SATO awarded the Residents of the Year 2025

SATO’s recent 85th anniversary year culminated just before Christmas with the selection of the Resident of the Year – now for the 20th consecutive time. In honour of the anniversary year, the recognition was awarded to two SATOhome residents and valued neighbours: Annette Solomon, who lives in Pihlajamäki and Marja-Leena Salmi from Taka-Töölö.

In the picture: SATO's Service Manager Matti Korte and a Resident of the Year, Annette Solomon.

Since 2005, SATO has recognised exemplary customers with the Resident of the Year title. Over the years, the award has been given to warm-hearted neighbours who actively foster a sense of community and have become well known in their courtyards. Some of them have lived in their SATOhome for many years, while others are relatively new – yet they’ve still made a lasting impression on their neighbours.

This year, the awards were presented to Annette Solomon, living in Pihlajamäki and Marja-Leena Salmi living in Taka-Töölö. Solomon has lived in her new SATOhome in Pihlajamäki for just seven months but already knows nearly all her neighbours. She has set up a feel-good WhatsApp group and organised a Christmas party in the communal room. Salmi, who previously lived in an owner-occupied home, has now enjoyed nine years in her rental home in Taka-Töölö. She moved into a SATO senior building after her two-storey house became increasingly difficult to manage.

SATO’s House Experts and Service Managers play a key role in selecting the Resident of the Year, as they closely follow the day-to-day life of their respective properties and the people living there. Many residents become well known to them – and in turn, SATO employees in the courtyards become familiar faces to the residents. Antti Aarnio, CEO of SATO, considers the selection of the Resident of the Year an important way to celebrate good neighbourly relations.

“The Resident of the Year is chosen based on qualities we all tend to value in our own neighbours: friendliness, helpfulness, excellent living skills, and the ability to connect with others in a way that feels natural to them. One person may be uplifted by a strong sense of community in their building, while another may prefer to live more privately without forming close ties with neighbours. On behalf of all of us at SATO, I warmly congratulate and thank Annette and Marja-Leena,” says Aarnio.

For more information, please contact:
Terhi Jokinen, Senior Communications Specialist, +358 20 134 4307, firstname.lastname@sato.fi