Bellevue Business Wins Entrepreneurship Award

From Five Star Painting: Five Star Painting, North America’s leading residential and commercial painting franchise and part of the Neighborly community of home service brands, recently recognized local franchisees with top awards at the annual Neighborly® International Conference, held Sept. 16-19 in Grapevine, Texas. The awards include Franchisee of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

Stuart and Tina Nokes, owners of Five Star Painting of Loudoun, Virginia, took home the top honor with the Franchisee of the Year Award. It is the highest honor than can be earned by a franchisee in the Five Star Painting system. The winning franchise must show continuous growth through proper training and management of the organization, consistent high sales volume and quality customer service.

The Nokes bought Loudoun’s Five Star Painting from their son and started working the business full-time in 2014. Their success has yielded significant growth year over year in their business, thanks to their willingness to follow the Five Star Painting processes to the best of their ability and their determination to continue opening marketing channels, turning leads into repeat business. Additionally, the Nokes are always willing to help other franchisees in the system with countless phone calls, emails and even visits.

“We are truly honored to be recognized by the Five Star Painting system,” said Stuart. “This has become a family business, as all of our sons have been involved in some way. We are committed to bringing quality work to our community and are excited for the future of Neighborly and our continued collaboration with our sister brands.”

Five Star Painting corporate also recognized two new franchisees as Rookies of the Year. Anthony Kulikowski, owner of Five Star Painting of South Bend, Indiana, and Tom Sternod, owner of Five Star Painting of Bellevue, Washington, both took home the honor. Rookie of the Year award winners are selected for having the highest revenue in their first year of business. Both owners are rapidly growing and serve as outstanding brand ambassadors.

“We are thrilled with our franchisee award winners this year,” said Five Star Painting President Mary Kay Liston. “They have proven that hard work and collaboration are the keys to success. We are excited to continue watching them grow and set good examples for the rest of our system.”

Neighborly’s conference, “Reunion,” is an annual celebration joining more than 3,000 franchisees across 21 service-based franchise organizations, including Five Star Painting.

Image via Five Star Painting