A+ Storage of Tennessee, LLC has Appointed New Senior Vice President of Operations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nashville, TN, August 31, 2015 - A+ Storage of Tennessee, LLC has announced the appointment of Stephanie Tharpe as their new Senior Vice President of Operations. She will assume responsibilities on September 1, 2015. This is a newly created position for the company.

Ms. Tharpe has been part of the A+ Storage team for five years, beginning in the Hendersonville location as a property manager and then serving as the District Sales Manager before being promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations. During that time she was named as the Tennessee Self Storage Manager of the Year by the Tennessee Self Storage Association, while being responsible for hiring, training,  branding and social media.

“Stephanie is the best in the business!  She now has a national reputation for having fresh and practical ideas in self-storage management.  The value of our self-storage portfolio in Tennessee has increased considerably under her stewardship.  She loves this industry and her energy is inspiring.” stated Tommy Pierce, President.  

Stephanie has been in the storage business for 17 years and oversees a portfolio of 7 facilities in Nashville. She currently serves on the Events and Education Committee for the TNSSA. She’s also a moderator for Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community with over 7000 members.   Stephanie has been a featured speaker at the Inside Self Storage World Expos in 2014 and 2015 along with the National Self Storage Association Fall Conference in 2014. She has hosted Round Tables for the TNSSA and contributed to their newsletters. Stephanie has also been a Guest Blogger for Inside Self Storage as well as a guest on Self Storage TV

Founded in 2003, A+ Storage operates seven facilities in Downtown Nashville, Fortress, La Vergne, Mt. Juliet/Providence, Murfreesboro, Nolensville, and Spring Hill/Columbia, Tenn. In 2014, five facilities were sold from the portfolio for $33.6 million. The properties were located in Clarksville, Franklin, Gallatin, Hendersonville and Hermitage.

Who has the most locations nationwide? With seemingly a McDonald's and a Wal-Mart on every corner, this sounds like it may be a close race! 

How many locations does the US Post office have nationwide? Or Starbucks? 

You may be surprised by the numbers compiled by SpareFoot in this recent article. 

The Self Storage Talk 2015 "Loving Las Vegas" Video Challenge gave managers the opportunity to compete for a free trip to the Inside Self-Storage Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. 

Our very own, Ashley Dawn of A+ Storage won third place in this video competition! You can view her submission video here. As third place winner, Ashley has won the Manager Essentials 2015 DVD Package from ISS.

Congratulations Ashley! Job well done! 

I believe we can call yesterday's luncheon a success! However, if you left the meeting with thoughts of the beach and a longing to see the ocean... it's completely understandable! I apparently forgot to send everyone the memo that we were having a 'Summer in March' themed event!

Seriously, you guys were champs yesterday! Your great attitude and understanding with the AC issues during the meeting were very much appreciated. 

Hats off to Mark Shirey for the wonderful presentation! You saved the day!

Congrats to the TNSSA 2014 Manager of the Year Award Winner, Donna Porter and runner-up, Kelly Zimmerman! Fantastic work, ladies!

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Knoxville on May 19th for our 2nd Quarter Luncheon and Round Table Discussions!

Data has been released from the 2015 Self Storage Almanac regarding the square footage of self-storage per person. The information is rather interesting, especially when you consider that our very own Knoxville, TN made the top 5!

Check out this article from The SpareFoot Blog for more info.

During these cold snowy months, what safeguards do you put in place to ensure that the units in your facility aren't being used as temporary shelter for the homeless? 

Earlier this week at a Colorado facility, two homeless men were sadly killed by what investigators are referring to as a "warming fire" inside a storage unit. Full story can be found here.

I'm hoping that your contract specifically states that habitation of the units within your facility is prohibited. But the bigger question is, what are you doing to make sure that those rules are being followed? Are vacant units kept locked? Do you walk your grounds periodically throughout the day? Do you actually keep an eye on your camera system to watch as people come and go during business hours? Are the hallways to your climate controlled buildings locked after hours? 

Homelessness is a sad and very serious issue. It may be tempting to turn a blind eye to those seeking shelter during these cold, snowy winter months. But I assure you, this is not a good idea. Our facilities are not built to be habitable. As you can see, the results can be deadly. Be vigilant. Know what is happening at your property at all times. 

As most of you will remember, we tackled the huge task of updating our 30 year old lien laws back in 2011. One of the items we were successful in changing was the newspaper lien notice requirements from two notices to one. 

It looks as though the proposed lien law changes from the New Mexico SSA has caught the attention of the newspaper industry within the state. 

Click here for more details by John Egan on The Storage Facilitator blog.

Everyone has heard about the couple from Marietta Georgia that was recently murdered after responding to a Craigslist ad for a classic car. 

Here is a story that hits even closer to home. Nashville to be exact. A TNSSA member received a call from a manager in one of their Nashville locations about an apparent Craigslist scam. Read her story below:

This is the email I received from one of my managers yesterday. We are in Nashville, TN so this could happen anywhere...

I just got a call from a lady that said she is buying a car from Craigslist and was told it is parked here in parking spot 31. She lives 3 hours away from here. She was told by these scammers, that Amazon has the car wrapped and ready for shipping once the payment is made, so she could not even see the car. I told her about the couple from Marietta Georgia and told her to report them and DO NOT DRIVE OR MEET ANYONE! What has this world come to? Oh, and in parking spot 31, there is a boat and it is NOT for sale! 

Please share this with everyone you know in our industry. I was floored and wanted to pass along...... 

Be alert! Keep a watchful eye on your property and tenants! This situation in Nashville could have ended very differently!

~Melissa

March 11-13, 2015 

Gaylord National Harbor

Register Today!!

Two big events are just around the corner with SSA! 

29th Annual Executive Ski Workshop ~ January 19-22, 2015

2015 SSA Spring Conference and Trade Show ~ March 11-13, 2015

Check out the list of upcoming events here!