Page 18 - RENJ Aug2021

16 AUGUST 2021
Perhaps as much as anyone else in commercial real estate, brokers have been eager to
return to the pre-pandemic days of in-person gatherings and face-to-face networking.
Local leaders with the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors are well aware as they plan the chapter’s own transition back to business as usual, following a year of virtual events and finding creative ways to keep their members engaged.
“The important thing is having that face-to-face — you can’t replace that,” said Jason Crimmins, a principal and president of The Blau & Berg Co. in Short Hills, who serves as this year’s SIOR New Jersey chapter president.
With that in mind, the organization has in fact resumed the types of gatherings that
most brokers
and has been a key figure in the association.
It’s among several events that were slated for the spring, summer and fall, including an Investors Forum in October, leading to what SIOR New Jersey hopes will be a full-fledged comeback in 2022.
“You need to make a splash,” said Alex Conte, a principal and executive vice president with Blau & Berg, who will take over as SIOR New Jersey president in January. “People want to feel excited coming out of this, and I think we all do.”
Established in 1971, SIOR is a global association for commercial and industrial real estate brokers. Only the industry’s top performers qualify
for the SIOR designation, which
is currently held by nearly 3,500 professionals globally, including more than 70 in New Jersey.
When COVID-19 forced a statewide shutdown last year, SIOR New Jersey’s initial response included a focus on philanthropy and community service. Led by NAI James E. Hanson’s Tom Vetter, the chapter’s president for 2020, the organization donated $10,000 toward a Rutgers University scholarship, while also raising funds for the American Red Cross.
Conte said that helped keep members engaged while they continued to work on making deals and staying active in the market.
TOGETHER AGAIN
SIOR New Jersey returns to in-person gatherings, in key step for brokerage community
By Joshua Burd
undoubtedly
prefer. That
has included a
Welcome Back
Event in early
June in West
Orange, where
SIOR New
Jersey bestowed lifetime achievement awards on three of its most esteemed members — Sheldon Gross of Sheldon Gross Realty Inc., Kenneth Crimmins of The Blau & Berg Co.
and Peter O. Hanson of NAI James E. Hanson — each of whom boasts more than 50 years of industry experience
Jason Crimmins
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors’ New Jersey chapter hosted its Welcome Back Event on June 3, at the Montclair Golf Club in West Orange,
the pandemic. The event featured the presentation of lifetime achievement awards to Sheldon Gross of Sheldon Gross Realty Inc., Kenneth Crimmins of
James E. Hanson (third, fourth and fifth from left). Also pictured: Alex Conte, Blau & Berg executive vice president and SIOR New Jersey vice president; Sheldon Gross Realty President Marcy Gross; NAI James E. Hanson President William C. Hanson and Jason Crimmins, Blau & Berg president and SIOR New Jersey president.
in one of its first in-person gatherings since before The Blau & Berg Co. and Peter O. Hanson of NAI
Courtesy: SIOR New Jersey