Welcome to CREW NEWS! Please send feedback and suggestions for future editions to
[email protected]
. Thank you and enjoy!
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Stronger Together, Even Amidst Covid-19
by Amelia Wehunt
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I would first like to say Thank You.
Thank you to everyone who is adapting to the daily changes, remaining positive, and supporting your family and friends because we are all in this together. Many of you have transitioned to home work environments, are practicing social distancing, and figuring out how to get things done in a new – albeit strange – environment.
Even in changing times, CREW Richmond as a member of CREW Network, exists to transform the commercial real estate industry by advancing women locally, in the Greater Richmond and surrounding communities.
Now more than ever is the time for us to lead the industry by showing our resilience, adaptability and creativity. There are a lot of creative ways to stay connected to and build your CREW network, like having zoom happy hours, coffee corners, and the list goes on. Consider calling or emailing ladies that you know from CREW (maybe some that you don’t know!) to check on them. See how they are doing and say hello. We’re going back to the basics in some ways.
I hope that you all are able to join us for our first virtual meeting on April 15
th
. I am proud that CREW Richmond will be bringing this program to the market free of charge.
I truly hope that you all are healthy, safe and well supplied! Please reach out to me if you need anything personally or professionally. We are stronger together, and we have each other’s backs!
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CREW Richmond Celebrating 30 Years
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Photo courtesy of Scott's Addition Boulevard Association
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Then and Now: Scott's Addition
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As we continue to celebrate CREW Richmond’s 30th year, I can’t help but think about how much the City around us has grown and transformed over the past three decades. Neighborhoods that were once industrial hubs are now buzzing commercial and residential destinations. Over the next few months, I’ll be featuring some of Richmond’s most revitalized and transformed neighborhoods and discussing how these success stories can inspire us as we look forward to this new decade.
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Deals, Awards and in the News
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Laura Lee Garrett
of Hirschler and
Alyssa Haun
of MoranReevesConn worked together on a new deal for Gelati Celesti.
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Stephanie Golembeski
of Froehling & Robertson and
Amelia Wehunt
of Timmons Group collaborated their engineering and geotechnical and wetlands delineation services for multiple projects for the City of Richmond.
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Angela Dunham
of Peck Properties and
Alyssa Budlong
of Froehling & Robertson are working together on a deal in Fredericksburg.
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Laura Marcus-Plant
of ENV and
Meg O’Brien
of Dominion Energy collaborated on a facility ADA evaluation.
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February's Networking Lunch winners Julie Farmer with Modern Door and Melissa Vaughan with MVA had lunch at Industrial Taphouse and also met at Modern Door where they learned more about each others companies. They thought the lunch meeting was beneficial and hoped more people could get together in small groups or one on one in the future.
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Amy Broderick
Amy Broderick
has been promoted to first vice president with
Cushman & Wakefield|Thalhimer
.
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Statia Gibson
Statia Gibson
, has accepted a position as Director of Marketing with
NAI Dominion
Real Estate Services, Worldwide
.
.
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Have a Celebrate Success or Needs & Leads item? Feel free to email them anytime to
[email protected]
.
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CREW Richmond Lunch Meetings and Events
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CREW Richmond 2020 January Lunch Meeting
by Laura Anderson
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CREW Richmond kicked off the year with a lunch at the John Marshall focused on updates for the newsworthy Navy Hill Development. We heard from speakers Susan Eastridge (CEO and President of Concord Eastridge) and Jennifer Mullen (partner at Roth Jackson). The discussion focused on the overall status of the Navy Hill Development, the Commission’s review and findings, and City Council’s next steps.
Overall, the Richmond Coliseum is a local landmark, so the plans for what to do with this area of the City can sometimes seem to fall under a microscope.
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CREW Richmond Past Presidents' Fireside Chat
by Tonya Futrell
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On January 29, 2020, CREW Richmond held a Past-Presidents' fireside chat at Café Caturra. The topic of conversation was work/life integration. The panelists included Mary Katherine McGetrick (Williams Mullen, 2010 Past President), Liz Steele (GRS Title, 2016 Past President) and Ginny Johnston (Capital One, 2018 Past President).
Today, “integration” is the new buzz word, as opposed to “balance.” Everyone’s work/life integration will look different based on your stage of life and career. The panelists discussed how it’s more of a work-life “sliding scale” where priorities will ebb and flow. If you try to focus on doing everything really well, you will end up doing many things poorly.
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CREW Richmond 2020 February Lunch Meeting
by Mary Harris
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February’s luncheon was one of the member favorites - Speed Networking - like speed dating; but better.
