CREW Richmond's President's Message
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It has truly been an honor to serve as your 2019 Chapter President. The success of our chapter would not be possible without the dedication and involvement of the Board of Directors and their committees as well as the amazing support of our members and generous sponsors. Thank you all for making this a memorable year for CREW Richmond.
2019 has been an AWESOME year and I would like to share a few highlights.
- Welcomed 22 new members for a total of 105 CREW Richmond Members!
- Provided additional member benefits by offering supplemental programs, events, hard hat tours, and CREW Network’s webinar “Negotiating Your Best Offer”.
- A record number of applications were received for both Marcy Handshaw and Kathy Ivins Scholarships.
- Summer Social contributions resulted in a $4,500 donation to Dress for Success.
- Provided Dinner & Game Night to the residents of New Clay House II.
- Successful CREW/GRACRE Nothing but Networking Event with an attendance of over 140.
- Meghan O’Brien and Brenda Karp completed CREW Network’s Leadership Certificate program.
- CREW Richmond’s 6th Annual Leadership Summit featuring Sara Safari with an attendance of 140.
- Recognition of CREW members and sponsors who went “above and beyond” with the 1st Chapter’s Impact Awards.
- Chapter alignment with Network and the reveal of our new CREW brand.
It has been an incredible year and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as your President. It has truly been a life changing experience and I thank you.
I look forward to seeing you in 2020 and to celebrating CREW Richmond’s 30
th
Anniversary!
Best Wishes for a festive Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!
Brenda
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Deals, Awards and in the News
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Lee Ann Gudorp is proud to announce her recent promotion to Stockholder/Associate at Timmons Group. Lee Ann has 14 years of experience and currently serves as a Senior Project Manager for the firm’s Private Commercial Land Development Group. Lee Ann can best be described as a Practice Builder within Timmons Group and she has played a pivotal role in growing the firm’s Retail Development Program and Women in Design Program. Her retail development experience includes notable clients such as: Publix, Target, AAA Car Care Centers and Panera Bread. In her new role, Lee Ann looks forward to taking on more leadership opportunities and utilizing her expertise to help further the firm’s success.
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CREW Richmond Holiday Drive
In the spirit of the holidays CREW Richmond adopted a family through St. Joseph's Villa and outfitted the family of five with new winter boots, coats, sweatshirts, pants and shirts. The four children each received one toy and each family member received a Walmart gift card.
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CREW Richmond Lunch Meetings and Events
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CREW Richmond 2019 October Lunch Meeting
by Statia Gibson
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The CREW October meeting was a members-only meeting held on October 16
th
, 2019. The 2020 Board of Directors was presented and voted upon and CREW Richmond welcomed Carrie Roth, President & CEO of the Virginia Bio+Tech Park. Carrie gave a presentation about the future of the park, which includes plans for a new building; as well as the future of Activation Capital, a nonprofit associated with the Bio+Tech Park that works to support innovation and entrepreneurs in the Richmond region.
A parking lot at the corner of Eighth & Leigh Streets will become a new 100,000 square foot facility currently dubbed “8L”. Right across from the proposed Navy Hill development, the building will serve as an in-between stage for budding bio and tech companies that have outgrown their startup phase but aren’t quite ready to lease or build their own facility.
Plans for the building included a breezeway that connects 7
th
& 8
th
streets, a rooftop event space, and auditorium space.
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CREW Webinar
by Brenda Karp
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CREW Richmond held its first Member’s only Webinar on Wednesday, October 30
th
, 2019. The “Bring Your Own Bag Luncheon” was hosted by Timmons Group in their training room. Seven CREW members attended the presentation on “Negotiating Your Best Offer” presented by Executive Coach Sharon Krohn.
Sharon explained three steps in promoting yourself:
- Building Confidence
- Knowing your Value
- Making the Ask
In building your confidence, she described the “Three P’s:” Preparation, Practice and Presentation as strong factors in your negotiating strategy. Prepare what you want to say, practice in front of a mirror, in front of friends, family or peers orally and then present with confidence.
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2019 CREW Richmond Women's Leadership Summit
Did You Find Your Nugget?
by Meg O'Brien
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I love having sessions like the Leadership Summit. Every 6 months or so, I find myself needing a little inspirational pick-me-up to give me a can-do attitude adjustment. This event is an annual part of my leadership journey and I love that it’s accessible to all of us. THANK YOU CREW and Ginny Johnston! This was a fantastic summit!
