Leo Poggione
’92 BS Business Marketing
Lee Business School Alumnus of the Year
It was the spring of 1988 when Leo Poggione found himself on the precipice of two pivotal life moments: high school graduation and an uncertain future.
It’s not that Poggione was on the fence about going to college — he knew he wanted to continue his education (and even knew what he wanted to study). He just wasn’t sure where. And the application clock was ticking.
“I grew up in Reno, and a lot of my high school friends had decided to stay home and attend UNR,” Poggione says. “But I felt like I needed some sort of change in my life — a fresh start and an opportunity to develop some new relationships.”
As graduation neared, Poggione started giving strong consideration to UNLV. At that point in his life, he’d only been to Las Vegas a couple of times. However, he found the instate tuition cost as appealing as the distance from home.
So Poggione sent in his application, got accepted, and received a course catalog for the fall semester. And then … reality hit.
“To be honest, I was completely unprepared for the entire experience of trying to secure classes,” he says. “I had no idea how to register for classes or even what I should be trying to sign up for.
“I guess I thought the process would be like high school, where the school pretty much assigned you classes and teachers. I truly was a fish out of water.”
It didn’t take long, however, before that fish returned to the water and swam with confidence. In fact, by the second week of his first semester, Poggione not only knew his way around campus but he joined a fraternity and began developing those sought-after new relationships.
Then early on in his junior year, Poggione achieved UNLV “royalty”: He was voted 1991 homecoming king.
From there, Poggione expanded his campus involvement, including serving as a new student orientation leader and earning a seat on the Student Senate.
As for inside the classroom, Poggione had long since figured out how to navigate the course catalog as he worked toward his longtime goal.
“From a very young age, I knew I would end up with a business degree,” he says. “I have always loved being around businesses and trying to understand what makes them succeed (and fail). Also, I have always enjoyed making money, problem solving, and being a good leader. So there was never a doubt in my mind about pursuing a business degree.”
Determining the exact type of degree? That took some time.
After strongly considering finance, Poggione ultimately settled on business marketing. Still, even as he walked across the stage during graduation, Poggione was unsure how he would parlay his degree into a successful career.
He thought he received a bit of clarity shortly after graduation when a Las Vegas-based insurance company offered a sales job. Unfortunately, that offer came with some not-so-favorable financial strings attached.
“It was commission-only with no [salary],” he says. “Like a lot of students coming out of college, I was broke, so I did not have the means to survive six-plus months of training and the grind [required] to secure some commissions.”
With that, Poggione packed up, returned to Reno, and started working for his father’s mobile home rental business in what was supposed to be a stopgap job as Poggione plotted his next move.
Instead, it turned into a longtime — and highly fruitful — career.
After working for his father for a few years, Poggione got involved in some land development projects, then pivoted to the manufactured home industry. He started out as a dealer, then in 1997 — 11 years after arriving at UNLV as a “fish out of water” — Poggione founded Craftsman Homes, a Reno-based manufactured home dealership.
As president of Craftsman Homes — which now has four locations spread across the Silver State — Poggione and his team have constructed thousands of affordable residences for Nevadans who don’t have the means to purchase a traditional home.
“I love the industry and what it stands for, as well as what we do for our customer base,” says Poggione, who also earned general contractor and manufactured/modular home installer licenses in both Nevada and California in the mid-2000s. “There aren’t many professions out there that allow a person to provide something so critical — in my case, affordable housing — for so many people and still make a good living.
“It also was very gratifying to see the wealth that people built when they went to sell their homes.”
In addition to operating his own company, Poggione has dutifully supported his industry through multiple leadership roles with various related organizations. For instance, he’s been a member of the Nevada Housing Alliance Board of Directors for 25 years (including stints as vice president and president).
He’s also served on the Manufactured Housing Institute’s board since 2005 (including a two-year term as chairman); the National Retailers Council (including consecutive two-year terms as vice chair and chair); and the RV/Manufactured Housing Museum and Hall of Fame’s board since 2010 (including two years as chairman).
The latter institution even recognized Poggione for his contributions, inducting him into the Hall of Fame in 2019. It’s one of a long list of career awards that Poggione has received. Among the others: Professional Manufactured Housing Dealership of the Year (2001) and two-time Manufactured Housing Subdivision of the Year for the entire U.S. (2003 and 2009).
Now comes his latest honor: 2025 Lee Business School Alumnus of the Year.
Ask Poggione to pinpoint a pivotal moment that put him on the path to success, and the lifetime member of the UNLV Alumni Association won’t hesitate to answer: the day he decided to become a Rebel.
