By Amanda Watson, Marketing Director (Portage, IN)

In these uncertain times, staying true to our Mission, Vision & Values is difficult, but not impossible. How do we show our commitment to enriching lives when investment and service are made difficult, in light of the current global pandemic, and our company is laying off team members in order to stay in business? But if we don’t keep our Mission, Vision & Values in mind, what message are we sending to others?

Entrepreneurial, Nurture, Respect, Integrity, Community, Health…These are the things that Holladay lists as its core values. The Mission, Vision & Values Committee at Holladay has been in talks for months with our leaders and our associates about how we live these values, how they influence our culture, how they guide our company”¦and now we are being tested.

How can we show our commitment to Nurture when we have closed our offices to the public, and live in fear of our tenants and residents stopping paying rent, one of Holladay’s primary sources of income? How do we prove we believe in Community when most of the states in which we operate have declared stay-at-home orders? How do we show we are dedicated to Health when the coronavirus is sweeping across the country, and we are laying off associates to remain solvent? The economy is in crisis, and so is Holladay. We are trying to keep our Vision of becoming a 100-year-company alive while surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. How can we possibly accomplish all of this?

It seems like an impossible task. However, while it is daunting, it is not impossible. The little things we all do add up in a big way. So, what little things are we doing to live up to our Mission, Vision & Values?

• At our owned and managed properties, we are taking the health and well being of our tenants, residents, and associates very seriously and following the recommendations of the CDC and WHO in regarding to cleanliness and sanitation.
• We are following stay-at-home orders and encouraging our associates to work from home, spend time with their families, take online webinars and training, and generally take care of their health.
• For associates who are working from our offices, we are enforcing personal distance recommendations set by the CDC and WHO.
• At our residential properties, we have shut down community areas where possible, and maintenance staff are following rigorous cleaning protocols for all common areas, including doors, railings and corridors.
• To protect our maintenance staff, we are limiting our work orders to emergency situations as much as possible, and requiring our staff to take appropriate protective measures, as well as practice social distancing.
• At our hotels, we are working with staff, management companies, and parent brands to comply with all WHO, CDC, and state and local government mandates.
• We are compiling resources for our company, our tenants, are residents and our associates to help us all get through this crisis.
• We have asked our associates to be entrepreneurial and offer their suggestions and ideas for keeping Holladay in business.
• We are asking our associates to come together and support our communities by doing their part to stop the spread of the virus and aid others in need.
• We have made several of our properties available to Cook County Department of Public Health to be used as temporary health care facilities to treat COVID-19 patients.  

We are all going through this crisis together. Holladay will not get through this unscathed. We will have to make sacrifices, but we are committed to enriching lives through investment and service and we will, hopefully, emerge from this situation stronger and more resilient than ever.