News
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
December 13, 2010
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| And he does solemnly swear to take a great picture? That's CB Richard Ellis' John Ferguson taking the oath as the 2011 president of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors while being sworn in by CBRE's Leigh Martin. The transition from Joel & Granot's Alan Joel to John came during the Board's annual meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead on Friday. The holiday party brought out more than 300 of the industry's best and brightest. John, in his acceptance speech, says he hopes to focus on enhancing the board's educational offerings, continuing to improve technology advances, and pushing both government affairs and community support. Athens' favorite son (his family owns the famed Dick Ferguson's men's clothing store near the UGA campus), John noted that there's been a small influx of new brokers into the industry due to the poor economy that's creating a ?void? of younger, new talent in the industry: ?We're going to have to promote that next generation.? | |
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| One of the industry's greatest networkers—Grubb & Ellis' Brett ?Mr. Schmooze? Hunsaker— won Realtor of the Year. We caught the beaming Brett (center) with Grubb & Ellis' Steve Dils and Alan. ?This guy is bigger than life,? Steve told the audience. ?But I don't think people realize what a workhorse he is.? Realtor of the Year was the crown award during the ceremony but others were given honors: Selig Enterprises Scott Selig (President's Award); Veenendaalcave (Affiliate of the Year); LaVista Associates' Heather Lamb, (Young Realtor of the Year); and Lee & Associates' Craig Viergever, (Community Service Award for his work with Bright Futures). | |
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| This isn't the Grinch stealing Christmas. It's Alan Joel again, along with 2011 president-elect Furman Wood and Fidelity Bank's Craig Hall (who also chairs the board's community service committee). They aren't toying around too much when it comes to the ACBR's toy drive. Here's they're showcase all the bats, balls, puzzles, dolls, and games the Board gathered that morning, which will be donated to various toy charities. | |
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| We also ran into Al Sapoznick, the former Ackerman & Co. broker, who's now celebrating one year with his own company, 1st Global Realty. ?It's actually turned out real nicely,? Al tells us. In fact, Al's looking to hire a handful of new brokers to his firm in 2011. That's always good news. |
