New faces... get to [know]: Grant West & Frances Travis

It would only make sense that the week after we close out our blog series about getting to know our staff that we hire two fresh faces to our team, :)

We did not want them to go unrecognized, so we want to welcome and introduce Grant West, our new Office Manager, and Frances Travis our new Administrative Assistant!




We took a few minutes to this week to get to know these two for what life looks like outside of work!

Get to know... Grant West, Office Manager


Q:  Where did you grow up?

A:  I grew up in Fayetteville, AR


Q:  What does life look like outside of work?

A:  I live with my girlfriend, Suzanne, and her 3 yr. old daughter, Ruby.  We love to cook and eat interesting food together.  Suzanne is a pastry chef.  I enjoy teaching Ruby all the little wonders of the world, and I love her learning spirit.  I love to read, especially non-fiction, though I am currently engrossed in an endless fantasy novel.  I am a diehard basketball fanatic.  I play when I can and watch far too much NBA.  Recently, I also coached youth basketball in Fayetteville.  I love to laugh and joke and I always appreciate dry sarcasm and wit.  I love a good conversation over beer. 

Q:  What are you most proud of?

A:  I am most proud of things that I make or build.  Cooking a delicious meal that others enjoy always makes me feel good.  I’m proud of the garden Suzanne and I made.  I’m mostly just proud I get to enjoy my life with the close family and friends that I have. 

Q:  Where do you like to vacation?

A:  I like to visit the great cities of the world.  I have travelled in recent years to New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Rome, Brussels, and Berlin.  Breaking from the norm, however, Iceland is currently the object of my future-vacation eyes. 

Q:  What are some random/silly facts about yourself?

A: 

- I often wear athletic shorts under my pants so that I can be ready to play basketball at a moment’s notice. 

- I am a dancing machine.

-  I suppose I could probably burp the “Star Spangled Banner” if I felt so inclined.

Q:  What is your life’s motto?

A:  "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."  –Mark Twain

Get to know... Frances Travis, Administrative Assistant

Q:  Where did you grow up?

A:  Cleburne County, Arkansas, I was raised in a small town north of Heber Springs, Arkansas.  After high school I married a gentleman who lived in Heber Springs area and resided there for 12 years.


Q:  What does life look like outside of work?

A:  We are very active in our church.  We attend and work a lot of horse events.  We love the outdoors, fishing, riding horses, riding 4-wheelers, and yard work!

Q:  What are you most proud of?

A:  My relationship with God, my daughter, my husband, my family, and friends!

Q:  Where do you like to vacation?

A:  I love Gulf Shores, Alabama.  I love the ocean breeze and relaxation of the ocean itself.  I love how you can get lost in the sand and stars!

Q:  What are some silly or random facts about yourself?

A:  I love crafts.  I like to make it instead of buying it.  I can see a diamond in the rough, make a few changes to something old and create a new purpose for it.

Q:  What is your life's motto?

A:  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens Me" - Philippians 4:13

Always keep a smile on your face; you never know whose day you will change with it!

get to [know]: Our Team

This moment will be the best part of my day, because I get to talk about my colleagues and team members. 

I cannot overstate how much I enjoy working with and appreciate our team members.  I spend a great deal of my day working to create situations and scenarios where all parties win, where the parties at the end of a negotiation believe that their  position will be improved by doing the deal.


I do NOT want to consider how difficult this effort would  be absent our team.

Team means to me "a group of people voluntarily working independently in a coordinated effort for their individual success, and for the success of the whole."

When I think of music or a sports team,  I see a at team work. Every player striving to do their best, and so it is in a business setting.
This is my view of the team at Steve Fineberg and Associates.  Everyone doing his or her personal best, and in coordination with the whole.  I appreciate and love our team, and respect their ideas and energy that they exude.  They so often go beyond, it is my honor to work with them.

get to [know]:: Elissa Sontag

This week we took a few minutes to get to know our Property Manager, Elissa Sontag.  We are grateful for all she does on our team, and enjoyed hearing about her life outside of work.

Q:  How long have you worked for Steve Fineberg & Associates?

A:  I've known Steve and Ida for ten plus years, but I have only been here about six.  I started at the front desk.





Q:  What interests you in property management?

A:  Problem solving... Anything and everything can happen when you are dealing with rental property.


Q:  Where are you from?

A:  I was born in Little Rock, and have been in Northwest Arkansas for the past twenty-two years.  I live on a twenty-five acre mini-farm in Bentonville now.


Q:  What do you like to do outside of work?

A:  I enjoy spending time at home.  There is always something to be done!  We have an animal rescue and haven that I enjoy.  We have places 30(+) dogs in safe and loving homes in the past few years, and also recently got 10 chickens.  Hopefully, we will start having eggs in the next few months also.


Q:  What scares you?

A:  Spiders and taxes


Q:  What are some random or silly facts about yourself?

A:  I love to mow the yard, something about it relaxes me.  I have been known to run head first into tree branches though, OUCH!!  :)


Q:  What is your life motto?

A:  The greatest danger isn't that our aim is too high and we miss it.  It is that our aim is too low and we reach it.