Whittington & Associates, LLC

News Release

Family-Owned J.A. Long Celebrates 35th Year with "Arizona" Design

Jacksonville, FL (October 20, 2008) - Custom home builder J.A. Long, Inc. is celebrating its 35th year in business with the creation of a new home design – the "Arizona."

"We took one of our most popular existing designs and scaled it back a bit, to 3,900-square-feet, and retained the features that previous home buyers said they enjoyed most – including a circular staircase, a first-floor media/game room and the unique Scottsdale, Arizona turret styling," said founder and CEO John A. Long.

As one of North Florida's oldest family-owned home builders, Long says they've focused on unique, custom designs over the last three decades.

"My wife Linda, along with my son, Randy, take a team approach with many of the designs we've created," Long said. "We draw on our previous experience with customers to come up with many of the design elements. With the "Arizona," we wanted to capture the architectural elements, but on a smaller building footprint, which we think will do well in the current housing market."

While Long concedes the company is building fewer homes compared to three years ago when the housing market was "white hot." However, the company is on track to complete 13 projects this year – including two waterfront homes on the St. Johns River – and has been supplementing their business by focusing more on major home renovation projects over the last two years.

"We have a great group of subcontractors we've come to know over the last three decades, and getting into renovation projects has helped us retain those relationships and generate another revenue stream while we wait for the residential housing market to rebound to normal levels," said Chief Operating Officer Randy Long.

J.A. Long, Inc. is based in Orange Park and has been a custom builder on the First Coast since 1972. A family-owned business founded by John Long, the company has built a reputation for quality, personal service and unique home design with superior value – constructing custom homes in some of the most prestigious neighborhoods and communities including Fleming Island, Pace Island, Magnolia Point, Paradise Moorings, Romeo Point, World Golf Village, Eagle Harbor, Eagle Landing, and the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club. For more information, contact 904-264-3073 or visit www.jalong.com.

Media Contact: Ron Whittington (904-563-0402)