Awards & Accolades
1. Sen. Lisa Otondo (D-Yuma) and Rep. T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) were recognized by the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) with a 2019 Economic Development Champion Award. Otondo was the lead on water issues going into the 2019 legislative session and was a tremendous advocate for passage of the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Shope advocated for infrastructure improvements in the budget, resulting in an allocation of $10M for I-10 expansion from Phoenix to Casa Grande.
2. Darren Tappen, senior vice president and managing director, and Jenette Bennet, a first vice president and shareholder of Kidder Mathews Phoenix office, have both been honored as top AZ Business Leaders in the Broker Managers category by AZ Big Media.
3. LaunchPM, a Scottsdale-based construction project management and workplace design firm, was recently honored by Small Business Expo’s 2019 Best of Small Business Awards. The Best of Small Business Awards celebrates the top small to mid-sized businesses across the U.S. LaunchPM rank number six on its SB100 winners list.
4. Melissa Swader, director of Marketing, PR & Administration for SVN Desert Commercial Advisors, was recently named ‘2020 Influencers in Marketing’ by Globe St./Real Estate Forum magazine in New York. She was the only recipient out of the 2 dozen from Arizona to be recognized in this category.
Boards & Commissions
5. The 2020 S.A.M.E Board Members have been announced. They are:
- Post President – Bruce Preston, TSK
- 1st Vice President of Programs – Bradley Squelch, STARMANA
- 2nd Vice President of Membership – Carmel Patterson, KOMAN Integrated Solutions
- Post Secretary – SSgt Deacon White, Luke Air Force Base
- Past President – Marilyn Zenko, Terracon
Promotions
6. Graycor Inc. announced that David L. Wing has been named President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Wing will provide executive and strategic leadership for operations, strategic planning, resource management, continuous improvement and business development efforts for the company’s businesses: Graycor Construction Company Inc.; Graycor Industrial Constructors; and Graycor Southern Inc.
7. The Phoenix office of NorthMarq announces the promotion of Griffin Martin to managing director. In his new role, Martin will lead the office and manage the daily debt/equity operations of the Phoenix office.
8. Erin Hillhouse, AIA is one of Anderson Mason Dale Architects five newest Principals. With 20+ years of experience managing complex, large-scale higher ed laboratory and housing projects, Hillhouse is a highly skilled architect who champions design that is reinforced by his technical and programmatic expertise.
New Hires
9. ORION Investment Real Estate begins 2020 with the expansion of its Multifamily Division. Joining ORION are veteran brokers Linda Fritz-Salazar, Jon Coffen, Arvle Knight and Angie Ritchie.
10. Brandon Quester has returned to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting as its fulltime executive director and editor. In this role he’ll oversee the nonprofit’s business and journalism operations, leading the newsroom as it pursues investigative reporting on a wide range of subjects across Arizona.
11. Real estate attorneys Michael J. Ostermeyer and Karen DaCosta Perzan, who specialize in commercial real estate acquisitions, development, financing and portfolio transactions, have joined the Phoenix office of Ballard Spahr LLP.
12. Platinum Living Realty recently announced that Jason Shinn has joined the brokerage.
In Memory
13. The AZAGC community lost a leader with the passing of Dave Murdough. He was involved in the Affiliate Affairs Committee for many years.