Members received their networking assignments as they arrived, and after a tasty lunch served in the Jefferson Ballroom the speed networking began. Instead of a nervous potential date, members were given the opportunity to spend 30 seconds or so introducing themselves to tables of 5-8 commercial real estate professionals. A mixture of members and non-members gave everyone an opportunity to make new connections, and for non-members to see the benefits of CREW.
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CREW Richmond
2019 Marcy Handshaw Scholarship Recipient
by Rachel James
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I was delighted and honored to attend the Annual Women's Leadership Summit as the 2019 Marcy Handshaw Scholarship recipient in November. I left that day feeling inspired, empowered, and ready to conquer my Everest!
Since then, I have started my second semester as a Sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University and have embraced delving into business classes. I am currently working towards my Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a concentration in Real Estate and a minor in Entrepreneurship. I am an active member of the Kornblau Real Estate Program and Rho Epsilon Real Estate Fraternity. I continue to enjoy my internship at Greater Richmond Partnership where I am learning about Economic Development in the Region. This summer, I look forward to taking part in UrbanPlan through my Principles of Real Estate course at VCU.
Thank you all for your continued support of my education and for making me feel so welcomed at CREW events. I am lucky to have an amazing group of women to look up to and inspire me within the industry. I look forward to attending more events with CREW Richmond in 2020!
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CREW Richmond UCREW Event at VSU
by Skip Stevens
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Recently, CREW Richmond had the opportunity to participate in CREW Network’s annual UCREW Event. This unique event introduces college students to many diverse opportunities available to them in the commercial real estate industry. This year, your CREW Network Liaison Committee and volunteers visited VSU to speak with students about CREW, as well as the construction of VSU’s new Academic Commons Building.
Muriel Rodriguez was a huge help with the planning of this event. She put together an educational agenda for the students and secured several speakers who were each vital in the planning and construction of VSU’s new Academic Commons Building.
The event started with a brief introduction of CREW Network and CREW Richmond. Then, the project was introduced by VSU’s, Jane Harris. She provided great detail as to how the idea came about and how things got started.
Next, we were fortunate to be joined by EYP’s Charles Kirby (Principal) and Keith Ledbetter (Mechanical Engineer), as well as Skanska’s Neal Whaley (General Contractor). All three individuals also played very important roles in this project. Through a bevy of detailed diagrams and discussions, they each provided incredible insight.
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New CREW Richmond Members
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Welcome to the newest members of CREW Richmond!
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Member-To-Member Interview
Elizabeth Lewis and Claire Gornto
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Claire Gornto, First Community Bank
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Objective: New CREW member to interview a more senior CREW member to promote mentorship, professional development, and relationship building.
Claire Gornto (new member) and Elizabeth Lewis met at the Fireside Chat with Past-Presidents and learned they were both Mathematics majors in college. Claire thought she would be the perfect member to interview since they have similar backgrounds but ended up with different careers.
Q: What first sparked interest for you to pursue the career that you have today?
A: Elizabeth was a Math major at UVA with an interest in becoming a high school Math teacher. After a year of teaching, she realized it was exhausting and wanted more variety in her daily work. She took a career counseling test and all arrows pointed to Accounting. After taking a few Accounting classes at a community college, she decided to go back to UVA to pursue a Master’s Degree in Accounting.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: Elizabeth loves working with her clients. In addition to real estate developers and investment companies, she has a focus on non-profits. She enjoys going to their Board meetings and working with clients to teach and explain financial information in a way that is easy to understand.
Q: How do you balance work and life outside of work?
A: Keiter supports Elizabeth in making a balance between these two possible. Keiter allows her to work remotely whenever needed and allows her to work a varied minimum hour requirement at different times during the year. This means she can leave early or come in late depending on her kids’ schedules.
Q: How has CREW helped you in your career, professional development, and building relationships?
A: Elizabeth describes CREW as a comfortable and safe space to work on her Business Development skills (I concur with this sentiment). Working with role models and seeing successful women is inspiring. CREW provides opportunities for business growth. Excluding current client referrals, she estimates 95% of her new business comes from CREW.
Q: What advice would you give a younger version of yourself?
A: Elizabeth would advise her younger self to live or study abroad, bypass the teaching and go straight into her Accounting career.
Q: What do you like to do for fun? How do you spend your time outside of work?
A: Elizabeth spends her time with her family and dogs while enjoying a nice glass of wine.
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Skyscraper
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Recognized for nearly 20 years as one of
Engineering News Record’s
Top 500 Design Firms,
Timmons Group
provides civil engineering, environmental, geotechnical, GIS/geospatial technology, landscape architecture and surveying services to a diverse client base. Our market-focused organization is structured to help fulfill our mission “to achieve unparalleled understanding of our clients, their businesses and their visions, resulting in unrivaled customer service and shared success. CREW Members Amelia Wehunt, Lee Ann Gudorp, and Eliza Machek bring more than 35 years of technical expertise in these fields.
