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finca las brisas development
team for the finca las brisas real estate project

Al Benner - Majority Partner, Finca
Las Brisas
As the Majority Partner and visionary
for the Finca Las Brisas development team (Costa Rica land
for sale project), Al Benner brings
a wide array of skills and experience that will help keep
the project moving forward to completion.
Al's background is quite diverse, but
the pattern suggests a strong acumen for sales and
marketing, long-term vision, combined with skills associated
with motivating and empowering others. Al currently owns
and operates four specialty mail order/web businesses,
employs fifteen people, and has been in business for himself
for fifteen years. He has partners in three of his four
businesses, but he is the majority owner and founder of all
four companies. Al's educational background consists of a BS
degree in horticulture (thus the interest in the on site
community organic farm), and an MBA with a specialization in
marketing.
Al recently conducted a survey of some
friends and employees for a self-enlightenment research
project. The goal of the exercise was to uncover ones' true
"unique ability". The surveys that came back were
consistent in their feedback. Al was repeatedly described
as someone who is "relentless in his pursuit of goals", "inspirational and motivational for others", and
"incredibly
trustworthy and dependable".
The above traits, coupled with Al's
uncanny ability to repeatedly acquire real estate in regions
that soon after his purchase saw rapid appreciation, point
towards a project that will significantly increase in value
over time. They also suggest a vision for a unique,
sustainable community experience that will be in strong
demand in the years to come.
When Al was asked what his greatest strength was, his answer
was "anticipating what people will want in the future".
Al's long-term vision, creativity, and intense desire for
aesthetically pleasing surroundings, will align with his
business skills to produce a one of a kind community that
will attract buyers who will be willing to pay a premium to
be part of something truly unique and special.

Wayne McDonald
- Partner, Finca Las Brisas
Wayne McDonald has over 20 years of construction and design engineering
experience. His background includes construction of custom
homes in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Princeton, New
Jersey areas. In addition to his hands-on experience, Wayne
became an expert in fire protection systems after working as
a designer for Grinnell Fire Protection. At Grinnell, he
designed and laid out fire protection systems, sized fire
pumps and designed underground water supply lines.
Wayne also worked as a Design Engineer
for Professional Systems Engineering, a life safety and
security engineering firm. At PSE, Wayne designed,
specified, and managed many large scope projects, including:
- Commercial Fire
protection and alarm systems for high rise buildings.
- Access systems for
universities. Information network
infrastructures for university dorm rooms.
- Emergency power systems
for high rise dormitories.
- Security systems and
touch screen control centers for maximum security
prisons.
- Water storage tank design
and placement.
Wayne also performed acoustic
evaluations and designed reverberation control and sound
attenuation systems for schools, gymnasiums, auditoriums,
television/radio stations, and commercial manufacturing
facilities. His experience also includes ADA code
evaluations for community buildings and government
facilities.
As Project Manager for such extensive
projects, Wayne's responsibilities included assessment of
client needs, surveying projects, preparation of schematic
design, development of specifications and construction
plans, cost analysis, preparation, and review of bids as
well as recommendation for contractor selection. He also
surveyed projects and conducted team meetings during the
construction phase and conducted client training for new
systems. Wayne currently refurbishes residential
real estate.