“UNLV really was a perfect school for me in every way,” he says. “I absolutely credit my time there for helping me grow and flourish into the leader that I am today.”
Of all the courses you took at UNLV, which ones did you rely on most as you worked to establish your career?
I got a very balanced education, but some of my non-business courses were particularly impactful. For instance, taking speech gave me the confidence to speak in public. Because of that class, I never had any fear of addressing individuals or large groups.
I also learned a lot about writing, which became quite useful during the many times in my career when I’ve had to write really nice letters — and some really nasty letters.
Developing these important skills at UNLV helped me communicate better with vendors, suppliers, customers, and employees.
During your junior year, you ran for homecoming king and ultimately won. What led you to enter the competition, and what was your reaction upon discovering you won?
My fellow fraternity brothers nominated me to represent our fraternity. That was a fun time, especially the campaign that was run to support me.
The campaign’s theme was “Who is the real king, anyway?” We rotated flyers around campus with a picture of me and King Tut. Then it was me and Elvis. Then me and several other “kings” that I can’t seem to remember 35 years later.
The entire experience was a blast, and I think we outworked everyone else who was running. Because of that hard work, I should not have been at all surprised that I won — but in the moment, I was truly shocked.
My brother actually knew I won before I did. At the time he worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a sportswriter, and a few days prior to the announcement someone from UNLV called and told him (the person didn’t put two and two together that we were related). But he could not say anything to me, and he totally kept it to himself.
Within five years of graduating from UNLV, you decided to launch your own manufactured home business. How daunting was it being a young, first-time small-business owner?
Quite daunting, especially considering I started the dealership on a shoestring budget and almost ran out of operating capital. Eventually, the business stabilized, but then as the owner it’s your responsibility to figure out how to balance investing money back into the company and maintaining a solid rainy-day fund — all while being able to meet payroll every two weeks.
At the same time I was trying to get a handle on that, I also had to learn how to manage contractors, input financial data, order homes, manage delivery of homes, work with the factories on warranties, approve customer financing, etc.
It was quite the trial by fire.
What tips would you give to the current UNLV student who is considering starting their own business?
First, before launching any business, set up a network of people to bounce ideas off of — not just other business owners, but attorneys, accountants, and bankers who understand how small businesses work and succeed.
Also important: Join an organization that consists of other business owners — for example Entrepreneurs Organization (known as EO) or SCORE. The latter has volunteers who usually are retirees, as well as established templates (such as a business plan). Best of all, SCORE is free.
Typically, people who belong to these organizations have a lot of hands-on experience and are willing to share institutional knowledge. It is beneficial to be around industry veterans who have already made mistakes and know how to overcome them, and/or have the ability to provide you with resources, such as legal and accounting referrals.
What’s the biggest misconception about the manufactured home industry?
Without question, the greatest misnomer is that all we provide to our customers are trailers.
One of my greatest professional joys was putting model homes into home shows and seeing the reactions of people who likely had preconceived notions of what a manufactured home is. We would get 10,000-plus people walking through our models in a three-day period, and the shock on their faces when they walked in the door and the positive comments we would hear were truly priceless.
Another misconception that our industry constantly battles is that our products lose value (depreciate). Recent studies have shown that when our homes are placed on permanent foundations, we are on par with site-built homes for appreciation.
Every career is filled with challenges and rewards. What is one of the greatest challenges you have encountered and how were you able to navigate it?
I have had many challenges over the years, but a couple really stick out.
In 2007, I was trying to help another dealer stay in business by providing him with a credit line to purchase homes. Instead of being grateful, the dealer started taking customer money and not paying me back — he was stealing, and I had no idea. When the dust settled, the total amount was $331,031.
The most difficult conversation I’ve ever had with my wife was going home and telling her that I just lost $331,000. It was the most empty feeling I have ever had.
The very next year was the start of the real estate and housing downturn. When it initially hit the Reno market, I figured it would be over in 12 to 18 months. I never imagined it would take years to run its course.
I went from selling 150 homes annually to a dozen or fewer. I went from 32 employees to one. I was burning through my business savings account and was not sure how much longer I could sustain it. Thankfully, I got through it, and when the tide finally turned, the business began to flourish again.
One silver lining from The Great Recession is that I outlasted all of my competition, and for many years afterward I had the only manufactured home dealership in Reno. Another silver lining was that I started purchasing short-sale homes and renting them. This ended up being a great decision, as we eventually sold most of those rentals after the real estate market recovered and sales prices bounced back.
