HALL OF FAME
DJ Longo
BY DENNIS MALONE
In the Summer of 2015 when DJ Longo
was taking over the helm as AAMD
President, the Cover of Trends read
“Small Owner has Big Plans”. Well, DJ’s
plan culminated in big results! His year
was the most successful in AAMD’s
history. DJ led the Association to a
record setting $326,000 change in net
assets and membership hit a milestone 200,000 apartment units for the first time. DJ’s year
broke barriers, and records, and set new benchmarks all year long.
Typically, DJ would not take the credit, but would bestow all the credit to others, and as a
matter of fact for his last article for the Trends Magazine he literally thanked by name the
233 volunteers that helped make and the year so successful. As a leader, DJ has defined
volunteerism, again and again - with action. He does not just volunteer, thinking that everyone
else will do the work, he personally gets involved and works on initiatives and projects for
AAMD throughout his career.
It all started with his work with IROC. Taking the independent owner program to new heights was his
dream going back to the year 2000 when DJ’s Company Terra Firma joined AAMD.
He was and still is relentless about IROC being a priority. He increased the value of JLAC with his
dedicated work to protect the industry. He also elevated the AAMD Education program over the years
with organizing new classes and content, and DJ has always been a fixture at AAMD events.
Peggy Panzer
BY LAUREN AND LYNETT BROCKMAN
A wise person once said, “The most effective way to ‘do something’ is to actually do
something. Peggy Panzer is famous for not only creating plans but putting them in action.
Peggy’s career began on site. Like many others of us, Peggy may not have intended to pursue
a career in property management , but pursue she did!
Peggy’s roles in property
management range from leasing
professional to her current role
of Regional Vice President of
Allied Orion Group. Her ability
to not only lead a team but be
a member of the team makes
her a unique individual. Her
contributions to Allied Orion’s
team and clients are only
matched by her contributions to
AAMD and its members.
Peter Kudla
BY TIM MCENTEE
Peter Kudla was born and grew up in Up State New York and has
a Master’s in Educational Administration from SUNY, Plattsburgh.
He moved to Denver in 1978 to work for Larry Mizel as a Property
Manager and formed Beacon Hill Investments in his kitchen in
1981. 13 years later, he formed Metropolitan Homes on the back
of a napkin, most likely at the Bonnie Brae Tavern. Since then,
Metropolitan Homes has developed award winning properties.
As Plaintiff against Colorado Defect attorneys Peter won a
long-fought battle that eventually landed in the Colorado Supreme
Court and was a tremendous win for Developers and General
Contractors to overcome frivolous defect litigation, which was a
major victory for our entire industry.
Peter was AAMD president in 1989, and throughout his career,
has developed over 3,000 ground up multifamily homes and operated
over 10,000 multifamily units.
He has been a part of donating millions of dollars to Children’s hospital
over the past 20 years with his large scaled multi day golf benefits,
and renowned private dinners with Peter as the Private Chef.
Peggy is currently the chair of
Tributes 2018, our celebration of
excellence in the industry! In the
past, Peggy has served on the Board of Directors for AAMD as well as the Colorado Apartment
Association. She is a JLAC Member as well as a contributing member to the AAMD Alliance.
www.aamdhq.org
JULY 2018
TRENDS | 31