Leadership, like life, is not one moment in time. Nor is it necessarily recognized instantaneously by yourself or others. Your fairy godmother doesn’t wave her wand and *POOF*! You are now the leader of the universe. Leadership is more like Hansel & Gretel. Little nuggets are dropped along the way that help you find your path. Leadership starts as something you feel within yourself at a young age. It’s that bit of
courage
that helps you speak up in a meeting;
caring
for others by stopping the bully in grade school;
initiative
to take the lead on a nasty transaction; or
doing
that which needs to be done. It’s about how you act and react to others. Leadership is not for the “titled”. Leadership is in all of us.
Sara Safari didn’t start out telling us about her latest book, how she is a super smart engineer, or how she was tagged for glory in the business world. Nope. Enter the challenge. Let’s climb Everest with absolutely NO experience with a sleeping bag. For anyone that has ever carried a pack up a mountain, you were shaking your head with the absurdity of it. Then, she dropped her first nugget. What is leading your life? Fear or dreams? Geeze! I was not expecting this deep question this early in the game. I fear not having a job. I fear not being able to provide for my family without a job. I fear not being
everyone’s friend. I fear failing expectations that I can’t predict. I fear not being
enough
. In the weeks since the Summit, I’ve pondered my fears in my off moments and I realize most of it is just rear-view thinking. Dreams are the things yet to come. This question resonated so strongly with me because I needed to adjust my thinking to dreams and the future.
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CREW Richmond Wine and Design Social
by Cathy Pryor
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On November 21, Jessie Ewald, a former CREW member, hosted an event at her new business, Wine & Design for CREW Richmond. While enjoying wine, some appetizers and a lot fun conversation, Jesse’s team led us through the steps to paint pictures of Richmond’s train bridge at sunset. After completing our paintings, we were able to take them home after a night of fun and support for a friend and colleague.
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CREW Richmond 2019 Holiday Party
by Statia Gibson
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The CREW Holiday party kicked off the holiday season on December 5
th
with a party full of joy, music, and smiles. Over 60 members and potential members joined in the holiday fun at the clubhouse at Penstock Quarter apartments in Libbie Mill. Guests enjoyed food from Lunch & Supper, a signature CREW cocktail, and seasonal music from the Billy Bacci Band.
Midway through the celebration, President Brenda Karp presented CREW Richmond’s 1
st
Annual Impact Awards to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of CREW Richmond Members and Sponsors – see the CREW Richmond 1
st
Annual Impact Awards article in this newsletter for the winners!
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New CREW Richmond Members
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Welcome to the newest members of CREW Richmond!
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CREW Richmond 2019 Impact Awards
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CREW Richmond presented its 1
st
Annual Impact Awards on December 5
th
to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of CREW Richmond Members and Sponsors.
CREW Impact Award Winners represent individuals who have used CREW Richmond and/or CREW Network to enhance their careers and businesses that support the networking efforts and the Mission of CREW.
- The Sponsor of the Year Award – honors a CREW Sponsor that has made a significant and sustained commitment to CREW Richmond through the devotion of monetary resources, employee time commitment, and other support.
BRANDYWINE REALTY TRUST
Members: Patricia Miller, Bernadette Coleman, Amanda Tyson
- The Economic and Community Involvement Award honors a CREW Richmond member or members who played a pivotal role in a real estate project that had a significant and measurable positive impact on the Richmond community.
RENE SHEPPERSON, Atlantic Union Bank – NEW CLAY HOUSE II
- The Committee of the Year Award honors an outstanding committee that has gone above and beyond in bringing value to the chapter by demonstrating efforts to influence the success of women in the commercial real estate industry and/or has made an impactful difference within the chapter throughout the year.
PROGRAMS COMMITTEE –
DIRECTOR: STATIA GIBSON
, Greater Richmond Partnership
Chair: Cathy Pryor
– Atlantic Union Bank
Committee: Wendy Henley, Stephanie Golembeski, Shari Perago, Patricia Miller, Dawn Seliga, Amanda Breziner, Casey Verburg, Dawn Hathaway, Danielle Pinto, Eliza Machek, Delila Torres, Kara Abbott, Amanda Tyson, Karen Frebert
- The Rising Star Award honors a new CREW Richmond member who, in their first two years of membership, has embraced the CREW Richmond mission and core values through chapter and committee involvement.
