Commercial Investment Real Estate July/August 2016

BUSINES S IS SUES t Paying It Forward by Mary Stark-Hood, JD, CFP Those who contribute to the CCIM Foundation are giving to those who seek the CCIM designation. The CCIM Foundation provides the scholarships allowing many commercial real estate professionals to earn the CCIM designation. To accomplish the goal of rais- ing funds for scholarships, the Foundation needs a solid financial base. Its contributions come from many CCIMs. To recognize those individuals, the Foundation recently formed the Leadership Society. Within the Leadership Society, those who have contributed $20,000 or more reach Platinum level status. To date, Sandy Shindleman, CCIM, 2012 CCIM Founda- tion president; Patricia Tesluk, CCIM, 2016 CCIM Foundation president; Robin Webb, CCIM, 2015 CCIM Foundation president and 2016 CCIM Institute president-elect; Susan Groeneveld, CCIM, executive direc- tor of CCIM Foundation; and Gary Ralston, CCIM, 2016 presidential liaison and CCIM senior instructor have achieved the Plati- num level of contributions. Why have they been so generous to the CCIM Foundation? Discover their motivations for giving back. CCIM Foundation: What motivated you to become involved? Sandy Shindleman: The education I received from CCIM Institute was the basis upon which I built a successful business. Working with the Foundation allows me to give back to my profession and help others pursue sim- ilar goals. We all succeed by helping others. Robin Webb: From the start, I was a donor to the CCIM Foundation. About 2002, I decided that I also wanted to give back to the organization by volunteering my time and expertise. Patricia Tesluk: Being part of the Jay W. Levine Leadership Academy Class of 2006 gave me a broader perspective of what the Foundation accomplishes. At Founda- tion Board meetings and knowing those who served before me, it’s clear that Board members are committed to the future of the CCIM designation and want to give back by volunteering their time and talent. During Robin Webb’s term as the 2015 CCIM Foundation president, which programs did you focus on? Webb: We undertook an initiative to approach employers of CCIMs for corpo- rate donations. We also created 10 Named Endowed Scholarships, which was the most ever in a single year, and awarded scholar- ships to 113 individuals. Tesluk: We know there are countless places to donate; we are truly grateful to our mem- bers who made the choice to support the CCIM Foundation. We have asked the Foundation directors to become ambassadors to the local CCIM chapters and discuss the valuable work of the Foundation. Many chapters do not realize that their funds for scholarships come from the CCIM Foundation. We have plans underway to communicate more often with our donors. We introduced “The Red Thread” — not only the name of our newsletter — but to illustrate how the red thread started. The Red Thread began with CCIM Institute and an individual’s inter- est in securing the CCIM designation. This thread continues to wrap around its members, encourages fellowship, and, finally, finds its  July | August | 2016 Commercial Investment Real Estate As the 2016 President of the CCIM Foundation, Patricia Tesluk, what new initiatives are underway?

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