Florida CCIM Chapter Makes History As Father Pins Daughter

History was made once again by the Florida CCIM Chapter (FLCCIM) when Gary M. Ralston, CCIM, SIOR, SRS, CPM, CRE, CLS, CDP, CRX, FRICS, CRRP – Broker, Managing Director and Senior Advisor at Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Ralston Dantzler Realty – pinned his daughter, Lauren Ralston-Gengler, CCIM, CPM, Asset Manager & Senior Advisor at SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler Realty, during the Florida CCIM Chapter‘s meeting in Orlando in late May.

“I am so proud of Lauren,” said Ralston. “Achieving the CCIM designation is extremely difficult and places her in the upper echelon of commercial real estate agents.”

Ralston-Gengler also recently became the third advisor at the firm to earn the Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation. She is the 11th advisor in the brokerage to achieve the CCIM milestone.

Gary Ralston has been involved in the FLCCIM/CCIM organization for many years and served as President of the group in 1987. He is the second-most designated REALTOR® in the nation and a sought-after educator in the field of commercial real estate. He serves as a senior instructor for the CCIM Institute and a member of the board of directors of the CCIM Institute and CCIM Technologies, Inc. and is a Past President of the Florida CCIM Chapter.

In 2016, Sandy Kahle, CCIM, pinned her daughter, Cindy McLain, CCIM, marking the first time the Florida CCIM Chapter was able to witness a mother bestowing the honor upon her daughter.

The Florida CCIM Chapter made history again in 2018 as Hunter Strickland, CCIM, who currently serves as CCIM Central District’s President, passed the CCIM comprehensive exam and was awarded the CCIM designation at CCIM Institute’s 2018 Midyear Governance Meetings. When Hunter was officially pinned on April 11, 2018, his family was recognized as the first three-generation family of CCIM designees in the history of the CCIM Institute. Hunter’s father, Blaine Strickland, is a CCIM Instructor, best-selling author and one of the most respected commercial real estate coaches in the country. He recently launched his CRE coaching website “One More Deal” with enormous success.

To earn the CCIM designation, commercial real estate professionals need to complete over 160 hours of case-study driven education. This education requires them to cover topics like interest-based negotiation, financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, investment analysis, and ethics in commercial investment real estate. Candidates are also required to compile a portfolio demonstrating the depth of their commercial real estate experience and pass the CCIM Institute’s comprehensive examination.

The CCIM designation is considered the most rigorous commercial real estate professional designation to obtain due to extensive coursework, a peer-reviewed commercial portfolio, and a final comprehensive exam lasting six hours. Five years is average time to complete the CCIM designation requirements.

About CCIM

“CCIM stands for Certified Commercial Investment Member. For more than 50 years, CCIMs have been recognized as leading experts in commercial investment real estate. The CCIM lapel pin denotes that the wearer has completed advanced coursework in financial and market analysis, and demonstrated extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry.”