CATHY PRYOR
– Atlantic Union Bank
- The Member of the Year Award honors a CREW Richmond member who consistently demonstrates an extraordinary commitment, resulting in measurable business for other CREW members. This individual exemplifies the power and spirit of CREW.
AMELIA WEHUNT
– Timmons Group
- The Circle of Excellence Award honors a CREW Richmond member who, consistently embodies CREW's mission and core values related to Leadership, Excellence, Influence, Advancement, and Community.
DEBBIE READING
– Dunlap Partners
Also, during the Board of Directors Planning Retreat, The Board Member of the Year Award was presented to
LEE ANN GUDORP
- Timmons Group.
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CREW Richmond in the Community-New Clay House
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On October 23rd, CREW provided a barbecue dinner from Buz and Ned’s for the residents of
New Clay House
. Our members took turns serving the food and enjoying the interaction with the residents. We also played BINGO which was a HUGE hit with everyone (it was a competitive group!). The residents were extremely appreciative for the food and fellowship. It was also a great follow up from our tour last year when the facility was under construction - to now see it in use.
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CREW - The Next Generation
by Meg O'Brien
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Guess what?! The world’s largest generation to date is beginning to enter the MID CAREER status! Yes, that’s correct. Millennials aren’t the youngest working generation any longer. Gen Y is coming fast on their heels. Scared? Don’t be. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Y, the “It” generation…. They’re all just titles. What matters is how we pass on what we have learned. (yes, a Yoda reference from a Gen X’r).
Where would we all be without those that supported us along the way? Don’t hoard your knowledge. You worked hard. You’ve learned a lot –
SHARE IT
!
Fostering, supporting, and mentoring the next generation are an integral part of the CREW Richmond mission. Consider this a
CALL TO ACTION
!
CREW Richmond supports our next generation of leaders by awarding
2 scholarships
each in honor of some very special CREW women –
Kathy Ivins
and
Marci Handshaw
. I am pleased to report that we had a record number of applicants from a variety of schools. The Network Liaison committee of
Skip Stevens
,
Jennifer Parham
,
Kristie Inge
, and
Meg O’Brien
chose two spectacular students to receive our scholarships and introduced both of them at the Leadership Summit.
Arellana Bacon was awarded the Kathy Ivins scholarship. Rachel James was awarded the Marci Handshaw scholarship.
2 Scholarships sounds like a good effort, but did you know we can easily do more? CREW Network supported 20 young women this year with scholarship packages including $5,000 scholarship, CREW Network membership, attendance at Convention, and paid internships. Talk about paying it forward!
What does this have to do with me? All CREW Chapters contributed to this effort by giving to
CREW Foundation.
Be sure to look for the option to donate on your membership renewal form. Starting
November 1st
, all CREW Foundation donations count toward meeting our 2020 Chapter challenge of having 50% of membership donate. It doesn’t take an enormous amount to make a difference in a lot of lives and help us reach our goal. You’ll be hearing more from me in the coming months as we try to regain our title as “first to the finish line” meeting the chapter challenge.
Please consider donating!
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Skyscraper
Sponsor Spotlight:
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At
Williams Mullen
, our goal is to help your business thrive in today’s economy. Success is based on finding workable solutions for you. Representing more than 75 practices and industries, Williams Mullen focuses on finding answers and solutions for your business and legal issues. We are a regionally based, full-service law firm with more than 230 attorneys in offices across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Depending on your needs, attorneys from any of our offices can be called on to help you.
What separates us from other firms? Ingenuity. Our real estate attorneys have a sophisticated understanding of the business and the legal issues that arise through all phases of real estate transactions. With approximately 45 attorneys firm wide, we help you take advantage of each opportunity and meet each challenge. From the point of conception and continuing throughout the transaction to the final sale or lease, we will guide you through the full range of requisite real estate due diligence and transactional issues. We regularly counsel clients – from private and public companies, government entities, institutional and private investors to lenders, servicers and developers – on all real estate matters, including leasing, sales, acquisitions and dispositions, development and finance, property development, land assemblage, zoning and land use. We are intimately familiar with the unique aspects of tax-deferred exchanges and syndicated tax credits.
