Commercial Investment Real Estate November/December 2017 | Page 60

“Someone told me to take the course — and I was blown away,” she says. “You can get a finance degree in college, but it’s not necessarily targeted to commercial real estate.” The McClures got married in 1989. Susan received her designation in 1994 and joined McClure Partners in 2007. The firm’s third partner is Mac’s son, John McClure, CCIM, who graduated from Baylor University in 2004, hoping to go into commercial real estate for development and construction. His father and a part- ner had bought a Chili’s franchise in Georgia. “I cut my teeth in development over four years,” John says. Eventually he built 11 more restaurants in Georgia and South Carolina. “Dad and his partner really mentored me,” John adds. He also was studying for his CCIM designation and remembers his first CI 101 class. “I met three or four friends who I still keep up with,” John says. “Lots of people want to move to online classes, because they think millennials want them. I feel like there’s a lot you miss out on if you don’t have that in-class envi- ronment, learning from instructors who practice what they teach every day.” John sat for the CCIM exam in San Antonio, Texas. “It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever done,” he says. “My dad was one of 10 moni- tors. He was about to be the Institute president, and I thought ‘I cannot fail this test.’ ” John didn’t fail; he was pinned in 2007 at the age of 26. All three McClures are active CCIMs, both at the local and national level. Mac continues to teach; Susan, also an instructor, serves on the Institute’s board of directors and also is the education chair for the North Texas CCIM Chapter; and John is the cur- rent chapter president. “It’s kind of challenging when we have a national meeting, because we have to shut down the office,” Mac says. “I have a lifetime of memories of going to instructor training courses and other [CCIM] events,” John says. “I was around my father’s cadre for years and years. I’ve grown up around them, and now to be able to work alongside them on board commissions and commit- tees, that’s really special to me.” Sarah Hoban is a freelance writer based in the Chicago metro area. Let Xceligent’s family of integrated products cover all of your research, marketing, and analysis needs. ANALYZE XceligentCDX MARKET CommercialSearch CONNECT TOUR MANAGE I Robust local market research with the latest property information XceligentDirect Spaceful I The national CRE marketplace to find and market properties I Market your listings seamlessly on your website I A dynamic tour experience for your clients ClientLook I CRM for the commercial real estate industry Let’s get started. E [email protected] I P 877.628.5300 I XCELIGENT.COM 6 CCIM.COM COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE / NOV.17