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Page 8B — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — July 1-July 14, 2015
A group of 60 NAIOP
Colorado members and
eight “icons” headed to
Arapahoe Basin Ski & Snowboard
Area March 17 for the Developing
Leaders’ second annual Skiing
with the Icons event.
Icons included Tim Richey,
Wade Doidge, Phil Hawkins, Bill
Mosher, Bill Lawrence, Lea Ann
Fowler, Chris King and Larry
Lance.
Attendees enjoyed a warm
spring ski day on the mountain
under bluebird conditions, which
optimized networking in a fun
and casual environment. A char-
ter bus provided round-trip trans-
portation, the base lodge’s upper
floor was reserved all day for the
NAIOP group, and a 45-minute
interactive icon discussion of real
estate topics was held on the out-
door deck during après ski.
“The NAIOP’s Skiing with the
Icons is by far my favorite event
of the year,” said First American
Title’s Jex Lawrence. “It provides a
unique opportunity to learn from
and network with the icons of the
commercial industry and ski at
the same time.”
The event is open to all NAIOP
members and will happen again
in 2016.
SK I ING WI TH THE ICONS
The group participates in an interactive discussion on the deck of the lodge. NAIOP Colorado members stop on the slopes during the DLs’ annual Skiing with the Icons
event at A Basin.
N AIOP Colorado is the
state’s leading com-
mercial real estate
industry trade group. NAIOP’s
mission has three areas of
emphasis: education, legisla-
tive advocacy and networking.
To further its mission, NAIOP
offers a full calendar of events
throughout the year, almost all
of which are open to members
and nonmembers alike.
Next Wednesday, July 8,
NAIOP will hold its annual
Mid-Year Economic Forecast
Breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton
Denver. This event will be
moderated by Kevin McCabe
of Newmark Grubb Knight
Frank and will feature several
of the region’s top commercial
brokers offering their outlooks
for the remainder of 2015 and
beyond.
On Aug. 19, lace up your
skates for the Winter Classic
Hockey Tournament, to be
held at the Edge Ice Center in
Littleton. Spectators and play-
ers are welcome for this always-
sold-out annual networking
event that benefits Children’s
Hospital Colorado.
August also marks the start of
NAIOP’s four-part Educational
Series. This year the series will
take an in-depth look at the
role of public-private partner-
ships in real estate develop-
ment. These breakfast events
offer an intimate atmosphere
and will be held once per
month through November at
the offices of Avison Young
next to Union Station.
In late September NAIOP’s
annual project tour will kick
off with an exclusive tour of
the new Westin located in
DIA’s South Terminal project,
followed by overviews of other
new projects in and around the
aerotropolis presented by the
industry’s foremost experts in
the area.
Oct. 22 will mark the annual
Fight Night at the Infinity Park
Event Center in Glendale. This
limited-capacity black-tie event
offers unparalleled networking
with the industry’s elite in an
exciting and fun atmosphere
with dinner, cocktails and live
amateur boxing. Sponsorships
for this event, only in its third
year, sell out in a matter of
days.
In early November, NAIOP
will present one of several
breakfast events held through-
out the year. This November’s
breakfast will be held at the
Marriott City Center and will
feature an informative panel
on the capital markets, includ-
ing debt, equity and other
financing.
Finishing out the calendar
year, NAIOP will partner
with the Denver Commercial
Association of Realtors for the
annual Holiday Reception at
Euclid Hall. This members-
only event will include drinks,
appetizers and networking with
some of Denver’s most promi-
nent com-
mercial real
estate indus-
try members.
NAIOP
helps ring
in each new
year with an
Economic
Forecast
event held in
early January.
Next year’s
event will
feature Rich
Wobbekind,
the execu-
tive director
of business
research
and senior
associate
dean for academic programs
at the University of Colorado.
Joining Professor Wobbekind
will be Patti Silverstein,
president of Development
Research Partners and fre-
quent commentator on the
local and regional economies.
Wobbekind and Silverstein will
offer their economic insight
to prepare the real estate and
larger business community for
the new year ahead.
February is time for
NAIOP’s Annual Awards of
Achievement, which hon-
ors the “Best of the Best” in
Colorado’s real estate industry.
Held with a popular late after-
noon format, the event will fea-
ture an awards program honor-
ing brokers of the year in each
product category, transaction
of the year, president’s awards
and many others, followed by a
cocktail reception.
Rounding out the calen-
dar of events is NAIOP’s
Rocky Mountain Real Estate
Challenge, which is held each
May. This event pits the MBA
students in the University of
Colorado’s and University
of Denver’s real estate pro-
grams against each other in a
contest to develop a plan for
transforming a challenging,
high-profile site into a dynamic
and successful real estate
development. One of the most
successful programs of its type
in the country, the event rou-
tinely draws over 700 attend-
ees. Past challenge sites have
included Midtown Industrial
Center in River North and
downtown redevelopment
projects in Parker, Boulder and
Commerce City.
Complementing these annual
events are many other events
hosted with partner organi-
zations such as Urban Land
Institute Colorado, Denver
Commercial Association of
Realtors, the Denver Metro
Chamber of Commerce and
Downtown Denver Partnership.
There are also Developing
Leader events aimed at the
next generation of commer-
cial real estate profession-
als, including project tours,
mentor-mentee pairings and
exclusive access to some of the
most accomplished veterans of
the industry.
NAIOP Colorado’s legislative
arm, the Common Cents Fund,
holds several events through-
out the legislative session,
allowing its members to stay
on top of legislative activity,
to meet legislators and lobby-
ists and, most importantly, to
have their voice heard in the
General Assembly.
The national NAIOP orga-
nization also hosts its own full
slate of events throughout the
year to bring members of its
local chapters together and
offer those members a national
perspective on the commercial
real estate industry. Last year
NAIOP held its marquee event,
Development ‘14, in Denver,
highlighting the city’s real
estate industry’s rising promi-
nence on the national stage.
The national NAIOP organiza-
tion offers participation in its
National Forums programs,
which allows members of its
local chapters to network
nationally with other commer-
cial real estate professionals on
a variety of topics.
This is just a snapshot of
all of the programming that
NAIOP Colorado offers its
members each year. Whether
it’s networking, education or
legislative involvement, NAIOP
Colorado offers a wide variety
of ways to enhance a career in
commercial real estate.
Michael
Strand
Programs
Committee chair
Strand is an
attorney in the
real estate and
commercial
finance group at
Snell & Wilmer LLP
in Denver.
PROGRAMS COMMI TTEE UPDATE