Volunteer with CREW Charlotte and Safe Alliance – 2024

CREW Charlotte’s January 2023 Luncheon: “Filling in the Gap: What’s Happening Between Uptown and South End”

Virginia Luther, Managing Director with Spectrum Companies invigorated CREW Charlotte on Tuesday. The crowd of over 225 attendees (2^nd highest attendance ever) was wowed with renderings and a virtual fly-over video of what the landscape will look like between Southend and Uptown Charlotte once several new towers are built. Virginia and her team are laser-focused on “Resimercial” developments – combining high-end residential with trendy restaurants, retail and commercial Class-A office. This creates a destination for employees and tenants. Other focuses include 360 Wellness, Energy, Vibe, Color, and Destination. Ms. Luther is making her mark on Charlotte and CREW.

For her complete presentation, click here: The-Spectrum-Companies-CREW-Presentation-January-10.pdf.

CREW Charlotte December 2022 Impact Awards Luncheon

On December 13^th, CREW Charlotte celebrated their annual Impact Awards celebration. The awards honor those have who had a meaningful impact on CREW Charlotte.

Sugar & Spice and all the Hype!

We also heard from Kristi Straw, Bank OZK, who energized CREW Charlotte with her ’10 Power Moves for 2023.’ Her open and honest view of leadership and failure inspired many in the room. Kristi’s recommendations include several authors, executive coaching, finding your tribe, and being unapologetic for our personalities. She motivated the group to look at our surroundings, our bosses, and culture and work toward finding kindness and respect in the workplace. Kristi’s presentation was filmed and is available on her YouTube channel. You can find a copy of her presentation here: Kristi Straw Power Moves Presentation.

Impact Award Winners

Laura Ward, principal at Bernard Robinson & Company, received the Groundbreaker Award This award honors a member who has joined the organization within the past 18 months and has actively become involved with a committee and the organization as a whole. Laura served as a member of the sponsorship committee for 2022 and will fill a co-chair role for the membership committee in 2023.

The Carrie Sharp Power Connector award was given to Peyton Maynard, Business Development Manager at Jenison Construction. This award is given to a member who intentionally builds and strengthens connections between CREW members and sponsors. Peyton can be seen at nearly every event and is constantly making introductions and connections among attendees.

Shawn McMillan, owner of diamond sponsor McMillan PLLC, was the winner of the Member-to-Member business award. This award is given to someone who consistently helps build business for other CREW members or sponsors. Shawn is firmly committed to the mission of CREW Charlotte and he looks for every opportunity to utilize a CREW connection on a business deal.

The next award is the Career Advancement of Women. This award goes to someone who is consistently helps to elevate and advance other women in commercial real estate. This year’s winner, Dawn Chanland, Professor of Management at Queens University, leads CREW Charlotte’s Authentic Leadership Program and through this program has helped several members become better leaders in the industry.

Liz Ward, founder of Give Impact Advisory Services, was awarded the Entrepreneurial Spirit award. Liz embodies an entrepreneurial spirit as someone who started her own company that specializes in affordable housing and upward mobility solutions.

The Men Empowering Women award is given to a male who make a conscious and intentional effort to support women within the commercial real estate industry. Dave Rushing, Vice President at All American Relocation, was selected as this year’s winner. Dave served on the membership recognition committee this year and went above and beyond in promoting women for award nominations throughout the year.

Jennifer Miles, Global Account Director at Cushman & Wakefield, was the winner of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award. This award honors a member who tirelessly advances the DEI efforts of the organization. Jennifer was a founding member of the DEI task force in 2021 and co-led the task force for 2022. She is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the organization.

The winner of the 2022 Circle of Excellence award was CREW Charlotte’s Executive Director, Patty Trepp Drummond. The award is given to someone who delivers excellence and is performing to the highest standards for the organization. Patty has consistently helped elevate CREW Charlotte within the community, fostered relationships among members and found creative new ideas for the organization

CREW Charlotte November 2022 Luncheon: Economic Outlook for the US and Our Region: “Where are all the Workers?”

Submitted by Keiko Pace, Stephens Office Systems

CREW Charlotte gathered at Byron’s on November 8^th for Laura Ulrich’s luncheon presentation on the Economic Outlook for our region and the US. It was a packed luncheon with the highest attended luncheon since covid.

Laura Ulrich is the Senior Regional Economist at the Charlotte Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. She spoke about our regional and national economic update stating that 2021 had good growth but that 2022 was a bit bumpy. She explained that even though we had 2 quarters of negative GDP growth in 2022, that does not necessarily mean we are heading into a recession. Even though everyone is talking of the looming recession, she reminded us that an official recession has not been declared and that things are constantly changing.