Keith Jeffrey -
Partner, Finca Las Brisas
Keith grew up in central Pennsylvania Keith and work during
his teen years in his family's Country General Store, then
worked as an intern for IBM during college. For the past 20+
years Keith has lived in Philadelphia, working in the
software industry. Keith has worked primarily for two
Fortune 500 firms in his career, with dozens of brand name
clients, many in the Fortune 500, in management, sales and
operations capacities.
In the early 90's Keith took a break from corporate life to
run his own custom software company for 3 years, designing
and building over 25 custom systems. The system designed for
the local Philadelphia PBS station, Channel 12, continued in
continuous use until 2006, with virtually no maintenance.
Keith's career profiles a competitive agility along with a
capacity to understand and integrate clients' systems, while
maintaining the integrity of the client's culture and
business process. This has resulted in numerous strong
client relationships, and many successes over the years. For
his most prominent employer, Keith designed a methodology
and tool kit for accelerating project completion that became
a national standard. Recently, Keith led the sales team for
the northeastern US, coaching them and sometimes taking lead
in winning brand name deals like Xerox, IBM, Comcast, GE,
Nestle, Sony and many others. Along the way, Keith has
created new sales collateral, new presentation material and
has changed established business practices that has improved
competitive viability and expanded market share.
With strong individual performances and tenured corporate
team leadership in sales and project management as a
backdrop, Keith delivers results through strategic
relationships, analytic agility, and culturally sensitized
innovation. Relative to the FLB project, Keith is a lead
member on the construction team, and was in charge of the
road project. Using planning and negotiating skills learned
in his side interest of restoring old homes, and in his
cultural experiences gained in overseas charity work, he
guided the project gently, but firmly to completion. Check
out the progression of the road, from open field, gullies
and cow path to outline, and then a finished product. When
you travel to the site on the local roads, you will
appreciate the results of the road project.
In his rare but cherished leisure time Keith loves to
travel, fly fish and spend time with his daughter, Sarah.
Keith has traveled to 17 countries so far, and strives to
take one destination trip each year. The fly fishing trips
to Alaska and Jackson Hole are the most memorable to date.
The sights and sounds of Africa and Indonesia are the most
exotic so far. Sarah is an energetic, happy, thoughtful little girl.
She has provided Keith a reason to slow down a bit, and
really enjoy life. Keith is energized by the project -
spend a few minutes talking with him about it, and you'll
get a clear sense of his role and his vision for this
property over the next 20 to 30 years.

Ray Coker - Partner,
Finca Las Brisas
Ray
is from Seattle and during college worked for one of the
first private nature developments in the country at the foot
of Mt. Pilchuck in Washington State. The concept was to put
in a private state park-like development with the
difference being that people purchased lots for their
permanent camp sites. It was a new idea at the right time.
When the first gas crisis hit in the 70s and people could no
longer afford to drive their Winnebagos all over the Northwest
state and the federal park systems so they flocked to this
development. In a few years the concept turned into one of the largest (in
acres) development companies in the country.
Over the years Ray has dreamed of working on a project like
this again and when the Finca Las Brisas opportunity (real
estate for sale in Costa Rica) came up
he didn't need to think twice.
The
last 20 years Ray has owned three project management
consulting/training firms. Currently his company (PSSI)
deploys
Microsoft's Enterprise Project Management system.
Ray's company has taught project management tools,
techniques, and project management software to thousands of
people throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
They have worked as both business and technical consultants
with a wide range of fortune 500 companies such as IBM,
AT&T, GE and Lockheed Martin, along with government agencies
such as the FDA, USDA, Secret Service, and NASA.
As
a management consultant Ray has been able to do what he
enjoys more than anything else - traveling to interesting
places and working with all kinds of people across a wide
range of industries. If he isn't at Sears corporate or down
in the middle of Hoover Dam or at the US Naval Academy
helping them with their 10 year strategic plan, you might
just as likely find him in Ozark Alabama working with a
group of guys that refurbish
UH-1H/V/N helicopters, or in upstate New York at a
research lab with people doing research on hepatitis in the
middle of a Hassidic village.
Before
being employed as a project management consultant at
Symantec, Ray taught at several colleges and universities
including Portland State University, University of Arizona,
Wharton, and Temple University.
Ray
has presented numerous papers at professional conferences
such as Project World and the Project Management Institute.
The International Communication Association awarded his
research at annual meetings in Boston, Montreal, and Dublin.