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Highrise
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Dunlap & Partners is a full-service engineering firm providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering design and commissioning services. Value is what we seek to provide through our engineering services. We utilize a unique team-based approach to provide a full-service solution to our clients.
Our firm has been on the cutting edge of the green design movement since 1998. Today, we continue to be strong leaders in providing sustainable design solutions for our clients including Net Zero Building. Innovation and forward thinking are words which co-exist in our cultural. Our approach is based on 20+ years of providing high quality engineering services built on a solid foundation of functionality and energy conservation.
We are a corporate member of the USGBC and Virginia Sustainable Building Network. Key personnel are LEED Accredited Professionals, ASHRAE Certified High Performance Building Design Professionals, ASHRAE Certified Building Energy Modeling Professionals, ASHRAE Certified Healthcare Facility Design Professionals, ASHRAE Certified Commissioning Process Management Professionals and ASPE
members.
With LEED Accredited professionals on our team, we strive to have a positive impact on our world by providing environmentally friendly solutions to all aspects of architectural and engineering design.
What sets Dunlap and Partners apart is our ability to conform to our client’s needs. We listen, we ask, we propose/recommend options and then proceed collaboratively to provide the best solutions and designs for our client’s and their projects. Engineers are not generally considered “creative thinkers”, however, Dunlap &Partners’ engineers fit the mold in this category perfectly. We can see the vision and with the vision, we produce a successful outcome.
In a rapidly changing paradigm of energy conservation and sustainable energy alternatives, it’s important that the MEP design professionals stay abreast of industry developments. At Dunlap & Partners, we ask,
“What If?”
and explore all the possibilities.
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Highrise
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Thank you to
Colliers for being a Highrise Sponsor in 2019. Please click
here for more information on Colliers.
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Highrise
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through over 8,200 locations. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves many markets across the United States and internationally. As the #1 commercial real estate lender in the country, Wells Fargo has a wealth of resources available to our commercial/business customers including local team members here in Central Virginia. The Wells Fargo Central Virginia team is represented in CREW by members, Monica Marks (Relationship Manager), Chandra Hurst (Business Development), and Suzanne Gardner (Relationship Manager).
For more information about
Wells Fargo, please contact Monica Marks at , Chandra Hurst at or Suzanne Gardner at .
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Highrise
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Sonabank
is a Virginia state-chartered community bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses, operating 45 full-service retail branches in Virginia, and Maryland. Our range of financial services includes traditional banking services, along with investments, mortgages and insurance. We support small to medium-sized businesses and consumers and continue to be a state leader in SBA lending. Additionally, we are proud to provide a dedicated program designed to empower and promote women in business called P.O.W.E.R. The P.O.W.E.R. program, which stands for Potential of Women Entrepreneurs Realized includes an exclusive package of financial services and resources designed to empower women in business to achieve their full potential and reach their goals. For more information, visit
sonabank.com
.
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Highrise
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Top-ranked for real estate law in Virginia for 15 consecutive years by Chambers USA,
Hirschler
is involved in high-profile real estate projects across the United States. Leveraging strong relationships with business, government and community leaders within jurisdictions throughout the country, we advise developers, property owners and tenants in connection with the acquisition, development, financing and leasing of income-producing property and raw land for office complexes, corporate headquarters, planned unit developments, retail projects, hotels, medical office buildings, multi-family projects and assisted living facilities.
Hirschler supports real estate clients with a full complement of niche capabilities specific to the industry. We are pleased to offer boutique-level services in commercial leasing, environmental law, land use and zoning, loan pool sale transactions (both the buy and sell side), private investment funds, Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, real estate development, real estate finance and investment and real estate litigation.
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Keep your calendars up to date with our upcoming events....
CREW Richmond Lunch Meeting
Navy Hill - A 2020 Update
John Marshall Ballrooms, 101 N. 5th Street, Richmond, VA 23219
11:30am-1:00pm
CREW Richmond Lunch Meeting
Speed Networking
John Marshall Ballrooms, 101 N. 5th Street, Richmond, VA 23219
11:30am-1:00pm
CREW Richmond Lunch Meeting
11:30am-1:00pm
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