Employment is doing well both in Charlotte and around our region and the Carolinas are leading the employment recovery. Nationally, we have officially reached above pre-Covid levels of employment. She cited the lack of workers isn’t necessarily from people not working, but that people have chosen to work in other fields or industries since covid. Teachers, for example, were the highest profession that seemed to have lost the most amount of workers. Flexible work environments, women needing to provide for their families and work at the same time, etc has created a shift in the workforce. Covid also forced a lot of older workers into retirement. Surprisingly, she stated that the young male population ages 25-35 has seen the greatest decline in the workforce at this time.

Estimates for 4^th quarter growth show that 2022 will remain flat. What does that mean for 2023? Analysts are unsure. There are several factors that could contribute to growth or speedbumps for the upcoming year. Some of the factors include: UK/ Russia situation, inflation, a covid variant, or anything that could make the supply chain worse.  In conclusion, Charlotte and the Carolinas are doing well with high employment rates, many people moving to the area daily, and a strong base of diversified companies and industries in our region.

For a copy of Laura’s presentation, please click here.

October 2022 CREW Luncheon: “Carbon Reduction: Just a “Buzz Word” or Can We Make a Difference?!”

Submitted by Kim Marks

Ashley Hess, a Workplace Strategy Program Manager at Duke Energy responsible for workplace standards across the company’s non-generation real estate portfolio, started the program off with an overview of Duke’s goals and steps we can each take to make a difference in our environment.

Duke Energy’s goals:

• By 2030 cut CO2 emissions by at least 50%
• By 2050 attain net-zero CO2 emissions
• Duke is currently beating the US electric utility industry average by achieving more than 44% reductions since 2005.

Six steps each of us can make today to offset carbon emissions:

1. Use Duke Energy’s Carbon Emissions calculator to calculate your company’s emissions. Go to https://sustainablesolutions.duke-energy.com/calculate-carbon-emissions/
2. Calculate your companies’ operational emissions & establish annual targets for reduction, monitor and track thru the year.
3. Prioritize construction materials as an area for improvement to reduce embodied carbon by reusing materials & buildings, using less carbon intensive materials, and fewer finishings.
4. Divert construction waste from the landfill by establishing a evaluating the current process and create an action plan which is monitored.
5. Evaluate opportunities for onsite renewable energy generation at your facilities.
6. Consider whether or not an electric vehicle fleet can lower your operating costs. Learn more here https://www.duke-energy.com/energy-education/energy-savings-and-efficiency/fleet-electrification

Landon Williams, an energy efficiency and building science expert is currently the Program Manager for SmartPath program, followed Ashley focusing on several efficiency programs currently being offered by Duke Energy to help companies work towards achieving carbon reduction goals through design assistance for new construction and building retrofits.

Understanding that one size doesn’t fit all, they have multiple programs outlined on their energy efficiency website for everything from multi-family programs to energy assessments to Energy Advisors. All information can be found here https://www.duke-energy.com/business. The Smart Saver Rebate program is one that leverages low interest loans in order for you to upgrade equipment/technology. Duke Energy understands that it is cheaper to offer reduced kw’s than build new plants so they are very focused on being your partner thru this endeavor.

Click here for a copy of their presentation.

August 2022 CREW Luncheon: “Leadership Lessons from an Industry Trailblazer” with Lee Ann Nance, Stewart

Lee Anne Nance, President and COO of Stewart, shared with us her core values and strategic goals that are the foundation of her success. A devoted wife and mother, with a background as an Economist and Analyst in Economic Development, Lee Anne has used her leadership skills to help develop a unique culture at Stewart. She shared how she has developed the acronym T H R E A D which has become part of the everyday language and culture for Stewart.

Lee Anne leads by example with the Big Three in Leadership: Communication, Relationships and Perseverance. No matter what, be your authentic self – embrace who you are. Be strategic and tactful, while having the discipline to create white space to visual the future while balancing demands. Decisions have far reaching impacts. Surround yourself with a trusted team that you can challenge because of the trust you have in each other. Tough decisions balance empathy and courage. Put yourself in the position of the people are you are responsible for, yet set boundaries since you cannot lead with an empty cup.

Regarding teamwork, Lee Anne shared her philosophy to treat anyone and everyone with respect and insist it is reciprocated. It is important to create Your Legacy. People don’t remember details, they remember how you made them feel. Be sure to perform character checks daily as stress makes us remember that we are all human. Pay it forward and remember to celebrate the small wins along the way. Silence your inner critic and don’t let it spiral! Be and advocate for yourself and others and bottom line, Hard Work Gets Noticed!! Yet, don’t focus on getting the credit. Ego is the enemy…

Lee Ann also shared her favorite books, authors, and podcasts as she stated, “I totally believe in Life Long Learning”. Lee Anne’s presentation is available by clicking here.