Darlene Coker -
Partner, Finca Las Brisas
Darlene has over 16 years experience in sales, training and
communication. She has focused her efforts on the continued
pursuit of new and innovative learning methods. Prior to
founding her own company - the Organic Learning Company, as
a designer/consultant/developer of cutting edge training,
she served as Vice President of Marketing and Product
Development at a Tampa Florida-based training games
provider. She led the development and launch of cutting-edge
training programs while also overseeing the marketing
department.
Darlene's career experience includes extensive training
program design and development, focusing on sales and
customer service. As a custom project leader and portfolio
manager for one of the industry's largest sales training
provider, she was responsible for the customization and
life-cycle management of the entire suite of sales training
programs. She also co-authored the popular "High Performance
Sales Organizations" book for McGraw Hill, and consulted
extensively with Fortune 500 organizations.
For
Kepner-Tregoe she worked as a management consulting with
expertise in the areas of project management and problem
solving and decision making.
Darlene holds a Master's degree in Organizational
Communication from Temple University in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania. When she is not creating learning experiences,
she is with her husband and son. She enjoys running (she ran
the Chicago Marathon this year) or
exploring their home city of Tampa or the farm in Costa
Rica.
Mark Sernatinger
- Interpreter/Assistant Project Manager
Mark is the founder of MEC and has been focusing on Latin America in
one way or another for the last 7 years. He is fluent in
Spanish and functionally fluent in Portuguese. In July of
2002 he received his MBA from Pace University in
International Business with a Latin American focus (during
which time he also lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for 5
months). He has been traveling (100+ days per year) and
working in Latin America for over three years in almost
every country in that region.
Mark Sernatinger has a BA from Franklin & Marshall
College (Lancaster, PA) where he double-majored in
Government and Spanish. He also has an MBA in International
Business from Pace University (NY, New York). He is fluent
in Spanish and functionally fluent in Portuguese. He has
lived in Madrid, Spain (1996 - 5 months), Guadalajara,
Mexico (2001 - 5 months), and Sevilla, Spain (2002 - 3
months). He also worked for UUNET (Wayne, PA) as an account
executive from 1997-2000. While in graduate school Mark also
worked with Pershing (A division of DLJ - Jersey City, NJ)
in their stock loan department.
Christoph Hubmann
-
Costa Rica Land Reforestation Expert and Project Manager
Originally
from Switzerland, Christoph has resided in nearby Nosara for
over nine years. Married to a tica, Magda, Christoph is the
father of three children. His passion is the land and
trees, and as a Swiss Forester, he believes in a more
sustainable way of managing natural forests.
Christoph has been involved with many
reforestation efforts throughout Costa Rica for several
years, and he is currently acting as a reforestation
consultant and site management supervisor for the Las Brisas
project. His enthusiasm, vast knowledge of the local flora,
experience with construction, as well as his willingness to
help out on a wide range of projects, brings real value to
the team. Plus he's a great tour guide if you really want
to learn about the natural world around you in detail. It
also doesn't hurt that this highly intelligent man speaks
four languages.
Working under Christoph are 4-5 hardworking
and highly skilled men from the surrounding mountain
communities. Christoph has selected the most dependable
guys from a ready and willing local labor force, and
provided them with good paying jobs as independent
contractors on the FLB site. These jobs come complete with
liability insurance in place, paid for by FLB. This
protects workers in the event of injury while on site.
It is the vision of the team to promote
these men to higher levels of responsibility and
compensation as the project expands, making them more
responsible and instilling in them a sense of ownership for
the project and making them feel a part of the community.
Once the construction begins, some of these workers will
most likely transition to a construction team, while some
will remain doing site work, including reforestation, and
helping to establish organic gardens, landscaping, hiking
trails, etc.
Steve
Gallant - Special Projects Coordinator
Steve hales from
British Columbia and has now resided in CR for five years,
having married a Costa Rican girl from San Jose. He has a
young son close to a year old he refers to as his "rooster",
as he wakes him up most mornings by 5 a.m. Steve has proven
to be very helpful when it comes to locating construction
materials and supplies at favorable pricing within CR. He
also built our block press that is currently being tested
for the purposes of constructing compressed earthen building
blocks from on site clay and sand mixed with a small amount
of cement.
Steve is also in the process of turning
a moth-balled 20' ocean container into a temporary work and
storage building for the FLB site. This structure will also
be fitted out with solar panels on top to power the pump for
the new well. Steve's background is in heavy construction,
welding, and project management, he has also demonstrated a
keen ability to think critically and in detail when it comes
to analyzing a construction project. He also knows his way
around a cad-cam program. Steve may play many roles as the
development process unfolds.
Andrew Zwick -
Costa Rica Land Environmental Consultant
Andrew is just
getting his feet wet with the project, having recently moved
back to CR following his engagement to his lovely bi-lingual
Costa Rican bride to be, Andrea. Currently residing in
Monteverde, CR, the couple may move closer to the Samara
area as it continues to take shape. Andrew's degrees are in
the environmental sciences, but he also has considerable
experience around the world and in CR designing and
implementing renewable energy and waste management systems.
He is currently supporting the FLB team in this capacity,
helping them specify, source and design the various systems
that will be critical elements of the sustainable
development. He and Andrea may become more intimately
involved with the project moving forward as the level
activity and construction shifts gears beginning in 2008.
Mark Janiczek - Real
Estate Developer and Builder
Mark is an
experienced Philadelphia "Mainline" builder who has recently
gone "green", building an entire high-end spec home to meet
the next to highest level of LEED green build
standards. Mark's passion for architecture and vast
knowledge of the development and construction process,
combined with his new found love of Costa Rica, continue to
be a valuable asset to the team. Mark has generously played
the roll of "sounding board", sharing many experiences with
the group during the early stages of the development
process, and he continues to act as a mentor to the team on
an as needed basis. Mark also recently launched a new
enterprise by the name of
www.Greenable.com that certifies, recommends, and
distributes environmentally friendly and sustainable green
building materials to builders, architects and homeowners.
Deppat
- Costa Rica Real Estate and Land Engineering Environmental Firm
Eugenio Bermudez and his father Alfredo are owners and
managing partners
for
the engineering firm, Deppat, from San Jose. Deppat is
a full service engineering firm with vast experience
throughout Costa Rica for over 20 years.
DEPPAT was founded by
Mr. Alfredo Bermudez, along with three other partners in
1985, as a response to key frustrations of clients with
development projects. Those frustrations were centered in a
lack of clarity as to how to manage the planning, proposal
and approval processes for projects in the physical and
environmental planning fields.
Mr. Alfredo Bermudez has more than 30 years of experience in land use
planning, architecture and environmental planning. He has
been involved in many projects as the leader/planner with a
creative solution to our clients and the communities needs
throughout the country.

