This past week, over 190 Preiss Company employees gathered at the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs, CA for the annual TPCO Leadership Conference.

The purpose of the conference is for attendees to celebrate achievements, learn and network with their peers, and continue their development as leaders within the company.

State of the Company

Founder and CEO, Donna Preiss, welcomed all attendees to the Leadership Conference. Donna discussed the purpose of gathering as a company and the importance of celebrating our company’s accomplishments thus far.

She announced that The Preiss Company is currently the 7th largest student housing provider in the country, as we have now managed properties in 22 states across the country. Donna also shared that the company is 3.4% ahead of last year in both pre-leased percentage and budgeted rental rate.

Finally, she made it a point to thank the entire company for all of the hard work that takes place on a day to day basis, and said, “We hope you enjoy yourselves, because you are the reason for our success.”

Welcome to Palm Springs

After Donna concluded her opening remarks, Chief Operating Officer Adam Byrley, spoke on behalf of the Leadership Conference Committee and explained some of the reasons for choosing The Parker for this year’s conference.

“The Parker is known as a playground for the stars,” said Adam, “and what better place to host an event for this company than that?”

Adam also made sure to thank all of the sponsors for their strategic partnerships and financial contributions to the conference.

Following Adam’s remarks, each attendee was introduced by name, location, and job position with a sports like introduction and asked to stand and be recognized.

Where did we start? Where are we going?

Owner and CFO (Chief FUN Officer), Kirk Preiss and Employee Engagement Officer, Joe Woo, sat down to discuss what company culture and employee engagement means and how it relates to the Preiss Company.

Kirk expressed what it means to him to be the CFO of the company. “I’ve worked with the philosophy that made it easy for me to have fun at my job. There are three things you can do: make sure your work resonates with you, work with people that you love being around, and surround yourself in an environment that allows you to enjoy your job.”

Kirk contributes a lot of the company’s success to the people who work together as a whole, saying “We work for us, not for anyone else.”

He then spoke about the formation and evolution of The Preiss Company, with photos of his personal family and his work family. Fun fact, he and Donna met on a ski trip and have been in love for 46 years since!

He ended on a great note about his thoughts on our company culture. “Our company is defined by the people,” said Kirk. “Our goal is to make this the best job you’ve ever had.”

To close the session, Joe presented his collaboration and creative results for our new Company Culture video, showcasing the personality our company is so well-known for.

“Our company culture grows organically; you can’t force that. Can we, as a family, grow and do things as big as we want to? I think we can.”— Kirk Preiss

Keynote Speaker | Jim Abbott

Jim Abbott is a retired Major League Baseball player who made the most out of a birth deformity that left him with one hand. He became one of the most renowned pitchers in baseball history.

He shared his personal testimony about how we can all individually grow in our careers by adapting to challenges. Abbott said, “What are you going to do about it [ the challenge ]? What action will you take?”

He left us with the five-letter acronym for “ADAPT,” helping us learn to overcome any challenges and continue succeeding.

A: Adjust your ability, and your willingness to make change. He grew up being told, “what’s been taken away once, will be given back twice.” He advised us to look at the blessings and the positives, and to find a different way of doing things when given a challenge. Make small adjustments, with solution based thinking.

D: Determination. Abbott said to think about determination as a mental toughness, and the ability to filter out influences in our lives that lead us away from where we wish to go or towards it. It is important not to care about what anyone says about you; don’t ever buy into someone else’s perception. Keep your confidence.

A: Accountability. ALWAYS be there for your team and work as hard as you can to meet your goals, together.

P: Perseverance. Make sure to work through challenges and to never give up on your goals.

T: Trust. This is essential in execution and being better for yourself and your team. Trust in the things that you do best, following through with your beliefs without hesitation. Have trust and confidence in yourself and in others and you will always find the best results.

“Nothing can stop you. Nothing is going to stand in your way.”

— Jim Abbott

Evening Networking Events

Following the day’s sessions, attendees were invited to fun evening events including our New Employee Flamingle and Floatchella Pool Party.