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IREM’s 2022 REME Award winners

By Journal of Property Management
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Every day, real estate managers make a difference in the lives of their tenants and residents, and in their communities. IREM celebrates the achievements of these professionals and companies by honoring a select few with the IREM Real Estate Management Excellence (REME) Awards. Why? Because beyond just managing ongoing building operations, from leasing to crisis response, these professionals ensure our health, safety, and well-being where we live, work, and spend our leisure time.

Individual and corporate winners are chosen from seven different categories. In 2022, a new category was added—ACoM of the Year—to recognize the achievements of an IREM member who has achieved excellence in commercial real estate. Winners were announced Oct. 20 at the 2022 IREM Global Summit in Dallas.

Meet our 2022 REME Award winners: 

CPM of the Year: Kaci Hancock, CPM®, ACoM

Kaci Hancock, CPM®, ACoM

Our most coveted professional recognition, CPM of the Year, goes to an extraordinary individual who’s demonstrated a unique combination of professional expertise joined by exceptional personal strengths. This year’s winner, Kaci Hancock, CPM®, ACoM, epitomizes real estate management. In addition to her professional achievements, Hancock has helped define the entire IREM organization through her successful efforts to advance the careers of women, women of color, young professionals, and many others in the dynamic world of real estate management. Her energy knows no limits.

She’s currently the operations director for Houston’s historic Rice Village Shopping Center, and she has successfully managed several diverse commercial portfolios, including mixed-use, office, retail, industrial, and office/warehouse. Hancock’s attention to detail and passion for customer service fuel a strong focus on relationship-building with everyone from ownership to maintenance teams.

ARM of the Year: Tasha Rush, ARM®

Tasha Rush, ARM®

Tasha Rush, ARM®, is an assistant property manager at Greenleaf Apartments Senior Subsidized Housing Community in Bolingbrook, Illinois. She’s an IREM Chicago Chapter board member, DEI committee chair, and social media committee chair. She also serves as a DEI Advisory Board member at IREM Headquarters.

Rush’s deep community engagement, professionally and personally, defines her commitment to service, integrity, and career advancement for herself and others.

ACoM of the Year: Christiana Webber, ACoM, CPM® Candidate

Christiana Webber, ACoM, CPM® Candidate

Christiana Webber, ACoM, CPM® Candidate, is with Gordon Partners Management in Houston, Texas. As a senior property manager overseeing a team of professionals, she’s responsible for implementing all property procedures and programs. Her strengths include cultivating and supporting her team, as well as maintaining financial reporting and tenant and vendor relationships. Her dedication to IREM through student outreach and community engagement has shaped her 18-year career and leadership skills. Today, she manages more than 1 million square feet across multiple asset classes.

AMO of the Year: Cortland, LLC, AMO®

AMO companies are in a class by themselves. Less than 500 real estate firms hold this prestigious accreditation, earned by businesses that have demonstrated uncommon commitment to the highest standards of ethical behavior and financial stability.

This year’s AMO firm of the year, Cortland, LLC, AMO®, is a vertically integrated, multifamily real estate investment, development, and management company focused on delivering resident-centric, hospitality-driven apartment living experiences. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cortland manages and is invested in more than 240 apartment communities comprised of more than 80,000 homes in the U.S., with regional offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa.

Cortland’s CPM program has allowed many Cortland associates to build their industry knowledge by earning IREM CPM certification with the company’s funding. As a result, more than 40 CPMs and CPM Candidates have been added to the IREM network. Cortland believes in giving its associates access to lifelong learning and opportunities to grow their careers.

IREM Excellence Award—Corporate: FirstService Residential, AMO®

The IREM Excellence Award—Corporate recognizes a real estate management company that has demonstrated a commitment to the profession, made extraordinary achievements, and positively impacted the communities it serves. This year’s winner, FirstService Residential, AMO®, captures all those strengths. The company’s list of philanthropic activity and donations ranges from a beach clean-up to raising money for medical research.

The company is a leader in North American property management, partnering with more than 8,500 residential communities across the U.S. and Canada, including condominiums and cooperatives, single-family communities, active-adult communities, and mixed-use properties. The firm uses its extensive experience and resources to maximize property values and enhance residents’ lifestyles.

IREM Excellence Award—Individual: Chrystal Skead, CPM®, ARM®

Chrystal Skead, CPM®, ARM®

The IREM Excellence Award—Individual acknowledges a real estate management professional who has demonstrated commitment to the industry, made extraordinary achievements, and positively impacted the community they serve. In recognition of her dedication to IREM and the real estate management profession, this year, we honor Chrystal Skead, CPM®, ARM®. Her influence on elevating education and professionalism among Canadian operators has built her reputation as an expert source on critical industry issues and trends, and she has helped advance the careers of many aspiring property managers.

Skead has more than 30 years of residential property management experience and has been an active IREM member since 1990. She’s a partner with Clear Stone Asset Consulting Inc., based in Calgary, Alberta, which provides real estate management and consulting services. She served as the first Canada Chapter vice president in 2006–2008 and accepted a second appointment as IREM Canada VP for the 2019–2021 term. She’s also a past president of the Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC), IREM’s Canadian partner. Additionally, she was a recipient of the CPM Emeritus award in 2014, the highest honor awarded by REIC to a member.

IREM Excellence Award—Individual: Sherri Commander, CPM®

There were too many great candidates in 2022 to choose only one, so the judges selected two individuals in the IREM Excellence Award—Individual category this year.

Sherri Commander, CPM®

Sherri Commander, CPM®, is a senior property manager with Lincoln Harris, where she’s worked for 15 years managing medical office buildings for Atrium Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care systems. With more than 24 years in the commercial real estate industry, she’s been an active member of IREM since 2008, earning her CPM certification in 2009.

Her desire to uplift others, especially those less fortunate than she, lights her way in life. In the words of actor Danny Thomas: “Success has nothing to do with what you gain or accomplish for yourself; it’s about what you do for others.” Words we can all live by.

IREM Innovator Award: RangeWater Real Estate, AMO®

Real estate management is a highly innovative field. Every day brings something new and possibly never before seen. This is why IREM honors those companies that have made significant contributions to technology, customer service, sustainability, or marketing that have transformed their businesses.

This year’s IREM Innovator Award goes to RangeWater, AMO®, a fully integrated multifamily real estate company creating fulfilling experiences for its partners, clients, residents, and employees across the Sun Belt. This Atlanta-based company has acquired and developed more than 31,000 multifamily units since its inception in 2006, representing more than $5.6 billion in total capitalization. RangeWater currently manages a portfolio of more than 77,000 multifamily units across 11 states.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, RangeWater needed an edge to attract residents and grow property value. The company’s artist-in-residence program filled this gap by providing artists a place to live in exchange for artwork connecting properties with their communities. The goal was to create beauty that could be enjoyed by residents and others while supporting local artists. As a result, RangeWater properties have enjoyed both growing interest and skyrocketing property values.

Congratulations to all our 2022 winners. As the saying goes: “When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.”

Journal of Property Management

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