Self-storage operators around the nation are getting into the holiday spirit by kicking off various charity drives.

Atlanta-based Storage Post Self Storage is partnering with two Louisiana food banks to collect food for at-risk families. The companys facilities in southern Louisiana are collecting donations for Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves about 263,000 people through 240 non-profit and faith-based agencies across 23 south Louisiana parishes.

Storage Post's facility on Tom Drive in Baton Rouge is a collection site for bagged, canned and boxed food donations for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. The non-profit organization provides food to more than 120 charitable agencies operating food pantries, group homes, shelters, meal sites and special agencies. Donations for both charities will be collected through the end of December.

Chicago self-storage provider LifeStorage is celebrating the holiday season with multiple December events and collecting donations for various charities. Dec. 3 was Share A Cookie Day, where visitors received a free cookie. On Tuesday, LifeStorage locations launched a week-long Mitten Tree Event, where every location will collect mittens, coats, scarves and other winter clothing for local charities. On Dec. 13, all LifeStorage locations are participating in National Cocoa Day, when visitors can stop by their local LifeStorage for a free cup of hot cocoa.

This holiday season, we've had some great promotions and even better, many of our stores have helped out some great causes, like raising toys for Toys for Tots, food for The Frankfort Township Food Pantry and The Pantry of Rich Township, and coats for Cornerstone Community outreach, said Michelle Wight, LifeStorage district manager. With the Mitten Tree Event, each store will have the opportunity to raise clothing for those without during the colder months, which just further helps us as a company cement our reputation as a business that really does care about giving back to our communities.

Access Self Storage in Dallas is hosting its second annual Community Christmas Party, Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. As part of its community-enrichment program, the facility, 3241 S. Buckner Blvd., is inviting friends and neighbors out for an afternoon of food, games and Christmas fun. We love getting everybody out for Christmas. Its fun to take a little break and play some games, said owner Doug Hunt.

Visitors will enjoy a variety of activities including a cookie-decorating contest, photos with Santa, and a raffle to win Christmas lawn decorations or a 32-inch television. Each raffle ticket costs five non-perishable food items, which will be donated to the Pleasant Grove Food Pantry.

Somersworth Storage LLC in Somersworth, N.H., is holding a food drive and raffle to support the Community Food Pantry Program. Food donations will be collected at Somersworth Storage, 240 Route 108, through Dec. 22. For every donation, a raffle ticket will be issued for the chance to win a 32-inch TV. The raffle will be held Dec. 22.  

The Inside Self-Storage "Best of Business" reader-choice poll, launched in 2011, solicits online votes from industry professionals who elect their favorite suppliers in more than 35 categories. Voting takes place via the ISS website in June, and winners are announced in early August. Winning companies are featured in the November 2017 issue of ISS magazine, and results are published online year-round for readers to access. Watch for next year's voting process, which will open in early June.

Best Architectural Services: ARE Associates
Best Builder (1): Kiwi Construction
Best Builder (2): Mako Steel Inc.
Best Building Components: BETCO Inc.
Best Call Center: PhoneSmart
Best Commercial Insurance: Deans & Homer
Best Customer Service: QuikStor Security & Software
Best Development Consulting: The Rabco Corp.
Best Finance Company: The BSC Group LLC.
Best Green Practices: Capco Steel Inc.
Best Green Product: Baja Construction Co.
Best Lock: Chateau Products Inc.
Best Management Software: SMD Software Inc (SiteLink)
Best Marketing Services: Michaels Wilder
Best Online Directory: SpareFoot.com
Best Operating Consulting: Extra Space Storage
Best Portable-Storage Unit: Universal Storage Containers
Best Real Estate Brokerage: Argus Self Storage Sales Network
Best Retail Product: Supply Side USA
Best Security System: Sentinel Systems Corp.
Best Self-Storage Door: Janus International
Best State Association: California Self Storage Association
Best Tech Support: Centershift Inc.
Best Technology Innovation: Chamberlain Access Solutions
Best Tenant Insurance: Bader Co.
Best Third-Party Management: CubeSmart
Best Truck Rental/Leasing: On the Move Inc.
Best Website: USstoragesearch.com
Most Innovative Product: OpenTech Alliance Inc.

Quite literally the face of a self-storage operation, the facility manager is responsible for overseeing new rentals, taking payments, executing facility marketing programs, handling lien sales, performing maintenance tasks and more. Not only must a manager be able to handle a multitude of job duties, he must have the aptitude to interact with customers on the phone, online and in person. This makes choosing staff one of the most important aspects to long-term business success.

Inside Self-Storage (ISS) has released a free report for industry facility operators titled "Manager Recruitment in Self-Storage: Best Practices for Finding, Evaluating and Hiring Staff." Downloadable from www.insideselfstorage.com/reports.aspx, the report provides practical insight to help self-storage owners, district managers and management companies find, evaluate and choose the best manager candidates.

Highlighting three levels of talent, the report addresses:

• Strategies for reviewing résumés, recruiting candidates and conducting interviews
• Guidance on selecting middle-management talent to support frontline staff
• Tips to identify leaders who can make a positive impact on the company

The report was authored by Megan Stanish, director of client services for Michaels Wilder, a marketing and talent-management services company based in Phoenix. It also includes contributions from Jim Chiswell, owner of Chiswell & Associates LLC, and additional data compiled by ISS staff.

