New England SIOR chapter continues to be active with an energized membership and new candidates

The New England Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) has had an excellent 2010. We continue to have an active board with a program calendar that has energized not only the membership but brokers who are relatively new to the market and interested in joining SIOR. In recent years we have focused our efforts on providing value for membership and being pro-active in recruiting new members with programs being the best avenue for this. The programs are not only educational but an excellent networking opportunity for brokers to meet fellow members, other brokers, developers, architects, contractors, and others in industry related firms. A broker needs a minimum of five years in the business to qualify for SIOR. Our chapter began a candidate program which allows newer brokers to join the chapter before the five year period, allowing them to take advantage of chapter programs and get to know the membership. This has been a popular designation with six brokers becoming candidates this past year. Ultimately, we intend these candidates to earn their designation. What makes this year particularly rewarding is the fact that three other brokers, Tim Brodigan, Jeremy Fried and George Paskalis, earned their SIOR designation. Earning the designation is a serious task and these men should be commended. Our programs continue with a late summer candidate night at the Intercontinental, where prospective brokers and candidates have an opportunity to have a post work drink with the SIOR board and friends. We then have an end of summer joint SIOR/NEWIRE event at the Indigo in Newton on September 15th. This event is sponsored by Normandy, owner of the Indigo. Our scholarship night follows in October. The scholarship is applied for by those with the candidate designation and is followed by an interview with the the scholarship committee. The committee then picks the two best applicants. The scholarship sends the winners to the fall SIOR conference, this year San Antonio. This is a great experience for brokers to meet other brokers from around the country and witness firsthand the programs and events of a national conference. Our breakfasts continue to be a draw as they are hosted by local developers and associate members who give their spin on the market and/or their projects. Our most recent breakfasts were hosted by Atlantic Management, Marcus Partners, and Brookwood Financial. As a recap on what SIOR is: the SIOR designation is an earned designation. One needs to take courses, close a certain volume of business over time and be recommended by two SIOR's. I would join again if it was double the requirements. Every client, if they do not already recognize it, asks about the designation and it brings instant credibility. Through the SIOR network, Klemmer Associates has sold or leased over $45 million with numerous leases throughout the country for major corporate clients as well as over 300,000 s/f of incoming business. This is an invaluable benefit whether you are with a small or national company. The national conferences are outstanding networking events and attract just as many brokers from national firms as independent ones, demonstrating their value, while their educational value is second only to the social events. Several bird hunting trips have been planned through friends met through SIOR. I have enjoyed working on making the New England Chapter stronger and making the SIOR designation a mark of excellence and goal of all serious commercial brokers. Greg Klemmer, SIOR, is the 2010 New England chapter of SIOR president and is president of Klemmer Associates, LLC, Winchester, Mass.