs, publications, certification and political advocacy. ASIPP was formed in 1998 with the goal of promoting the development and practice of safe, high quality, yet cost effective interventional pain management techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of pain and related disorders, and to ensure patient access to these interventions.

Drees Custom Homes announces the Grand Opening of their newest model in one of Little Elm’s hottest communities, Union Park—a thoughtfully designed, LiveSmart development by Hillwood Communities just west of the Dallas North Tollway in Little Elm.

The population of Little Elm has grown by a staggering 610% within the past decade, an estimated increase that has begun to stabilize as Little Elm sits at approximately 33,842 people within its town limits. With the addition of Union Park and the 2,400 single family homes the community will bring at completion, Little Elm is sure to maintain steady growth for years to come. Situated along the ever expanding Highway 380 corridor, Union Park spared no expense in the preservation of its beautiful Texas landscape. The core of the community is a 35-acre park with open greenbelts and natural ponds that connect to an impressive amenity center, walking trails and a community food truck park.

“Union Park is a one-of-a-kind community in North Texas,” said Ryan Roten, Market Manager for Drees Custom Homes at Union Park. “The attention to detail and the homeowner experience is inspiring—Union Park offers the best of today’s in-home technology, front yard maintenance, convenient access to Denton ISD schools—with a future on-site school planned, and a Lifestyle Director planning daily events. Union Park is a great community for us to showcase the beautiful Drees Custom home designs.”

Located on Highway 380 just west of the Dallas North Tollway, a quick turn north onto Union Park Boulevard and you run right into the Union Park model home park. Drees features nine elegant home designs ranging in size from 2,687 square feet to 4,724 square feet starting from the $380,000s. An excellent variety of homes to choose from with three- and four-bedrooms, one- and two-story plans, two- and three-car garages, and the best in interior detail and finishes. Currently Drees is offering a number of incentive programs and options for their spec and to-be-built home buyers.

Drees Custom Homes is recognized for their award-winning home designs, exceptional customer service and endless choices to create the custom home to fit your lifestyle.  Offering a state-of-the-art energy program as a standard feature, the DreeSmart Conservation Innovations, has proven to save homeowners up to 40% on monthly utility bills.

Visit the fully furnished model today at 4908 Union Park Boulevard East and take a tour of the seven quick-move homes available now. From the Dallas North Tollway, travel north to US Highway 380 and turn left (traveling west), then turn right onto Union Park Boulevard (formerly Navo Road).  The Model Home is open Mon-Sat 10-6p and Sun 12-6p. For more information go to www.dreeshomes.com.

Drees Homes, family-owned and operated for over 85 years, is ranked nationally as the 28th largest homebuilder and 7th largest private builder by Builder magazine. Headquartered in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, Drees operates in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, Raleigh, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia.  The company operates as “Drees Custom Homes” in Texas and was named DFW Builder of the Year in 2014 by the Dallas Builders Association.

Thomas Signature Homes has selected Tella Firma Foundations (www.tellafirma.com) to provide the foundation for one of its clients in the exclusive Preston Hollow neighborhood located in Dallas, Texas.

“We’ve worked with Tom on about 10 custom homes,” said Jim Fontaine, CEO of Tella Firma.  “He originally saw the process presented at an educational session at the Dallas Builders Association.  He was in the middle of building a house with piers, and after seeing the benefits of Tella Firma Foundations, he decided to do a cost comparison.  It was about the same, so the decision to use Tella Firma was a no-brainer.”

By using a field-tested, patented process of elevating a slab-on-grade foundation, Tella Firma creates a protective void between the ground and the home itself.  This application isolates the slab and guards it from damaging soil swells, contractions and unexpected movement caused by light earthquakes.  Most foundation damage results from soil movement caused by expansion and contraction of clay soils due to moisture change, or by seismic activity. 

“Everything starts at the foundation,” said Tom London, owner of Thomas Signature Homes.   “All of our homes are built with the highest quality in mind, so a Tella Firma foundation was right in line with that.  My clients are very educated and have previously bought homes, so they understand the issues around soils.  When I tell them about Tella Firma, it is an easy choice for them to make.”

The Tella Firma foundation system is based on commercial engineering principles in practice for over 50 years. The system provides the strength and protection of a pier-and-beam foundation, yet it is much more affordable and takes less time to install when compared to most traditional, suspended foundations. Tella Firma foundations also utilize a green installation process to avoid the need for any type of chemical or water injection into the soil under the home.  

Thomas Signature Homes is renowned for its award-winning quality, design and innovation. More importantly, it is known for the high level of personal service, experience and expertise they offer families considering building or purchasing a new custom home in Dallas.  Tom London supervises each project himself to ensure that every detail is taken care of and every question is immediately addressed. His team of creative architects, artisan craftsmen and artistic design professionals are also service-oriented and focused on achieving and exceeding the clients’ expectations.

Richardson-based Tella Firma Foundations (tellafirma.com) announced today it has added Justin Zuckerbrow to its executive team as Vice President of Business Development.  Justin has 15 years of industry experience and extensive knowledge of foundations and construction.

“We are very excited to have Justin on board,” said Jim Fontaine, CEO of Tella Firma.  “Justin’s entire career has been spent in the building industry.  He has a history of significantly growing revenue and was responsible for maintaining and developing new relationships with customers, engineers and production offices.  That is just the type of key executive we need to help us take Tella Firma to the next level.”

Prior to joining Tella Firma, Justin was in residential sales for nine years, followed by three years in multi-family sales for Suncoast Post Tension. He also managed the estimating and detailing group for the multi-family slab-on-grade division during that time period. 

“I am passionate about this industry and building relationships,” said Zuckerbrow.  “This is a great opportunity to bring my skill set to an entrepreneurial company and help grow the business.”

Zuckerbrow received his business degree from Ouachita Baptist University.  He lives in Mansfield with his wife, Keri, and his children Jordan, Corbin, and Cadence.

By using a field-tested, patented process of elevating a slab-on-grade foundation, Tella Firma creates a protective void between the ground and the home itself. This application isolates the slab and guards it from damaging soil swells, contractions, and unexpected movement caused by light earthquakes. Most foundation damage results from soil movement that can be caused by expansion and contraction of clay soils due to moisture change or by seismic activity.

The Tella Firma foundation system is based on commercial engineering principles in practice for over 50 years. The system provides the strength and protection of a 
pier-and-beam foundation yet is much more affordable and takes less time to install compared to most traditional, suspended foundations. Tella Firma foundations also utilize a green installation process to avoid the need for any type of chemical or water injection into the soil under the home. 

Dallas-based Tella Firma is revolutionizing the way home foundations are built. Tella Firma gets its name from the Latin “strong home.”  Foundations with the company's product have been installed throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, and Tella Firma plans to expand into new residential and commercial developments throughout the area.  For more information, go to tellafirma.com.