Eugenio Bermudez, Master in Project Management and
General Manager
Mr. Eugenio Bermudez
is the son of Alfredo Bermudez and was incorporated to the
firm in 1990. His experience is managing the firm's projects
and developing administrative and marketing activities.
His degree in project management, allows him to incorporate many tools and
keys to improve the development of the projects, such as
scope, timing, cost, and risks management.
Deppat has been selected for provide
all site engineering work, including Master Plan, individual
plot (lot) plans, and all necessary environmental studies,
surveys, and permits necessary for the development process.
Several firms were thoroughly profiled
before the FLB team decided upon Deppat for this very
critical stage of the project. It was Deppat's attention to
detail, follow through, and responsiveness, as well as their
ability to clearly define the scope and flow for the various
stages of the process that ultimately won them the
contract. More information about the firm and their
services can be found at:
www.Deppat.com
Vanessa Calvo
-
Legal Counsel, Costa Rica Real Estate and Land Development
Vanessa
Calvo, lawyer, with a masters degree in international trade
and political science. She is a native Costa Rican specializing in
real estate law, corporate and tax structures, and the director of real estate
projects in the Northern Pacific, Central Pacific and
Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. For over 10 years she has been
representing investors from the US, Canada and Europe, and
is an active member of the Costa Rican-American Chamber of
Commerce and Board member of the Costa Rican Chamber of
Commerce. Her law firm is one of nine in Costa Rica that can
set up escrow accounts for real estate transactions. Ms.
Calvo lived in the US for almost 10 years working in real
estate in Florida and California.
Garland Baker
- Costa Rica Real Estate and Land Legal and Business Consultant
Garland is our Costa Rica legal and business counsel. He and
his team has exceeded all of our expectations and clearly we
would not be able to do this project without his help. We
are looking forward to a long and rewarding relationship
with Garland.
Costa Rica Expertise (http://www.crexpertise.com) was created in 1987 as a direct
result of having learned the ins-and-outs of Costa Rica
from personal experience. Unfortunately, Garland often found that
navigating the Costa Rican tramites (red
tape) required perseverance, fortitude and an absolute
unwillingness to throw in the towel. Garland made it a personal
challenge to learn all that was necessary to know so that
doing business in Costa Rica could be a less daunting task.
Garland has been a resident of Costa Rica since 1972 and
is now a naturalized citizen. He provides multidisciplinary
professional services to the international community. His
articles can be found at:
http://www.crexpertise.info.

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Development Site Crew
- Local Ticos |