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      <text><![CDATA[<h1>A Family Legacy | The Drees Story</h1>             <iframe width=&quot;538&quot; height=&quot;292&quot; src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/slideshow/&quot; scrolling=&quot;no&quot;/>]]></text>
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      <text><![CDATA[<h2>Humble Beginnings</h2>             <p>The historic tale of Drees Homes begins in 1928 with the personal struggles of a German immigrant who traveled across the Atlantic with visions of a better life in America. Theodore Drees was a slight man with huge aspirations. Each morning, he would pull on his tall rubber boots, grab his black metal lunch pail and tackle the day with a strong work ethic and relentless, single-minded dedication to the American Dream.</p>             <p>Theodore Drees soon began constructing his first home in 1928 and today, a little house in Wilder, Kentucky stands in tribute to craftsmanship that endures. Theodore's son, Ralph, joined the business in 1959 after serving his country in the Army. It was Ralph's philosophy of diversification and industry leadership that took the company into new markets.</p>             <p>From those humble beginnings, Drees Homes now celebrates 80 years in business and is the nation's 27th largest homebuilder. Under the leadership of David Drees, a third generation descendant of the company's founder, Drees Homes continues to flourish.  &quot;Theodore lived by the old adage that 'any job worth doing, is worth doing well',&quot; said David Drees, President and CEO. &quot;That commitment to excellence continues to be our driving force today. Our vision of creating better homes and better communities is dependent on a focused approach that begins and ends with quality, personalization and customer service.&quot;</p>             <h2>America's Best</h2>             <p>Drees is proud to have been recently named, &quot;2008 America's Best Builder&quot; by Builder Magazine - an honor based on operational stability, excellence in design and construction, customer satisfaction and community service. This award translates into a positive outlook for Drees as we move into the next 80 years and beyond.</p>             <p>Drees is headquartered in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, and has operations in Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Nashville, Ral]]></text>
      <text><![CDATA[eigh, Frederick, M.D., Washington D.C., Jacksonville, Austin and Dallas.</p> ]]></text>
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    <Awards>
      <award title="Raleigh 2011 Building Company of the Year" awd_affiliation="Triangle Sales &amp; Marketing Council" date="04-22-2011"><![CDATA[Drees Homes in Raleigh was named &#x93;Building Company of the Year&#x94; for an impressive fifth time in the past six years including the past 3 years at the recent Triangle Sales and Marketing Council 2011 MAME Awards, co-sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh Wake County and the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties. <br> The award is based on industry involvement, product development, advertising, marketing, broker relations, success in the marketplace, and Home Builders Association involvement over the past year.]]></award>
      <award title="2008 America&apos;s Best Builder" awd_affiliation="Builder Magazine" date="04-08-2008"><![CDATA[<table width=&quot;434&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot;><tr><td rowspan=&quot;4&quot;><img src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;265&quot; height=&quot;482&quot; border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0></td><td><img src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb2_.gif&quot; width=&quot;169&quot; height=&quot;38&quot; border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0></td></tr><tr><td><a href=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/drees_abb_article.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; onmouseover=&quot;abb3.src='http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb3_.gif';&quot; onmouseout=&quot;abb3.src='http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb3.gif';&quot;><img name=&quot;abb3&quot; src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb3.gif&quot; width=&quot;169&quot; height=&quot;28&quot; border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0></a></td></tr><tr><td><img src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb4.gif&quot; width=&quot;169&quot; height=&quot;370&quot; border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0></td></tr><tr><td><a href=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/drees_abb_article.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; onmouseover=&quot;abb5.src='http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb5_.gif';&quot; onmouseout=&quot;abb5.src='http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb5.gif';&quot;><img name=&quot;abb5&quot; src=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/quickads/abb5.gif&quot; width=&quot;169&quot; height=&quot;46&quot; border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0></a></td></tr></table>]]></award>
      <award title="Hearthstone/BUILDER Humanitarian Award" date="01-12-2006"><![CDATA[<br><b>Drees named 2006 Hearthstone / BUILDER Humanitarian</b><p>Ralph Drees, chairman of Drees Homes, has been awarded the 2006 Hearthstone / BUILDER Humanitarian Award, the nation's largest and most prestigious philanthropic honor in the homebuilding industry. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to public service.<p>Drees actively supports the communities where we build. We'll be building four homes in the Habitat for Humanity Builder Blitz in 2006!<p>To learn more about the Hearthstone Award, <a href=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/Hearthstone_ad.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;>click here</a>.<p>To view Ralph Drees' Wall Street Journal recognition, <a href=&quot;http://images.dreesteam.com/Ralph_WallStreetJournalAd.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;>click here</a>.<p>]]></award>
