Colorado Real Estate Journal -

BOMA Recognize Members of the Year

Christine Hollister, Denver Metro BOMA

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The Denver Metro Building Owners and Managers Association presented its Member of the Year Awards at the TOBY Awards Celebration last November at the Seawell Grand Ballroom in Denver.

Following are the recipients of the organization’s top awards:

BOMA Principal Member of the Year

Shawn Murphy, RPA, LEED AP, Vice President & General Manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services Shawn Murphy believes the passion he has for his career must be obvious to others.

“My 7-year-old son thinks I’m a party planner,” he laughed. “He says, ‘Dad just goes to work and has fun all day.’ “I always had a passion for the bricks and the mortar and the business behind it,” said Murphy, vice president and general manager at Grubb & Ellis Management Services.

While he was growing up in the Denver Metro area, Murphy’s parents owned a residential real estate company. He developed an early love for the industry and said his ultimate goal as a teen was to someday work in the commercial real estate industry.

His career with Grubb & Ellis has now spanned nearly seven years and he has been the recipient of both the Property Manager of the Year and the Team Leader of the Year awards. Prior to Grubb & Ellis, Murphy worked for Qwest Communications doing asset and financial management for its 50 million-square-foot real estate portfolio and 17,000-vehicle fleet portfolio.

Murphy, RPA, LEED AP, has been a member of the Denver Building Owners and Managers Association for almost seven years. He was named the Denver Metro BOMA Principal Member of the Year at the organization’s TOBY Awards Celebration last November.

He became involved in the organization in early 2005, and by 2006, he took on the role as co-chair of the Government Affairs Committee. He is now a past director for the Denver Metro BOMA board and is current Co-Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee in conjunction with other numerous projects and committees for both BOMA Denver and BOMA International.

“I think BOMA has meant a connection to the industry,” he said, “whether that be to peers or vendors, new technology, or just to step back and think about something differently.

The more involved I get with BOMA, the deeper my commitment to the industry is.

“I look back to where I was seven years ago (before joining BOMA) and now I’m talking to senators and house leaders, speaking confidently to them about the issues we have,” he said. “I didn’t learn that from a book. I learned that from the relationships, mentors and experts in the industry. These issues range from tax law to water use standards or energy tariff issues. It helps me do my job better on a daily basis and build credibility with my ownership and peers.” Murphy lives in Denver with his wife Lisa and their two children, Sloane, 3, and Wilson, 7. He enjoys road biking and spending time with his family. Lisa works in corporate real estate for Century Link.

“The involvement you can have in BOMA and within the industry is going to give you a 10-fold return,” he said.

Murphy, BOMA Principal Member of the Year, will be teaching BOMA’s Budgeting and Accounting class Fridays in March. For more information, visit www.bomadenver.org.

BOMA Allied Member of the Year

Marcia Pryor, LEED-AP, The Brickman Group Denver Metro BOMA Allied Member of the Year Marcia Pryor said being an active BOMA member for the past 10 years has meant more to her than she ever could have anticipated.

Pryor, who works in business development with The Brickman Group out of Sedalia, Colo., credits her involvement in BOMA with bringing her more business, numerous industry contacts and even life-long friendships.

“The networking, obviously, is a big thing with both with principal and allied members,” she said. “And with that you already come as a credible vendor for the principal members. By being an allied member, they use their directory to contact you and that means more business.

“With the allieds, we help each other and if someone hears of someone looking for a landscaper, they send you an e-mail,” she continued. “It’s that kind of sharing that is so important.” Pryor has been a BOMA member since 2003 and served as the organization’s 2010 Allied Chair. She’s been a part of a number of committees over the years, but closest to her heart is the Community Affairs Committee, which she’s been a member of since 2005.

“Involvement includes joining committees,” she said.

“That’s truly how you meet people and it extends the value of what BOMA has to offer. I’ve met life-long friends through my involvement in committees.” Pryor, a LEED AP, a licensed landscape architect in both Colorado and Texas, has taught a number of classes and workshops on design and xericaping. She has her Certified Landscape Technician degree in installation and has been a member of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado since 1986, and served on the board for two years. Pryor has won a number of Excellence in Landscaping awards for her designs and was named BOMA’s Allied Member of the Year at the TOBY awards in November.

A third-generation Colorado native, Pryor was raised in Englewood and attended college at CSU, pursuing a degree in landscape architecture.

“I had no idea that profession even existed; I just stumbled upon it,” she said.

“Truly, I just found out about the profession in one of those occupational handbooks in high school. My parents were relocated farmers, so I always had that love of the land. I was good in art and math, and had the love of plant material and it kind of came together.” Pryor recently celebrated 25 years with The Brickman Group. She said one of the things she enjoys most about her job is meeting with and getting to know new people and helping them solve their problems.

Pryor lives in Littleton with her husband, John. She enjoys spending time with her husband and friends, gardening, and fitness. “I’m enjoying the Colorado outdoors any chance I get,” she said.

The benefits of becoming a BOMA member are truly invaluable, Pryor said.

“Just the information that’s shared either online or at the meetings helps keep us all abreast of what’s going on so we know how to better serve our customers,” she said.

“And if they truly jump in feet-first by joining a committee, they will start to meet people and they will definitely gain business and long-term relationships,” she added. “If they put in the time, they will definitely reap the rewards.”