Many accomplishments and accolades for NH CIBOR - by Bob Marchewka

Happy summer everyone!  June was a month of accomplishments and accolades for NH CIBOR, its Realtor members and affiliates.  We were quite busy with all of the following events.

TFMoran Annual BBQ On June 16 TFMoran hosted the world renowned NH CIBOR BBQ Party.  Robert and Anne Cruess have hosted and sponsored this party for over 20 years and never fail to disappoint with an over-abundance of food, drink and lively banter among old friends and those newly made.  Through the generous donations of our members and affiliates we were able to raffle over 20 fun and valuable items and raise funds for our charitable arm NH CIBOR Cares.  In addition, Alan Destefano from NHAR helped recruit new members and donations for RPAC to help further our important state and Local political causes.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the NH CIBOR Realtor of the Year and Affiliate of the Year awards to Gerry O’Connell of KW Commercial and Tony Fallon of Tony Fallon Architecture.

NH CIBOR Realtor of the Year - Gerry O’Connell From humble beginnings in Cork, Ireland stealing rides on a horse-bound carriage to the big city, to the shores of America and the green fields of New Hampshire, Gerry has been driven to success in business and firmly planted the roots of his family tree in Newmarket with his lovely wife Kelly and two beautiful daughters.  After many years in the retail industry Gerry’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for customer service drove him to start his own real estate business and was quickly convinced his calling was in the commercial field. Since then, as a director of KW Commercial, he has helped grow that division of KW Coastal Realty throughout the Seacoast and Lakes region of New Hampshire and Southern Maine.  Gerry has been a dedicated member of NH CIBOR since 1990, served on its board of directors since 2010 and was president in 2015.  He is currently in the Leadership Program offered by the NH Association of Realtors and is a current candidate for that executive board and its presidency.  Gerry has a history of commitment to NH CIBOR and is poised to help expand the voice of Commercial Real Estate with Realtors and the public on a state and national level.  A commendable career, a dedicated colleague and a fitting recipient for our 2016 Realtor of the Year.

NH CIBOR Affiliate of the Year - Tony Fallon From his early days swimming in the Hampton River to the wooded confines of his current home in Strafford, Tony has always balanced life and work and dedicated himself to making New Hampshire a better place. Tony received his degree in Architecture from RPI, he is licensed in Maine, N.H., and Mass. and has always enjoyed a broad spectrum of projects.  His diverse career has taken him from large urban commercial projects to the design of a home featured in Yankee Magazine and included many worthy assignments in between, all the while proudly raising 3 wonderful children with his lovely wife Erin. 

In addition, Tony finds time to assist many worthy causes such as the Gunstock Adaptive skiing program, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Starting Home, a transitional housing mission for Vets, and White Horse Addiction Center, a new counseling based drug addiction assistance group in Ossipee, among others. His dedication to playing sports (particularly hockey) is legendary among his peers. He is quick to help a colleague whether as a follow up to a marketing meeting or with architectural insight into a challenging piece of real estate.  He has kept and distributed the notes to nearly every NH CIBOR Seacoast marketing meeting with diligence, wit and humor since its inception in the 1980s.  A proper choice indeed for our 2016 Affiliate of the Year,

2nd Annual NH CIBOR Cares NH Commercial Real Estate Awards On June 6^th  over 100 people attended and enjoyed the 2^nd Annual NH CIBOR Commercial Real Estate Awards Banquet and raised $8,600 for worthy NH charities including the Dan and Renee Plummer Endowment Fund which provides financial support for service members and veterans to receive substance abuse treatment and recovery service through Easter Seals N.H.; Teen Challenge which provides recovery programs helping drug addicts and alcoholics transform their lives; and the Seacoast Repertory Theater, an organization committed to the cultural richness of the Seacoast region through the shared experience of live theater and its youth, teen, and senior educational programs.  Good food and drink and good-natured collegial company were in abundance and the winners were:

Legacy Award  Arthur Slattery Art Slattery, considered one of the Industry’s top dealmakers for over 30 years, is still an active commercial Realtor with an office in Amherst. He served as president of the New Hampshire Commercial Investment Board of Realtors (NHCIBOR) for multiple terms, as well as multiple terms as president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

He was chairman of the New Hampshire Real Estate Commission for over a decade — the first commercial Realtor to have served as a commissioner. He also served on a select building advisory committee for the National Association of Realtors to relocate and build its headquarters building in Washington, D.C.

Deal of the Year: Bob Rohrer, Colliers International 125 South River Road, Bedford (former Macy’s)

Office Sale of the Year: Thomas Farrelly, Denis Dancoes and Sue Ann Johnson, Cushman & Wakefield Two transactions: Concord office portfolio and Nashua office portfolio

Residential Investment Deal of the Year: Tom Duffy and Mike Charron, Berkshire Hathaway Verani 150 River Road, Manchester and 2 Woodbury St., Manchester 

Industrial Sale of the Year (tie) Karl Norwood, NAI Norwood Group & John Hoben, NAI Norwood Group Brady Sullivan Properties 655 South Willow St., Manchester (Former Osram Sylvania building)

Mike Tamposi, CBRE 13 Industrial Park Drive, Hooksett

Urban Revitalization Deal of the Year: Dan Scanlon, Jim DeStefano, Laura Nesmith and Doug Martin, Colliers International 875 Elm St., Manchester (Citizen’s Bank building)

Suburban/Rural Deal of the Year: Karl Norwood and John Hoben, NAI Norwood Group 40 Chester St., Chester (Former Chester College)

Office Lease of the Year: Thomas Farrelly, Denis Dancoes and Sue Ann Johnson, Cushman & Wakefield Timberland (Vanity Fair) VF Outdoor Inc. Lease at Cocheco Mill in Dover

Industrial Lease of the Year: Thomas Farrelly, Denis Dancoes and Sue Ann Johnson, Cushman & Wakefield

Mike Tamposi, Roger Dieker, and Chris Healey, CBRE SolarCity Lease of 468 Pepsi Road in Manchester.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the New England Real Estate Journal's Commercial Real Estate Summit "State of the Northern New England Market".  NH CIBOR and NEREJ worked closely to promote this important gathering of several panels of experts in the fields of commercial real estate development, construction, finance and brokerage.  The half-day event in Portsmouth, N.H. was well attended and well received and we look forward to working with NEREJ on similar projects in the future.

Have a great summer!

Bob Marchewka is the 2016 president of the New Hampshire Commercial and Investment Board of Realtors, Bedford, N.H.