      <award title="America&apos;s Best Builder" date="01-19-1998"><![CDATA[January 19, 1998<p>CINCINNATI BOASTS AMERICA&#xbf;S BEST BUILDER<p>CINCINNATI, OH - The Drees Company has been deemed &#xbf;America&#xbf;s Best Builder&#xbf; for 1998 by Builder magazine.  The tristate-based home builder received the award yesterday (January 18) during the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders&#xbf; Show in Dallas, Texas. <p>Since 1992, Builder magazine has presented the &#xbf;America&#xbf;s Best Builder&#xbf; award to builders who are &#xbf;blueprints for success in home building.&#xbf;  According to Builder, Drees won because of three major factors: &#xbf;a tradition of conservative financial management and diversification, an employee-oriented culture that promotes loyalty, and management that listens to and changes with the market.&#xbf; <p>Drees President, David Drees, readily attributes the award to his people.  &#xbf;I&#xbf;m honored to be receiving the award,&#xbf; said Mr. Drees.  &#xbf;It proves what I&#xbf;ve known all along.  That our employees are the most talented and most dedicated in the industry.  It&#xbf;s rare that a family-owned builder can grow and succeed like we have.  We treat our employees as family, and give them a direct opportunity to profit from our success and growth.  That&#xbf;s why we attract and retain the best.&#xbf;<p>Drees ranks as one of the 50 largest builders in the nation, according to Builder.  Locally, Drees is the top home builder in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky market.  In its last full fiscal year (1996-97), the company sold 783 single family and attached homes in this area.<p>A panel of award judges scrutinized builders in regard to five major areas: Finance and Operations; Customer Service and Quality; Community and Industry Service; Design and Construction; and Marketing.  The panel consisted of builders and consultants chosen by the magazine and the NAHB Business Management Committee. The Drees Company won the award in the 501+ Units category.  Boyce Thompson, Editor of Builder magazine, and Mike Hanley, Chairman of Hanley-Woods Publ]]></award>
      <award title="National Housing Quality Award" date="01-01-1994"><![CDATA[In 1994, Drees received the National Housing Quality Award from Professional Builder magazine and the National Association of Home Builders Research Center.  This award is the highest recognition for excellence in the housing industry.  <p>Drees received this award in part because of our written Quality Assurance Plan and our $1 million education investment in Philip Crosby's Quality Improvement Program.]]></award>
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      <newsItem title="Zaring Premier Homes Changing Name to Drees Homes" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=181973" date="01-12-2012"/>
      <newsItem title="Cincinnati 2012 Citirama Builders Announced" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=171546" prsr_publication="Home Builders Association of Cincinnati" date="01-06-2012"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Ranks as 22nd Largest Builder" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=159546" prsr_publication="BUILDER Magazine" date="05-12-2011"/>
      <newsItem title="Ralph Drees honored with 2011 Covington Award" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=159494" date="05-10-2011"/>
      <newsItem title="Raleigh Building Company of the Year, Again." href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=158262" date="04-22-2011"/>
      <newsItem title="Chelsea Clavelle Named Rookie of the Year" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=158265" prsr_publication="Raleigh 2011 MAME Awards" date="04-22-2011"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Named America&apos;s Best Builder" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=94561" prsr_publication="Builder Magazine" date="02-04-2008"/>
      <newsItem title="Junior Achievement Sees Results" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=78276" date="05-29-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Announcing Hurstbourne Park" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=78275" date="05-25-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Orville Brown Award for Top Builder" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=77664" date="04-24-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees is Top Builder in Raleigh" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=77663" date="04-23-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Fundraiser Exceeeds Expectations" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=77662" date="04-20-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Announces New VP, Organizational Changes" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=75372" date="03-26-2007"/>
      <newsItem title="Habitat Blitz Homes Completed" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=65193" date="06-09-2006"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Joins Habitat Builder Blitz" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=65190" date="06-05-2006"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Named Top Humanitarian" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=55644" date="02-01-2006"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Acquires Harmony Homes" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=45923" date="08-11-2005"/>
      <newsItem title="Drees Acquires Ausherman Homes" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=45922" date="06-11-2003"/>
      <newsItem title="Donation Marks 75th Anniversary" href="http://documents.dreesteam.com/jsp/marketdocsAction.jsp?action=marketdocsGet&amp;requestId=1&amp;mddId=45921" date="01-01-2003"/>
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