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| CRE Summit Founder Jerry Slusky speaks to a record-breaking crowd last week at this year’s CRE Summit Hall of Fame luncheon at the CenturyLink Center. – Photos by Julien R. Fielding |
By Julien R. Fielding
The Daily Record
There were tears, lots of thanks, and a sense of community generated during the 2016 CRE Summit’s Hall of Fame luncheon last week. Jerry Slusky of Smith Slusky Law gave opening remarks before turning the podium over to David Beberwyk, real estate instructor and director of outreach and education for the Center for Real Estate and Asset Management, which is hosted in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He explained how the UNO program has grown and changed, and continues to change. For instance, they are incorporating more technology to the classrooms, offering more online courses, changing its catalogue this fall and, on August 26, will present a mini-symposium at Mammel Hall that will be open to the public.
Angels Among Us, the CRE Summit’s chosen charity, gave its presentation – after which Slusky pledged $5,000 and urged others to follow suit – two awards were presented. First was the Deal of the Year award for the Green Plains new headquarters move. T.J. Twit, a broker representing Green Plains, explained during his acceptance speech that the deal came together very quickly – in just four weeks – during the spring of 2015. “It truly was a team effort; if you took away more than one member, the deal wouldn’t have gotten done,” he said. “I’m very excited and proud about the deal,” said Brian Diedrichsen of Tetrad Property Group, who also accepted the award.
The next award was for Development of the Year, and it was given to GreenSlate Development for its development of the Blackstone District. What was once a “distressed area” has since become a “booming community,” and it was vision, courage, and capital that accomplished this. “Being a developer is complicated, and we have a long list of people to thank,” said Matt Dwyer, co-principal at GreenSlate, who then singled out the University of Nebraska Medical Center for making a “huge investment in our community.” Also singled out were all of the “local, independent businesses” that now call the Blackstone District their home – businesses such as Mula Mexican Kitchen, Archetype Coffee, and Scriptown Brewing Company.
GreenSlate is far from done developing the Blackstone area, said Jay Lund, co-principal at GreenSlate. “We have a lot of cool stuff coming.”
Before introducing the five new Hall of Fame inductees, Slusky delivered a brief “state of the summit.” Using a chart, he demonstrated how attendance has grown steadily since 2008, when 216 people participated in the summit. “[The year] 2016 is a record-breaking year,” Slusky said. In attendance this year were 753 people. Recognizing those who have been instrumental in this growth, Slusky handed out two Chairman’s Awards: One to Barry Zoob, conference coordinator; and Amy Gunn, event production director of PlanIt Omaha, someone with whom Slusky said he has worked with “shoulder to shoulder for seven years.”
Neither recipient knew of the award ahead of time, and it was clear the recipients were pleasantly surprised by the gesture. “I’m touched by this,” Zoob said. “I usually give the awards, not get them.”
Jerry Banks, partner in NewStreet Properties, was first to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. He choked back tears while recounting all of his blessings, including his two daughters – one of whom is in the business; his wife, and especially Allan Lozier, his partner at NewStreet. “Nothing happens alone,” he said. “I won the lottery when I was hired by Mr. Lozier. He gave me a great perspective on the world.”
Taking a cue from Banks, John Fullenkamp, attorney at Fullenkamp, Doyle & Jobeun, also became emotional when talking about his daughter who, he said, “makes angry clients leave his office happy.” He also thanked his assistant of 40 years, someone who often does what he needs before he asks. An avid gardener, Fullenkamp explained that this time in his career was his “September rose.”
Dean Hokanson Sr., executive vice president and shareholder at CBRE/Mega Real Estate, explained that his love of the profession has always been present. “Real estate is in my blood. It has always intrigued me.” He started his career in insurance, which was “great preparation” for him, then segued into real estate investments with Mega Corporation. “In 1984, we had nine people; today we have 95 teammates,” he said. “I was told that the real estate business was tough, hard, and nasty, but you will love every minute of it. That’s about right. Some days you want to pull all of your hair out; others, everything falls into place.”
Before leaving the stage, he recognized his wife – with whom, this November, he will celebrate their 50th anniversary – and the rest of his family, including his son, daughter-in-law, and sister. “I’m blessed to have a great family, and the people I work with make it fun to come to work every day,” he added.
The only Lincoln-based inductee of this year’s CRE Hall of Fame, Kent Seacrest of Seacrest & Kalkowski noted that he’s always surprised at how many Top 10 lists now Omaha and Lincoln make, because “it didn’t use to be that way.” He added that the two cities didn’t have to compete with each other; that it was “fun to do projects in both communities.”
He thanked his legal partner – Kalkowski, to whom he referred as “the brains of this operation.” Seacrest also thanked his wife who “acts as the other part of my brain,” he said, while mentioning that he is dyslexic.
Finally, Marty Shukert, principal of RDG Planning & Design, was inducted. He remarked that “no business was more collaborative” than his, and he thanked his children, and his wife for “putting up” with his late nights.
Before exiting, he mentioned three films that inspired him, including “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which reminds us that we can say things that can ultimately change the world; “The Music Man,” which involves a character that makes people think they can do things that they didn’t think they could; and “The Truman Show,” which demonstrates that “even if you do everything right, if there is no spark, the project can fail.”
The CRE Summit Hall of Fame luncheon was at CenturyLink Center, Omaha. For more information on the event, goto www.attendcresummit.com.