All posts by Salem Barcus

Fun Stuff

Meet Our People

Efrain Ortiz joined Bloomsbury Landscapes, a division of York Properties, as its Operations Manager in January 2021. Since joining the Bloomsbury team, he has been instrumental in making our landscaping business more streamlined, increasing revenue, and bringing our crews together as one team.

Efrain was born in Mexico and grew up in Southern California. He has lived in North Carolina for 12 years and is married with 2 kids; a daughter, age 4, and son, age 11. He enjoys training his German Shepard, Togo, and spending time with his family. As a family, they love going the extra mile decorating the house during Christmas – they even do a light show in the neighborhood!

When asked about his job, Efrain says he loves the industry he’s in and especially enjoys leading his employees to success. He is thankful for the support from upper management, corporate staff and Bloomsbury General Manager, Joe Sweet, for making it the best company he’s worked for.  “It feels like home,” he says.

One of Efrain’s favorite quotes that he tells the crews is, “Treat it like it’s yours.” That bit of advice applies across the board – from the mowers, trimmers and trucks, to the properties themselves.

We are so happy to have Efrain here!

Employee Spotlight

Meet Our People

Haley Day started working at York in 2016 as an HR Intern. She was brought on as a full-time employee the following year, acting as Accounting and HR Assistant, and then transitioned to HR Coordinator in 2019.

“Weirdly enough,” Haley says, “the accounting background helps me do my HR job 100% better. Experience in both helped me to see how the company works as a whole instead of just from one division/viewpoint.”

Haley enjoys playing tennis with her husband and hanging out with her 4-month old chocolate lab puppy, Dudley. She volunteers at her church, Hayes Barton Baptist, by keeping the nursery during service. Haley and her husband are expecting a baby girl to arrive in early October!

When asked about working in the office, Haley says, “I love working at York because it feels less like a corporate office and more like a combination of family and friends that happen to work together. While HR can be challenging at times, I love that it provides me with the ability to get to know every employee across all of our divisions. We have such a diverse employee base and some truly wonderful employees.”

We are happy to have Haley on our team!

Employee Spotlight

Meet Our People

Payne Eller joined us in 2017 as an Association Manager. He handles a large portfolio of condominium, townhome, and single-family homeowners’ associations throughout the Triangle.

Payne is a Raleigh native and graduate of East Carolina University. He is a great communicator and enjoys project management.

Payne volunteers at Broughton High School doing small repairs to the baseball facility, as well as coaching at the annual Blayne Brown Baseball Camp at Broughton.

When asked about his job, Payne says, “I enjoy working at York Properties because I am surrounded by honest and hard-working people.  Everyone at York works as a team and I truly feel like I am surrounded by family.”

We are so happy to have Payne here!
Employee Spotlight

Meet Our People

Patty Friedman is the newest member of our Property Management team. She moved to the Triangle from Denver, Colorado (where she worked in commercial real estate) in January of 2020 and came to work for us in an administrative position. Fast-forward 18 months later, Patty now holds a North Carolina Real Estate License and works with a portfolio of properties, including Capital Apartments, Transfer Food Hall, and Greystone Shopping Center.

Patty enjoys volunteering with the North Carolina Museum of Art and the American Red Cross. She loves to cook, travel, and enjoy the arts. One of her favorite quotes is, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”

When asked about her job, Patty says, “I love and am proud of working at York. Everyone is truly a team and we enjoy each other. It is a wonderful work environment. What I enjoy about property management is the challenge of solving problems and working with people. Every day brings something new.”

We are so happy to have Patty here!