Revised slate of 2021 IREM officer nominees

In the March/April 2020 issue of JPM, the IREM Nominating Committee announced its slate of nominees for 2021 IREM Officers to serve with 2021 President W.A. “Chip” Watts IV, CPM, CCIM. This slate included George D. Griffin III, CPM, CCIM, as the 2021 President-Elect. George’s increased responsibilities as vice president of housing operations for the Houston Housing Authority, AMO, make it impossible for him to devote the necessary time to meet the demanding requirements to serve both the Housing Authority and the office of IREM Secretary/Treasurer. As a result, he has stepped down as the 2020 Secretary/Treasurer, and therefore, as the 2021 President-Elect nominee.

In compliance with the IREM Bylaws, 2020 President Cheryl Gray, CPM, on recommendation by the Nominating Committee, has appointed Barry Blanton, CPM, to fill the vacant office of 2020 Secretary/Treasurer. As such, the new 2020 Officer team is as follows:

President: Cheryl Gray, CPM
President-Elect: W.A. “Chip” Watts IV, CPM, CCIM
Secretary/Treasurer: Barry Blanton, CPM
Secretary/Treasurer Nominee: Renee Savage, CPM, CCIM

Mr. Blanton is the chief problem solver and a founding principal of Blanton Turner, AMO, based in Seattle, Washington. He entered the industry in 1980 and has become one of the most influential property management professionals in the Pacific Northwest. He has served as an IREM Senior Vice President on the 2019 and 2020 Executive Committees and has been involved in many leadership capacities within the organization, including Regional Vice President. Most recently, Blanton was selected as the 2021 Secretary/Treasurer nominee, which was announced in the March/April 2020 issue of JPM.

Given these changes in the Institute’s leadership, the Nominating Committee withdraws the original slate of Officer nominees as published in the March/April 2020 issue of JPM and puts forth a new slate of 2021 Officer nominees to serve with 2021 President W.A. “Chip” Watts IV, CPM, CCIM. The election of IREM Officers will take place at the Governing Council meeting, which is held in conjunction with the IREM Global Summit.

For the one-year term (2021) that begins at the conclusion of the 2020 annual IREM meeting through the conclusion of the 2021 annual IREM meeting, the nominees are:

2021 President-Elect
Barry Blanton, CPM
Blanton Turner, AMO
Seattle, WA

2021 Secretary/Treasurer
Renee M. Savage, CPM, CCIM
Capital Growth Properties, Inc., AMO
La Jolla, CA

IREM Bylaws provide for additional nominations for Officer positions. Any additional nominations must be made by a petition signed by at least fifteen members of the Governing Council delivered to IREM CEO/Executive Vice President at least ten days in advance of the date set for the election.

To fill the vacant position on the 2020 IREM Executive Committee, President Gray has appointed Sidney Ingelson, CPM, to serve as an At-Large Member for the remainder of the term. Sidney is an asset manager in the real estate division of Northern Trust’s office in Pasadena, California, and previously served on the Executive Committee in 2018 and 2019. She is also the 2020 chair of the Next Gen Advisory Board.