HERNDON, Va., February 22, 2010 – NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, honored several NAIOP chapters for their outstanding achievements during its annual Chapter Merit Awards ceremony, held in Washington, D.C., on February 2.
Nearly 120 nominations were received by NAIOP for chapters in the small, medium and large division category, as well as recommendations for chapter of the year and outstanding performance by a volunteer, chapter executive and chapter president.
"NAIOP has a long tradition of honoring its chapters, and this year's event was no exception," said Thomas J. Bisacquino, NAIOP president. "Every nomination this year was excellent, and our volunteer panel of judges were challenged to narrow down the award winners. On behalf of the association, I congratulate each and every nominee, and offer special recognition to the 25 chapters who were honored during our celebration."
The following is a list of NAIOP Chapter Merit Award winners:
Chapter of the Year - honors a chapter in each category for their outstanding work, participation and achievements. The winning chapters each receive a $1,000 education grant to further educational programming on the local level, as well as a trophy that is displayed in NAIOP's corporate office and the chapter's local office.
- NAIOP Oregon (small chapter winner)
- NAIOP New Mexico (medium chapter winner)
- NAIOP Minnesota (large chapter winner)
- Outstanding Contribution by a Chapter Executive: Kathie Barstnar, NAIOP Colorado
- Outstanding Contribution by a Chapter President: Richard Lechtman, NAIOP New Work City
- Volunteer of the Year: Gordon Hess, NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area
- NAIOP Tulsa : Tulsa Commercial Properties
- NAIOP Inland Empire: NAIOP Inland Empire
- NAIOP Arizona: Supplement in Arizona Commercial Real Estate Magazine
- NAIOP Greater Toronto
- NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area
- NAIOP San Diego: "Adopt a Marine Buddy" Program
- NAIOP Central Florida: Real Estate School at University of Central Florida
- NAIOP Update New York: Habitat for Humanity Event
- NAIOP Minnesota: DL Membership Growth and DL Committee
- NAIOP Central Florida: Development 101 Series and DL Programs
- NAIOP Northern Ohio: DL Membership Growth and DL Events
- NAIOP Colorado: Annual Real Estate Challenge
- NAIOP New Mexico: Annual Seminar on the State of the Markets
- NAIOP Connecticut & Suburban New York: Developer Showcase Programs
- NAIOP New Jersey: Chapter Advocacy Fund, Legislative Programs and Stateside Jobs Initiative
- NAIOP New Mexico: Chapter PAC and Legislative Successes
- NAIOP North Carolina Piedmont Triad: Legislative Coalition
- NAIOP Washington State: Membership Retention Program and Targeted Prospecting
- NAIOP New York City: Chapter Awareness and Membership Growth
- NAIOP New Jersey: WeekEnder Brief: News for NAIOP New Jersey Leaders
- NAIOP Vancouver: Annual Municipal Survey
- NAIOP Georgia: School Challenge Program
- NAIOP Southern Nevada: Annual Spotlight Awards
- NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area: Real Estate Challenge Program
- NAIOP Northwest Florida: Event to Raise Funds for Statewide Organization
- NAIOP SoCal: Corporate Sponsorship Program
- NAIOP Nashville: "Season Pass" Corporate Sponsorship Program
- NAIOP Hawaii: Corporate Sponsorship Program
- NAIOP Colorado: ResourceSmart Colorado
- NAIOP New Mexico: Sustainability Seminars and Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force
- NAIOP North Carolina Piedmont Triad: Chapter Web Site
- NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area: Chapter Web Site
- NAIOP Colorado: Integrated Communications
The Chapter Merit Awards are a traditional highlight of the association's Chapter Leadership and Legislative Retreat, which brings together more than 265 chapter leaders and executives representing NAIOP's 56 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
This annual gathering provides exceptional education sessions and the opportunity to network with chapter leaders from across the country. The educational sessions are broken down into concurrent sessions focusing on the specific chapter roles of each attendee. This year's sessions focused on Leadership, Government Affairs, Management and Membership.
Attendees join together for keynote sessions throughout the event. Keynotes at this year's conference included political analyst Charlie Cook; Dr. Ann Atkinson from Atkinson & Associates LLC; and Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas).
About NAIOP
NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is the leading organization for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises 15,000 members in North America. NAIOP advances responsible commercial real estate development and advocates for effective public policy. For more information, visit www.naiop.org.