MEMPHIS, TN – May 28, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® Commercial Council honored the top performers in commercial real estate for 2011 at the 11th Annual Pinnacle Awards gala held April 24 at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn. Coming away with the evening’s highest honors were Commercial Hall of Fame inductee Michael Lightman, of Michael Lightman Realty Co.; Commercial Broker of the Year Blake Pera, of CB Richard Ellis; and Nike, Inc., winner of the Community Impact Award.
The Commercial Hall of Fame recognizes a commercial broker who has been actively involved in the real estate community throughout his or her career with well-known contributions to the industry over a sustained period. Michael Lightman graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in business and served in the Army Reserves. His family owns Malco Theatres, but instead of joining the family business, he decided to open his own company, Lightman Realty, which he opened in 1970.
Lightman focused on the sale of apartments, land and retail properties. He also bought land in areas where he projected growth would occur, purchasing many tracts along Riverdale, Winchester, Hacks Cross and Germantown Parkway. Currently, Lightman’s portfolio includes more than 2.5 million square feet of investment property and more than 500 acres of land awaiting development.
“Michael Lightman is synonymous with commercial real estate in Memphis,” said Pinnacle Co-Chairman Greg DeWitt. “He has done a fantastic job at predicting future growth.”
The Commercial Broker of the Year award is presented to an active broker with significant accomplishments within the industry over the past year and who has been active in the community at large throughout his or her career. Blake Pera, the Senior VP of Industrial Properties, at CBRE, has received the Broker of the Year Award in Memphis multifamily sales the last nine years. Within CBRE worldwide, Pera has achieved several milestones, including in 2005 being recognized as a Top 200 Producer and a member of the Colbert Coldwell Circle – the highest honor given to the top three percent of brokers within the company.
Prior to joining CBRE Memphis, Pera was a top producing real estate manager for AutoZone; he was responsible for acquiring retail sites throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. He is a native Memphian and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee. He received his CCIM designation in 2001.
“Blake Pera is consistently ranked as one of the top commercial producers in the entire commercial real estate sector,” said Pinnacle Co-Chairman Steve Guinn. “In fact, he has won an award for production every year since we started the Pinnacle Awards.”
Nike received the Community Impact Award in recognition of the company’s substantial investment in Memphis. Locally, it uses approximately 2.6 million square feet of industrial space, making Memphis the core of its distribution network.
Broker of the Year awards were presented to the top producers in eight categories:
Industrial Leasing (landlord) – Brad Murchison, CB Richard Ellis Memphis
Industrial Leasing (tenant) – Andy Cates, Colliers International
Investment Sales – Rosemarie Fair, One Source Commercial
Office Leasing (landlord) – Ron Riley, Colliers International
Office Leasing (tenant) – Patrick Gamble, CB Richard Ellis Memphis
Retail – John Elkington, Elkington Real Estate Group
Land Sales – Jim Rainer, Grubb & Ellis, Memphis
James Rainer V, Grubb & Ellis Memphis, was named Newcomer of the Year – the highest producing broker with no more than two years of experience in the industry.
The MAAR Commercial Council is the presenting sponsor for the Pinnacle Awards. Other sponsors include Bass, Berry & Sims; Dixon Hughes; Grubb & Ellis, Memphis; Montgomery Martin Contractors; Trust One Bank; The Daily News.
A group of MAAR members started the Pinnacle Awards in 2002 as a way to honor industry leaders and encourage involvement in MAAR. In 2003, MAAR established the Commercial Council, the first local organization specifically for Memphis-area commercial real estate professionals. The Pinnacle Awards program is one of many benefits the MAAR Commercial Council provides to support its members and encourage networking among commercial practitioners.
With more than 300 members, the MAAR Commercial Council is a self-governed, free-standing division of the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®. Members include commercial developers, commercial brokers and affiliate brokers, property managers, and other commercial real estate-related professionals. The Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® is one of the Mid-South’s largest real estate trade associations with 3,000 members working in all facets of the real estate industry.
Contact
Don Wade, Media Relations & Research
901.818.2434.
don.wade (at) maar (dot) org