ISS produces a monthly magazine, an annual tradeshow, e-newsletters, webinars, an online forum, and education programs for self-storage professionals. ISS has been a well-known industry information franchise for more than 20 years.   

U-Haul self-storage facilities in eastern Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Fernando Valley are offering 30 days of free self-storage to residents whose homes or businesses have been damaged by the recent windstorms in Southern California.

Residents can use U-Hauls U-Box portable storage to store belongings in a secure warehouse or deliver them to a location of their choice.

Customers can also take advantage of the U-Haul Take a Box, Leave a Box Program. The program enables customers to return their reusable boxes and allows others to take them as needed for free. U-Haul encourages anyone who has any type of reusable box to drop it off at the nearest U-Haul location instead of throwing it into a recycling bin.

Residents needing more information can contact participating U-Haul centers in Charter Oaks, Covina, East Pasadena, Garey Avenue, Gendora, Holt Avenue, Pasadena and Valley Boulevard.

"These severe windstorms have caused power outages and tremendous amounts of damage to the communities we serve," said Matt McFarren, U-Haul area district vice president. "I hope this effort will help provide some assistance to the many residents that need a helping hand."

The North Carolina Self Storage Association (NCSSA) elected board members during its annual membership meeting Oct. 26, in Cornelius, N.C. The new directors are Jay Fulcher of DevelopmentManagement Inc., Eric Gilbert of Moore and Johnson Agency, Randy Reed of Raleigh Road Storage and Eddie Stallings of Stallings Storage Inc. 

In addition, during the Oct. 12 board meeting, Rachel Dyer of Morningstar Properties was appointed to fill a vacant directors term.

Board members continuing their terms are:

• Shelley Bhatia, Ultimate Storage Co.
• March Chase, Southeast Management Co.
• Robert High, Robert High Properties
• Phyllis Koehler, NU Enterprises Inc.
• Kevin Neal, Storage Structures Inc.
• Craig Robertson, Morningstar Properties
• Josh Rolland, Janus International

The newly elected board also selected officers for 2012. The new appointments are Robertson as president, Chase as vice president, Gilbert as secretary, and High as treasurer.

 I look forward to working hard with this excellent leadership team in 2012, Robertson said. We want to strengthen the association by offering great networking opportunities and ways for members to get involved. We also look forward to offering more of the valuable educational opportunities that help our members stay informed of the changing laws affecting the self storage industry.

NCSSA's mission is to provide its members with quality standards, proper guidance, networking opportunities, leadership, open communication and credibility for the local self-storage industry. The association is comprised of facility owner/operators as well as vendors. NCSSA is managed by IMI Association Executives Inc., a Morrisville, N.C.-based association-management company.

StorageMart, a self-storage company with more than 130 locations across the United States and Canada, will give a $1,000 scholarship to five students pursuing degrees at any level of higher education as part of the its 2012 ScholarSmarts program.

Designed to be as inclusive as possible, ScholarSmarts is open to any student enrolled in the spring 2012 semester at any college, university, trade or technical school in the United States or Canada. The application is in an essay format. Applicants must answer one of the following questions:

• What link is there between a clutter-free workspace and increased productivity?
• How has self-storage improved your lifestyle?

Winning submissions will be chosen based on originality and creativity, but must meet the following three base standards:

• All submissions must have a title.
• Essays are to be a minimum of 500 words in length.
• Essays must be predominantly comprised of unique content, with proper citation of any research material used.

No more than one submission will be accepted from any individual. Submissions should be sent via e-mail along with legal name, mailing address, telephone number and the name of the school in which the applicant will enroll for the spring 2012 semester.

The deadline for essay submissions is Dec. 16. Winners will be announced on Jan. 16 via the StorageMart Facebook page and YouTube channel. Information can be found at Storage-mart.com/scholarship.

Armor Storage in Logan, Utah, sold for $7.2 million. The 479,160-square-foot facility was built in 2002, with a second phase completed in 2005. The single-storage facility is constructed of cinder block and is on 11 acres.

Armor Storage, 1095 North 600 West St., includes a home office and offers retail products such as locks and boxes. It has a gated entrance secured by keypad entry. The facility offers climate-controlled units and outside boat/RV storage. It was 85 percent occupied at the time of the sale.

Jason Smith and Russell Packer, self-storage investment specialists in the Salt Lake City office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, represented the seller, a developer.

Marcus & Millichap specializes in commercial real estate investments. The company has more than 1,200 investment professionals in offices nationwide.

 

Police in Lewiston, Maine, have identified a body found in a freezer in a self-storage unit in October.

DNA testing showed the body is that of Kitty Wardwell, who disappeared in 1983. The last person Wardwell was seen with was her former boyfriend, Frank Julian. The storage unit at Moore Self Storage had been rented to Julian, who died Oct. 1 at age 80, since 1992.

Members of Julians family were cleaning out the storage unit when they discovered the remains. Investigators found evidence at the scene that led them to believe the body might be Wardwells. The Maine Medical Examiner's Office determined Wardwell's death was a homicide, but the cause is not being made public due to the ongoing investigation.

Wardwell was first reported missing by a friend. She was 29 at the time of her disappearance. Julian told investigators in 1983 that he had left Wardwell at a motel after the couple had a fight. At the time, police believed Wardwell may have been the victim of foul play.