IOREBA Welcomes 10 Industry Professionals as New Members

The Industrial and Office Real Estate Brokers Association
of the New York Metropolitan Area Inc. (IOREBA)
One Meadowlands Plaza, 7th Floor
East Rutherford, NJ 07073

Media Contact: Evelyn Weiss Francisco: evelyn@caryl.com, (201) 796-7788
www.twitter.com/carylcomm

IOREBA Welcomes 10 Industry Professionals as New Members
Brokerage, Design, Energy, Finance and Insurance, Law, Economic Development, Ecology, Products and Services all Represented by Latest to Join

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 17, 2010 – The Industrial and Office Brokers Association of the New York Metropolitan Area (IOREBA) has accepted 10 new active and associate members representing a broad range of professions, ranging from brokerage, to finance, energy and ecology. Dating back more than 80 years, IOREBA now has more than 300 members who conduct business in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

"Commercial real estate is made up of professionals from many different practice fields, and IOREBA brings all of those disciplines together under one umbrella," said Sean Brady, President of IOREBA and Senior Director of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. "The organization provides incomparable opportunities for education, information sharing and networking for members who, while representing diverse professions, all have a common goal of success in this marketplace."

As with all IOREBA members, the newest to join participated in a rigorous approval process prior to acceptance:

• Holly Akers, Director of Business Development at Joshua Zinder Architecture & Design, Princeton, N.J.;
• Kristin Driesbaugh, Economic Development Specialist, The Scranton Plan, Scranton, Pa.;
• Bryan Effron, Sales Manager, BFI, Parsippany, N.J.;
• Michael Frailey, Manager, Tradition Energy, Stamford, Conn.;
• Jeffrey S. Greif, Sales and Marketing, First American Title Insurance Company, Newark, N.J.;
• Peter Hoffman, Financial Analyst/Originator, G.S. Wilcox & Co., Morristown, N.J.;
• Lanny Katz, Vice President, EcolSciences Inc., Rockaway, N.J.;
• Gualberto Medina, Executive Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey, East Rutherford;
• Thomas Tucci, Broker, CB Richard Ellis, Saddle Brook, N.J.;
• Jeffrey Yick, Associate, Zetlin & De Chiara, New York, N.Y.

"I believe that IOREBA will strengthen my quality of work by giving me the ability to network and gain insight and information from what others have to say about current market conditions," said Hoffman, whose firm is a private real estate mortgage banker.

"I joined to enhance my education and develop new relationships," concurred Tucci. "Joining IOREBA was a great way to network in New Jersey," said Yick, whose firm focuses on construction law.

"I joined BFI recently as director of sales, and my predecessor recommended that I join IOREBA for the networking and business opportunities," said Effron, whose company has been providing commercial interior furnishings since 1947. "We often work closely with professionals within the commercial real estate community and, an IOREBA membership made complete sense."

Driesbaugh, too, joined on the recommendation of her predecessor: "IOREBA is an excellent organization with a highly respected reputation. As I recently transitioned into the economic development field, this organization provided a perfect fit."

"I had been told by a number of members that IOREBA is a good organization to be part of," said Akers. "As an architecture firm, it offers us the ability to make meaningful contacts in the area of commercial real estate development."

"I joined IOREBA for the networking opportunities and to position Tradition Energy to provide its value offering to IOREBA members," said Frailey, whose company is an energy procurement and management advisor.

As social media is rapidly changing the way companies do business, IOREBA also has a LinkedIn group for members to continue to network outside of the organization's scheduled events. The organization also serves to provide a voice to its membership for affirmative political action that affects the commercial real estate industry and the State.

IOREBA is also set to launch a number of new programs and initiatives, including a Market Status Report, designed to keep members, the media, and others apprised on current market conditions. The organization will also introduce a new broker awards program, set for launch in 2011.

"It is important to continually improve our member benefits and resources," said Brady. "That has been a key reason for our ability to continue to grow, even in a slow economy.".

IOREBA recently introduced a flexible fee schedule and lower pricing for its scheduled events to ensure that members can still afford to attend in a struggling economy. Many of those events are co-hosted with other industry organizations, further broadening members' networking opportunities. Members also have the value-added benefit of exposure in the "Members" section of www.ioreba.com. Company listings, headshots and bios of each member are featured there. Members can also post company press releases in a recently established Member News section. Both of these areas can be viewed by all visitors to the Web site. For further information about becoming a member of IOREBA, visit www.ioreba.com/membership.
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