Phoenix, AZ – NAIOP Arizona ran its victory streak to 11 consecutive years as it won the Chapter Merit Award in the Education category Monday night at the industry organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
NAIOP Arizona, which won three awards last year and has brought home national honors for more than a decade, captured the Education category for a large chapter on the merit of its Developing Leaders mentor program.
“We are very proud of our Developing Leaders for their aspiration of improving our chapter's educational offerings,” said 2015 Chairman Tom Johnston. “The Mentor Program is an example of that effort and this national award is evidence of its success.”
The Developing Leader’s Mentor Program is a nine-month, 40-hour education, networking and leadership program. Throughout the program, six group events were held. Protégé and mentor pairings were announced and the group was provided an overview of a case study. Four education panel events were held in which guest speakers who were experts in their respective fields provided information necessary to complete the development case study. To complete the program, participants pitched their Development Proposal (case study) to a group of “investors” (judges) during a graduation event.
It's an honor for our chapter to receive this award," said NAIOP Arizona President Tim Lawless. “Our board has strived to make our educational offerings stronger from a strategic standpoint. By winning a national award for an 11th consecutive year, NAIOP Arizona is proving to be an impactful and relevant industry group in the Valley's commercial real estate community."
The Mentor Program is designed to educate, develop, connect and elevate the next generation of commercial real estate leaders. Its goal is to provide the future leaders of the real estate industry with a broad-based understanding of the critical components of the business, key business and operating principles, introduction and networking opportunities with leading industry executives, and the development of a peer group of young executives from a range of real estate disciplines.
“The addition of the case study truly elevated the Mentor Program, allowing protégés the opportunity to showcase their talent and creativity during their development pitch at graduation,” said Jenna Borcherding, Developing Leaders’ Vice Chair. “The mentors and judges were impressed by the development proposals. I wouldn't be surprised to see several of them working together in the future. It's important we invest in and retain the future generation of leaders in our industry and this program certainly allows us that opportunity.”
Last year, NAIOP Arizona’s 2014 chairman Megan Creecy-Herman was honored with the prestigious national award for Outstanding Leadership by a Chapter President. Also last year, NAIOP Arizona won national awards for Best Communication Tool among large chapters in the U.S., and Best Sponsorship Program.