Charter Homes Wins 'Best Places To Work' Award; Recognized by State and Industry Organizations as an 'Employer of Choice'.

Business Editors

LANCASTER, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2002

Exceptional teamwork, consistent acknowledgement and appreciation of team member efforts, as well as fun team building activities are just a few of the reasons Charter Homes Group of Lancaster was recently named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania."

The company was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania in the "medium company" category during the awards ceremony on Monday, December 9, 2002 at the Hilton Harrisburg & Towers. The award program, created in 2000 by the Ridge-Schweiker Administration, is the first of its kind offered by a state. The program is a public/private partnership of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Team Pennsylvania Foundation, Kuntz Lesher LLP, Central Penn Business Journal, the Great Place to Work(R) Institute, and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business.

Charter Homes Group is one of the largest and fastest growing builders in Central Pennsylvania. For over a decade, Charter Homes has been building new homes in Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Dauphin and Hershey areas. The company maintains an active roll in the York County Builders Association, Building Industry Association of Lancaster County (BIA), and the Home Builders Association of Metro Harrisburg (HBA).

"We want to be first choice for homebuyers who value design, a fair price and a great location throughout Central Pennsylvania," says Rob Bowman, president of Charter Homes. "To do that, we want to retain and recruit the best people in our building industry and to be a 'good neighbor' in the communities in which we work. We're honored to be recognized not only as a builder of choice, but also as an employer of choice, and honored to be named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania."

The award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Pennsylvania, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses. Companies were judged in two categories: medium, featuring companies of 50 to 250 employees; and large, featuring firms of 250 employees and up. The winners were chosen by the Great Place to Work(R) Institute using the same formula as the Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work for in America."

In addition to the state of Pennsylvania honors, Charter Homes has also earned national recognition as an employer of choice. In the summer of 2002, Charter Homes was named one of the 101 Best Companies to Work for in the Nation by Professional Builder magazine. Companies were judged on 11 factors: corporate culture, job satisfaction, workplace trust, respect, pride, camaraderie, compensation, fairness, communication, training and customer satisfaction.

Charter Homes adheres to what it calls "first choice principles" which include caring more, doing more and being more. That is why Charter depends so much on its people to succeed.

"We focus on people as much as profits," says Bowman. "With our commitment to truly working together, strong support and an environment that's special to work in, we think it's the best place to work and appreciate the recognition."

About Charter Homes

The Charter Homes Group has been building new homes in Central Pennsylvania for over a decade with 19 neighborhoods currently open for sale. Charter Homes has become known for their reputation for Award-winning design, unprecedented commitment to customer satisfaction, and neighborhoods situated in premier locations.

To learn more about Charter Homes, please contact Stacey Smith of Charter Homes at 717/560-1400 or [e-mail], or Garrett Allen of Gregory FCA Communications at 610/642-8253 or [e-mail].