What happens when you gather almost 100 members of the St. Louis commercial real estate industry together for a multi-organization event that includes wine, chocolate, whiskey and cigars? It’s a party! Oh - and new officers are installed.
A February 25, 2021 installation event brought together leadership and members of St. Louis Commercial REALTORS®, the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) St. Louis and Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR) St. Louis and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) St. Louis for a joint installation ceremony and networking event.
St. Louis Commercial REALTORS® is a division St. Louis REALTORS® and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Registration hit 115, with actual attendance “in the high 90s,” according to Dawn Seabaugh, director of commercial services for St. Louis Commercial REALTORS®.
The program included brief updates from the 2021 presidents about each organization’s plans for the year, the swearing-in ceremony, and virtual networking in small groups to “bid good riddance to 2020 and raise our glasses to a less-virtual 2021!”
Everyone who registered received a package containing either a bottle of Augusta Winery’s Norton wine and a box of Bissinger chocolates or a bottle of Pinckney Bend Distillery whisky and a cigar from Cigar 66 (owned by former real estate professional Beth Braznell), along with one of 75 toasts provided by Patrice TenBroek that resembled fortune cookie fortunes.
“Welcome to our first and hopefully last virtual installation,” said Tim Lawlor, outgoing St. Louis Commercial REALTORS® board president, in introducing TenBroek as that organization’s 2021 president.
“We appreciate and applaud the board for their willingness and commitment to serve and develop strategic planning,” TenBroek said.
Plans for the year include a City Foundry STL tour in the summer, reviving the building crawl event, enhancing social media outreach via LinkedIn and taking advantage of 360-degree cameras and video tours as member benefits.
Tiffany Wiegers, CCIM, incoming president of CCIM St. Louis, recognized 2020 president Jim Loft for “navigating the association” through the challenges of the pandemic year and noted that CCIM St. Louis was able to host three successful events last year; one in person and two virtual, including a CI 101 course and scholarship.
Four members passed the comprehensive exam for the CCIM designation: Andrew Bradley, Herman & Kittle Properties; Christopher Shea, Cushman & Wakefield; Scott Rightnowar, Boeing; and Anna Zanola Street, Colliers International, are now CCIM designees.
Steve Jackson has been elected to the 2021 national CCIM board of directors.
CCIM STL plans include a virtual luncheons, the Retail Spotlight, Soccer in St. Louis, in-person courses and more. The chapter expects to give more scholarships for its designation courses from a fund of $5,500, Wiegers said.
CCIM STL Education chairperson Jim Rosen, CCIM, has been named 2020 CCIM of the Year. “This is a wonderful honor,” Rosen said. “CCIM is a passion of mine.”
CREW St. Louis hosted more than 75 events in 2020 and hopes to do even more in 2021, according to incoming president Nancy Petersen. Petersen thanked Tracy Howren for leading the chapter in 2020 and cited chapter achievements such as bringing in more new members than in 2019, as well as establishing its first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; a Young Leaders Group and a mentorship program.
“We hope to host a national leadership conference in St. Louis in person,” Peterson said. Plans also include a March virtual tour of the Chesterfield district and a golf tournament on July 26, 2021.
In the wake of the pandemic, SIOR St. Louis decided to keep its 2020 leadership in place for 2021, so Scott Savacool, CCIM, SIOR, will continue to serve as president.
With introductions and toasts complete, Lawlor asked all incoming officers to raise their hands for a virtual swearing-in that referenced organizational ethics and service commitments, and declared the 2021 leadership to be “duly elected, officially installed and inaugurated.”
The full 2021 leadership for participants is as follows:
St. Louis Commercial REALTORS®:
Patrice TenBroek, President, RE/MAX Results Commercial
Michael Roberts, President Elect, iREALTY FIRM, LLC
Justin Moses, Treasurer, Colliers International
Tim Lawlor, Immediate Past President, Balke Brown Transwestern
Matt Muren, St. Louis REALTORS® President
Dan Sale, St. Louis REALTORS® CEO
Andy Baggy, Director, Cushman & Wakefield
Chuck Critti, Director, AGP Commercial
Jaymes Dearing, Director, RE Source, LLC
Steve Jacquemin, Director, S.J. Financial Group, Inc.
Brandon Smart, Director, SmartEquity, LLC
Todd Spitzer, Director, SARA Investment Real Estate
Spencer Talbott, Director, STA, Spencer Talbott Agency
CCIM St. Louis Chapter:
Tiffany Wiegers, President, Cushman & Wakefield
Grant Mechlin, President Elect, Sansone Group
Andrea Kendrick, Treasurer, Berkadia
Jim Loft, Immediate Past President, Gershman Commercial Real Estate
Scott Seyfried, Director, Pace Properties
Ben Cherry, Director, Manor Real Estate
Tony Kennedy, Director, Colliers International
David Busker, Director, Franchise Vision
Dan Merlo, Director, Intelica CRE
Steve Jacquemin, Director, S.J. Financial Group, Inc.
Jim Rosen, Director, Pace Properties
Tom Ray, Director, CBRE
Matt Hrubes, Director, CBRE
Erin Torney, Director, Colliers International
Rebecca Randolph, Director, Brinkmann Constructors
Katie Siebel, Director, Central Bank of St. Louis
Dan Cahill, Director, Pace Properties
Bob Cissell, Director, Cissell Mueller Company
CREW St. Louis:
Nancy Petersen, President, Enterprise Bank
Stacey Kamps, President Elect & Delegate, Koch Development Co.
Michelle Warriner, Treasurer, Jacobs
Erin Valentine, Secretary, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Tracy Howren, Immediate Past President, UMB Bank, n.a.
Angela Drumm, Delegate, Carmody MacDonald, PC
Alice Coulter Benner, Director, Bamboo Equity Partners
Dawn Humphreys, Director, First American Title National Commercial Services
Molly Struder, Director, Gershman Commercial Real Estate
Sharon Henderson, Director, Lawrence Group
Sarah Luem, Director, Capes Sokol
Erin Torney, Director, Colliers International
SIOR St. Louis Chapter:
Scott Savacool, President, Sansone Group
Steve Zuber, Vice President, BARBERMURPHY Group
Sheldon Johnson, Treasurer, Johnson Group, Inc.
Tom Bajardi, Secretary, Sansone Group
Kevin Gallagher, Immediate Past President, Colliers International
Photo credit: Unsplash