Awarding stars under the stars – Arizto's 2024 Christmas gathering and awards night

It was another glamorous evening up above Auckland's skyline at the 5-star SO/Auckland Hotel on November 27th for Arizto's to celebrate our best and fairest at the sixth annual Christmas gathering.

Salespeople and staff from all Arizto's regional areas attended the gathering, which acknowledged the high achievers from November 1st 2023 through until October 31st 2024.

Once again, the strongest regional team was Canterbury – claiming the Bayley Callaghan Trophy.

Key to reaching this milestone once again is the incredible performance of Anna James , once again top national salesperson with 78 successful transactions during the allocated time.

Likewise finishing runner-up once again was fellow Cantabrian Kate Lamont with 45 sales, while there is a new addition to the Top 3 as Hamilton's Jit Singh is now well established in the Waikato region, having sold nearly three times as many properties as during the 2022-23 season with 38.

James and Lamont were also well ahead of their previous year's sales figures, as were the rest of the Top 5, specifically the team of Wayne and Veena Hemingway , along with Brooke Wood, working out of the bustling Rotorua, while Palmerston North's Marisha Hes leapt up the standings in the strong Manawatu/Whanganui area.

In fact so many Arizto performers around the country, who have worked through tough market conditions over the past couple of years, have taken the brand to such strong heights that their regions were able to be recognised separately for the first time this awards season.

This also reflects the rapid growth the brand has experienced over that time frame with salespeople coming on board, now with well over 200 agents on the books.

Last year, the 'Rest of New Zealand' category included about eight regions collectively, but for the first time, the likes of Northland, Taranaki, Gisborne, Nelson/Tasman, Otago, and Southland had their own trophies up for grabs in 2024.

The star performers for those areas were Lee Dickens, Laurel Caskey , Mandy Campbell, Taylor Mant , Heather Burgher and Aniel Chandra respectively – all of them having successfully completed over 20 sales each.

Working hard down in Westport on the mighty West Coast, Buller's Brodie French was the top salesperson for the Rest of New Zealand (Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, West Coast etc).

In Arizto's home town of Auckland, Pip Wells went back-to-back as top performer.

For the first time, Arizto also provided special name badges for salespeople and teams who have reached significant milestones such as 50, 100, 150 and even 250 sales.

Of course, salespeople cannot reach these marks without the incredible team of staff supporting them, and Wednesday night was also the time for some of them to take a bow.

Nelson's Camille Countryman was recognised as the Business Development Manager of the Year, while after pulling down the long hours out of his Auckland base, Media Operations Manager Rachit Kushwaha was recognised as Employee of the Year.

'5 Years of Green' recognition was also given to six staff members who have been with the company of most of its nearly seven years existence.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And we can't wait for more in 2025!

2024 AWARDS
MOST SALES (Per Region)
Auckland:
1. Pip Wells (22);
2. Aveshkar Pokharkar (17); 2= Mike Bell (17);
3, Harry Bedi (13).

Bay Of Plenty:
1. Wayne & Veena Hemingway (35);
2. Brooke Wood (28);
3. Scott Jarrett (23); 3=.Cheryl Butler (23).

Canterbury:
1. Anna James (78);
2. Kate Lamont (45);
3. Jaggy Bhupal (25).

Gisborne:
1. Mandy Campbell (21).

Manuwatū/Whanganui:
1. Marisha Hes (28);
2.Rochelle Burton (25); 2=. The Bournes (25);
3. Sue Stewart (16).

Nelson/Tasman:
1. Taylor Mant (27);
2. Tiana Ferguson (21).

Northland:
1. Lee Dickens (22).

Otago:
1. Heather Burgher (25).

Southland:
1. Aniel Chandra (21).

Taranaki:
1. Laurel Caskey (23);
2. Team Alannah & Brendon 13.

Waikato:
1. Jit Singh (38);
2. Michelle Kergozou (13).

Rest of the Country:
1. Brodie French (13).

NATIONWIDE:

1. Anna James (78);
2. Kate Lamont (45);
3. Jit Singh (38);
4. Wayne & Veena Hemingway (35);
5. Brooke Wood (28);
5. Marisha Hes (28).

NO1 REGION (Bayley Callaghan Trophy): Canterbury

YEAR ON YEAR GROWTH

(Salespeople who grew their business by at least 100%, doubled or more):
Leanne Veale 400%
Nicky Vallendar 300%
Laurel Caskey 283%
Mark Wyatt 200%
Cheryl Butler 175%
Michelle Kergozou 160%
Jit Singh 153%
Margot Berney 143%
Brooke Wood 133%
Scott Franks 117%
Mike Bell 113%
Bren Guild 100%

MILESTONES

5 Years of Green (staff):
Deniz Unsulu, Andy Cook, Rachit Kushwaha, Vahe Marama and Jenni Morris.

Name Badges (sales) -
50: Wayne & Veena Hemingway, Darren Harris, Mandy Campbell, Jaggy Bhupal, Lee Dickens, Vance Bibby, Jit Singh, Mike Bell, Pip Wells, Rochelle Burton.
100: Scott Franks, Kate Lamont, Raewyn Beazley.
150: Anna James, Kelly McKenzie.
250: Te Rere Blakelock, Rawinia Matthews.

STAFF AWARDS

BDM of the Year:
Camille Countryman

Employee of the Year:
Rachit Kushwaha