FLCCIM Chapter President’s Message

This year has flown by, and the FL Chapter has accomplished a lot this year. The North District and the Panhandle District have risen like a Phoenix. They now have many energetic young (well mostly young) professionals who have committed to reinvigorate those Districts. One of those members owns Social Stack and that innovative Chapter Sponsor makes sure the FL Chapter and our 8 Districts get great exposure on a variety of social media.

We started out the year once again updating the Chapter By laws and thanks to Cynthia Shelton got that tedious task completed. As is reflective of the normal course of action during my tenure, my initial draft of improvements to the By Laws were summarily rejected by our esteemed Executive Committee and we ended up making a few modifications that were much ado about not so much.

The CCIM Institute made much ado about our new Pin and the new logo. In addition to new font and color on the Pin, the new logo is “The CCIM Institute”. This is an effort to bring to light the fact that their mission includes a lot more than providing the best Commercial Real Estate Education in the world. Also, they strive to have 25,000 CCIM Members within 5 years. We support those goals. During 2023 we saw significant improvement in member support and responsiveness from the dedicated staff of the CCIM HQ.

Our 2022 Education Programs were recognized at the meetings in Boston when the FL Chapter received the first ever Excellence in Education Award which was graciously received by our own Regional Vice President Stephen Rigl. Francisco Jaramillo and Sage Andress did a great job delivering 11 Core classes to 210 students and numerous Foundation courses were taught throughout the State including the first ever time at an HBCU – Bethune Cookman University. Kudos to them and to John Crossman of Crosmarc (a Chapter Sponsor) who helped the Chapter make connections at several other colleges.

The University Partner program added two new colleges to the list – Florida State University and Florida Gulf Coast University. Students who graduate from University Partner’s RE programs are eligible for a FAST TRACK to the Pin. The Universities must recertify their programs every five years. UCF just completed their recertification. UF and the U of Miami are working on their recertifications.

Stephen continues to serve our Chapter and Institute through his service as Region 8 RVP and he helped Carmen Figueroa (Puerto Rico Chapter President) pull off a Commercial Real Estate Summit which included stellar speakers and very informative tour of local industrial and retail developments. We are well represented on the Institutes’ Board of Directors. Soozie, Chepe, Tina, Keith Andrews have one more year in their terms. Bev Larson, Stephen Rigl, Barbara Monahan, and Lou Nimkoff were newly elected, and I will also serve on the BOD via my new position as Region 8 RVP. Our very own Adam Palmer is now the 2024 First Vice President which means he will be the Global Institute President in 2026. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Adam and volunteer to help him out.

Thirty-three candidates received District or Chapter Scholarships and two new named endowed Scholarships were created to honor Chere Roane and Robin Webb. Thirty-five Florida Chapter candidates earned their pins in 2024. The youngest new Designee is 21 and the oldest may be eligible for Medicare. This just goes to show it’s never too early or too late to start pursuing your CCIM Designation.

We recognize each District has loyal sponsors and we are committed to not intrude on any of those important relationships. The Executive Committee is streamlining the 2024 Chapter Sponsorship Package. Please consider becoming a Chapter Sponsor and or reaching out to your CRE affiliates to bring forward at least one $1000 Chapter Sponsorship in 2024. Of course, if you can do more, the Chapter can do more for the members. None of this would have been possible without our Chapter Sponsors.

It’s been an honor to serve as the 2023 FL Chapter President. A Soft Landing is underway, and the economy is on the upswing. The Chapter is in good hands and the 2024 team is in place and will make things even better.

Rick Gonzalez, CCIM, ALC
2023 FLCCIM Chapter President

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.”