2019 PIVOT Awards
By: J. David Chapman/October 3, 2019
Recently the PIVOT Awards were presented at the annual Commercial Real Estate Summit hosted by the Central Oklahoma Commercial Association of Realtors and the University of Central Oklahoma Real Estate Program. These awards are presented to real estate professionals who have made the most pivotal advances in our industry.
The PIVOT Award for real estate lender went to Patrick Lippmann. Patrick is a senior vice president at BancFirst, specializing in commercial real estate lending. He brings experience making commercial construction and term loans for retail, office, industrial, and self-storage properties along with residential subdivision and builder construction financing. Congrats to Patrick.
Chris Fleming was awarded a PIVOT Award in the category of real estate developer. Chris is executive vice president of Midtown Renaissance. Chris has transformed the Midtown and Automobile Alley districts through place-making, historic preservation, sustainable practices, and a long-term investment perspective. Thank you, Chris.
For industry advocate, Jack Evans was chosen. He is the founder of Timbercraft Homes. He is a pioneer in the homebuilding industry and he and his wife, Theresa, have generously given their time and money to the Real Estate Program at UCO. Thanks, Jack.
Brian Fitzsimmons of Fitzsimmons Architects received the PIVOT Award for architect. Brian’s projects have been recognized locally, regionally, and nationally. He specializes in creating beautiful, functional spaces while being mindful of every project’s schedule, budget, and safety. He does so with consideration of our effect on the environment and with social responsibility. Congrats, Brian.
The PIVOT award was awarded to Brett Price in the category of real estate broker. Brett serves as senior vice president of Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort, specializing in the leasing and sales of industrial properties in Oklahoma. Over the past five years, Brett has closed over $400M in transactions. Kudos, Brett.
New this year, we added a PIVOT award for a title company professional. The PIVOT Award went to Penny Nelson of Stewart Title. Penny is a commercial escrow officer, keeping our transactions legal and closing on time. Nice work, Penny.
Also, this year we added the category of General Contractor and awarded a PIVOT Award to Weston DeHart of CMS Willowbrook. Weston represents the fourth generation of construction professionals in his family. His primary function is to assist with sustainable construction, value engineering, cost control, scheduling, and project safety management.
J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).