Face to Face - July 2006

Face to Face

Name: Wayne Laska

Title: Principal Company: StoryBook Homes

Type of Business :  Homebuilder

Location :  Las Vegas

Years in Nevada: 38

Years With Company: 3

Biggest Business Challenge:

Keeping up with the dynamic real estate market in Las Vegas; also, finding qualified and motivated employees.

What do you like best about your job?

Providing homes for families. What better product is there? Who doesn’t want to own their own home?

If you could start over and choose a different profession, what would it be?

Homebuilding – I love this business.

I spend 90 percent of my time off with my wife and kids. I have very few hobbies.

When I went to Clark High School, I was in trouble all the time. I was sent to Opportunity School, but didn’t make it there either, so I joined the Marines at age 17. Needless to say, I had people in my life who didn’t give up on me.

Stay focused on your written goals. Mentor people in the business. My biggest rewards through the years came from helping other people achieve their goals and watching them prosper.

What contributions have you made to the community?

Spending time with my children and reading to them is very rewarding, and we at StoryBook Homes want to encourage parents to make a difference in their children’s lives by reading to them at least 10 minutes a day and spending quality and quantity time with them. Our "10 Minutes a Day" program includes posters at all our communities and free bookmarks that advertise the value of reading to children. We also donate $100 for each home sold to fund school library books.

Name Angela Bigotti-Chavez

Title Principal Owner

Company Sheehan Van Woert Bigotti Architecture

Type of Business Architecture and planning

Location  Reno and Folsom, Calif.

Years in Nevada Native Nevadan

Years with Company 14 years

Creating the best architecture possible with each project, while at the same time accommodating the usual construction budget restrictions.

I enjoy learning about the goals and needs of each client and turning them into places to live, work, learn, teach or entertain. There is variety in my work days that never fosters boredom. Although trying at times, architecture allows me to continuously create and solve problems for others; it is really a rewarding way to make a living.

As often as I can, I spend my time with my family.

Best Business Advice :

Surround yourself with people you like, and nurture a mutual vision. When you are rowing in the same direction, it is rare not to achieve success.

What would you like your legacy to be?

Second to raising my children to be happy and healthy, I would like to leave a business that thrives in doing the best architecture and planning and contributes to the best possible quality of life in the community.

My favorite building project was Holy Cross Catholic Church in Sparks. This was my first project as a design principal in my office, and the client’s goals were perfect for the kind of architecture I enjoy doing. The pastor wanted a building that was contemporary to convey the spirit of this young parish in Spanish Springs. I am proud and honored to have played a part in creating this church.