After Shelley and her husband Jeff built a custom home, Shelley had the desire to get into building. As a consumer Shelley enjoyed the building process. Many of her friends complained about their experiences with their builders. The most common complaint was that most builders did not listen to them. Builders spoke in terms that were not easy to understand. Given that most builders were men, they did not think through how a woman would build a home; the amenities and little touches that are so important in making a house fit a family’s needs. Finally, there wasn’t the level of trust and communication that they wanted. At the urging of friends and a builder friend in Memphis, a career as a custom homebuilder began.

When Shelley created Reynolds Signature Homes in 1997, she defined five very simple yet important business principles:

Build relationships with clients that are based on learning about each of them.

• Develop trust and very open communication.
• Provide high-end amenities in homes at reasonable prices.
• Establish reasonable expectations with the client, and exceed them.
• Building someone’s home will be an enjoyable experience for the client.

From the first moment you meet her, you will see that these principles are not just talk, they are the foundation of Reynolds Signature Homes. Shelley did not get into home building because she had to. This is a business that she loves, because the end result is not just beautiful homes, it is satisfied customers who enjoyed building their homes with Reynolds Signature Homes.

In early 2003, Reynolds Signature Homes continued to focus on improvement in the building process by embracing the principles of Total Quality Business Practices. This required an intensive review of all aspects of the building process from selecting lots all the way through completing the punch list. While some people may wonder why a home builder would go through this task, Shelley felt this would enable the team to identify ways to reduce costs associated with re-work, material waste, site clean-up and punch list activities. This process also helped to streamline the building timeline, enabling Reynolds Signature Homes to reduce the time it takes to build a custom home by getting numerous sub-contractors to work better together, while not getting into one another’s way.

Bert Blessing
Project Manager

Insuring that a home is well built, within budget and on time, has a lot to do with the person who is managing the process on site. When building a custom home, nothing is “cookie cutter”, so the ability to manage the building process and all of its complexity is a very important responsibility. This is the role of Bert Blessing, the Project Manager at Reynolds Signature Homes.

Bert has over 10 years of experience in the home building industry. His experience has been exclusively in residential project management, focused on the high-end home market. Bert is a native of Dallas, and received his Business Management Degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout college, Bert worked on construction crews building new homes. Even as a youth, Bert had exposure to the home building business through one of his best friends, whose father owned a custom home building company. Bert and his friend spent many hours each summer working on construction sites of custom homes. All of these hands on experiences have enabled Bert to understand all aspects of the building process. Given the many different companies and people involved in the building of a custom home, it is critical that the project manager understands how to motivate the many sub-contractors to work together, and on a timely basis. Bert is responsible for this, and much more.

Each client is different, and therefore his or her involvement in the building process varies. The more involved a client is, the more exposure to Bert a client will have. He is responsible for not only managing the building process, but also to insure any questions regarding that process are answered. While the primary contact is with Shelley Reynolds, Bert provides the job site perspective that many clients look for and want to hear. From time to time, Bert will interface with a client to insure the correct specifications and expectations of a homeowner are being met. When the home is near completion, there are numerous last minute adjustments and details that need to be handled. Bert will work tirelessly to make sure these issues are handled to their completion with speed and courtesy. As you will see, Bert Blessing plays a key role on our team as Project Manager.

Tamra Collins
Administrative Assistant

Ensuring the office runs smoothly, the phones are answered and client's needs are met. These are a few of the responsibilities of Tamra Collins our administrative assistant.

Tamra has been an administrative assistant for 24 years and comes to us from a large corporate environment .She has known the Reynolds family for many years and joined the Reynolds team in March of 2005. Tamra is learning the aspects of the business and providing the Reynolds Team members and clients with excellent support.

Sheila Alexander
Accountant/Bookkeeper

Sheila has been on the Reynolds Team since January 2005.

She brings 20 years of Accounting and Bookkeeping experience with both corporate and small business ventures. Sheila has an accounting degree from Indiana State University and has always enjoyed math and numbers throughout her education. She is always the Treasurer of any organization she is involved with and enjoys the bookkeeping duties for the smaller private businesses because she is involved in all aspects of the process from beginning to completion. Sheila handles the payroll, bookkeeping, banking and bill paying with professional enthusiasm.