PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE -FEBRUARY 2009
Greetings,
If you’re like me, you can’t wait for winter to end and the start of Spring. The extra daylight does more than brighten my day, and certainly the chance to get outside without wearing heavy winter "garb" puts some extra spring (pardon the pun) in my step. We’ll need that spiritual lift and extra energy to accomplish several upcoming CREW events.
But first let me talk a little bit about a recent activity. We recently held our Fourth Annual CREW Networking Awards Luncheon. It’s certainly one of the highlights of our excellent CREW program schedule but even more so because it defines a major mission of CREW, namely allowing our members to develop a network to build their careers.
Honored at this year’s event were:
- Networking Story of the Year – Ann Schmelzle, Gateway Commercial, Sara Stock, Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, L.C., and Donita Rachell, Bianco Properties.
- Networking Story of the Year II – Jennifer Marler, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, and Julie Drummond-Alderman, Color Art Integrated Interiors.
- Mentor of the Year – Jennifer Marler, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Jean Corrigan, Royal Banks of Missouri.
Congratulations to this year’s recipients for visibly demonstrating the value of CREW.
This year’s event also spotlighted another CREW hallmark: Giving back to the community. Meg Mannion, Community Service Chair, invited Elsie Tierney and Rosemary Hanley, co-founders of The Little Bit Foundation, to provide an overview of their mission. These dynamic women began offering necessities that we take for granted – coats, shoes, socks, even underwear – to school children. Today, they work with 12 inner-city schools and more than 3,000 children. The necessities that they provide have the power to change lives.
We want to help Elsie and Rosemary reach out to these children and make an impact. Look for a monthly e-mail from Meg, which will include a list of items that The Little Bit Foundation needs to help make a difference. Your little bit will mean a lot to these children.
OK, on to more activities, especially CREW Careers, which is just around the corner. The all-day program on Saturday, April 4, will feature “One of the 10 Greatest Streets in America” – the Delmar Loop. We still need donations for “goodie bags” for the young ladies, so if you can donate pens, paper, lip balm, umbrellas, or anything that a young lady would use. Contact Karen Karowski, or Kristy Siebert if you have items to donate.
And, if you want to volunteer to help with the day’s program, please contact Tracey Howren.
As for donations to CREW Careers, Marcia Niedringhaus really got the ball rolling. She challenged the audience at our Networking Luncheon to open up their checkbooks. Her offer was pretty straightforward. The seven past presidents in the audience would match whatever was donated that day up to $700. I’m pleased to report that the past presidents gladly made out a check for a $100 each because you met the challenge! We raised approximately $1600 for CREW Careers during the luncheon.
Thank you! And thanks, Marcia!
Looking ahead, mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 10. CREW member Angie Earlywine will address a timely topic: Workplace Change Management in Today’s Challenging Environment. Details and registration email should be in your inbox so register today.
Here’s something that won’t cost you anything but could reward a deserving young woman. Know any high school seniors or college students looking to pursue a career in commercial real estate? CREW Network will award up to ten $10,000 scholarships in 2009 based on academic excellence to help finance the educational endeavors of female undergraduate students enrolled in accredited real estate programs. Each scholarship recipient will also be provided a paid internship at a commercial brokerage firm.
You can help out a deserving young woman by filling out the application on the CREW Network Scholarship Web site. Deadline for submission is Friday, March 20.
Lastly, I want to welcome the following new members to the network:
Regular Members
Suzanne L. Zatlin, Real Estate Attorney at Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C.
Lisa A. Prinster, Director at Gateway Commercial | Cushman & Wakefield Alliance
Micki Wehmeier, Senior Project Manager and Designer at Architextures, LLC
Christi Johningmeyer, President of Architextures, LLC
Julie Krapf, Senior VP of Commercial Banking at Midwest Bank Centre
Laurel Tinsley, Partner at Husch Blackwell Sanders
Affiliate Member
Tiffany Auer, Account Executive at Tandus
To both these new members and existing members, remember that many hands lighten the load. While we have much to do, we shall be “Successful Together.”
As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 314-259-5828 or agarrison@sonnenschein.com. If I’m outside enjoying the Spring weather, I promise to get back to you.
Best regards,
Amy Garrison
CREW-St. Louis Chapter President
