Baltimore, MD (February 13, 2012) – NAIOP Maryland captured two Chapter Merit Awards at the NAIOP National Conference held last week at The Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C. The local chapter of the trade association for developers, owners, investors and other professionals working in the commercial real estate industry were honored in the “Community Service” and “Developing Leaders Program” categories. NAIOP is comprised of 55 separate chapters around the country and has nearly 16,000 individual members.
The NAIOP Maryland Community Service Committee identifies philanthropic opportunities that provide direct benefits to the local community, as well as raising funds that support a wide range of beneficiary organizations. Recent efforts include the construction of picnic tables and floating wetlands for the Living Classrooms Foundation, as well as the submersion of oyster cages in partnership with Chesapeake BaySavers. Brendan Gill of MacKenzie Management, LLC and Connie Rhodes of Rhodes Development, LLC are co-chairs of the committee.
The chapter’s Maryland Developing Leaders Program targets real estate professionals who are 35 years of age and younger through various events and activities including networking sessions and community service initiatives. Among the most popular programs is a quarterly discussion session and dinner with a well-known veteran of the Maryland commercial real estate industry. James Knott, Jr. of James F. Knott Realty Group and Alex Kopicki of Solstice Partners serve as co-chairs of the NAIOP Maryland Developing Leader Program.
In addition, last year Brendan Gill was among 15 professionals from around the country that were honored by NAIOP with its national Developing Leader award.
“We are especially proud of these two honors based on the judging and selection by our NAIOP peers from around the country,” explained Dianna Wilhelm, President of NAIOP Maryland. “Our selection recognizes the meaningful projects that NAIOP Maryland organizes to make measurable differences in our community, as well as the continued investment we make in young professionals entering our industry,” she added.
NAIOP Maryland has more than 340 members and is comprised of individuals working for real estate development companies, brokerage firms and affiliated companies such as financial institutions, architectural firms and engineers.
NAIOP is the nation’s leading trade association for developers, owners, investors and other professionals in industrial, office and mixed-use commercial real estate. Comprising 16,000 members in 55 chapters, it provides networking opportunities, educational programs, research on trends and innovations and strong legislative representation.