Our clients receive more than just the best engineering and professional services available. Our specialized market sector expertise makes us trusted advisors and valuable consultants on our clients’ projects — from conception through completion.
We believe a firm is defined by its people. We continue to attract and retain professionals regarded among the top experts in their fields, as well as today’s best and brightest young talent. Our teams are challenged with exciting projects that shape careers — as well as the communities we serve.
At Timmons Group, our unrivaled client service and a passionate commitment to shared success are taking us places. We are excited to see where our clients will take us next.
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Skyscraper
Sponsor Spotlight:
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Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., the
Old Republic Title Insurance Group
(ORTIG) is comprised of a multitude of title and related services companies. Its underwriters are Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, formed in 1907, and American Guaranty Title Insurance Company, dating back to 1889. ORTIG is one of the largest title insurers in the United States.
Its products and services include: title insurance, real estate and mortgage loan settlement services, commercial real estate transaction coordination, commercial real estate due diligence, Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 exchanges, notary services, UCC insurance, bankruptcy reporting, national timeshare and relocation services, document recording, real estate appraisal, mortgage servicer solutions, default management, flood reporting, and centralized national order placement services.
Since 1992, no other title insurer has had higher overall financial-strength ratings than Old Republic Title, reflecting the Company’s strong operating performance over the long run, excellent capitalization and liquidity, as well as sound investment and reserving policies joined to a strong market position.
Old Republic Title employs approximately 4,500 employees nationwide and serves 49 states and the District of Columbia. Products and services are produced, issued and delivered through a network of approximately 8,000 authorized policy-issuing title insurance agents and 250 branch offices, owned agencies, joint ventures and ancillary services subsidiaries. Old Republic Title is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI), a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the nation's 50 largest publicly held insurance organizations.
Known for doing business the “right way” for over a century, Old Republic Title and its professionals are committed to supporting Title Agents through ongoing training, best practices education, resource materials and more. Agency Representatives, State Managers and Underwriters are easily accessible and prepared to handle even the most complex underwriting matters, including residential and commercial transactions.
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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 30+ 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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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) and Suzanne Gardner (Relationship Manager).
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CREW Network Winter Leadership Summit
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by: Laura Lee Garrett
The CREW Network Winter Leadership Summit was held in Santa Clara, California (Silicon Valley) on January 23 – 24, 2020. The Summit kicked off bright and early Thursday morning with an upbeat welcome and opening remarks by CREW Network CEO Wendy Mann, CREW Network President Christine Gorham and CREW Silicon Valley President Kristi Pearce-Percy. Christine set the tone with her football themed comments challenging attendees to “Bring Your A Game!”
Thursday’s morning’s Professional Development session was on Speaking with Confidence and was led by Casey Carpenter, Trainer and Coach with Global Public Speaking. This was an interactive session including one-on-one and small group exercises using the techniques Casey shared with us. The focus was on Impromptu Speaking and the recommended PREP Formula: Point, Reason, Example, Point.
Lunch was on our own, and Meg O’Brien (CREW Richmond President Elect), who also attended the Summit, and I enjoyed a fun Mexican lunch with a large group of CREW leaders from various chapters around the country.
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by: Meg O'Brien
The 2020 Winter Leadership Summit in Santa Clara, California was another great CREW Network event. I reconnected with old friends and made quite a few new CREW connections. I even did some business with CREW Baltimore!
I am proud to announce that I have been chosen to serve on the CREW Network Nominating Committee for 2020. This Committee is responsible for compiling the slate of nominees for CREW Network President-Elect and Board of Directors for approval by the Council of Delegates. I will be serving with Christine Gorham (2020 CREW Network President), Holly Neber (2019 CREW Network President), and five Delegates. This is a fabulous way to learn more about the workings of and influence the future of CREW Network. I am honored to have been chosen from amongst the Delegates nominated and I’m excited to represent CREW Richmond on the global stage.
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CREW Richmond and CREW Hampton Roads members at the Winter Leadership Summit
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CREW Network Foundation Scholarships
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Do you know a full-time junior, senior, or graduate student currently studying within commercial real estate fields? Encourage them to apply for the CREW Network Foundation scholarships! Scholarship recipients receive $5,000 for tuition and books, a
paid
internship opportunity, a CREW Network membership, and registration to the 2020 CREW Convention in Austin, Texas. Direct your candidate to this website for criteria and an application:
https://crewnetwork.org/foundation/college-scholarships/eligibility
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Keep your calendars up to date with our upcoming events....
CREW Richmond April Meeting
Zoom Meeting
12:00pm-1:00pm
CREW Richmond May Meeting
CREW Richmond Summer Social
The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design , 2501 Monuments Avenue, Richmond, VA
CREW Careers
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