2021 Real Estate Newsmakers: The Hall of Fame

Earlier this month, RISMedia announced the 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers and, for the fourth consecutive year, its 2021 Newsmakers Hall of Fame—a select group within RISMedia’s annual Newsmaker honorees, which celebrates icons in the industry for their long-standing and/or exemplary service.

Join us in celebrating the 2021 Hall of Fame Newsmakers:

Sherry Chris
President & CEO
Realogy Expansion Brands
Chris currently serves as president and CEO of the Realogy Expansion Brands portfolio, which includes Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate and ERA®, focusing her efforts on guiding the strategic growth of the brands within the division. Chris most recently served as president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Under her leadership, the brand grew significantly across more than 40 states and six countries, and established a unique position as real estate’s lifestyle brand.

Well-known for building brands based on next-generation consumer insights along with her innovative marketing and sales acumen, Chris’ tech-forward mindset has been proven to usher brands to the next level in the industry which she serves. She is a strong advocate of engaging with businesses and consumers through social media channels, making her the most followed CEO of a national real estate brand on Twitter.

Allan Dalton
CEO & SVP
Real Living Real Estate and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Serving as CEO of Real Living Real Estate and senior vice president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Dalton is one of the most iconic real estate leaders in the industry today, providing leadership, strategic vision and executive decision-making for each brand. Dalton has spearheaded the governance of Real Living and is a valuable contributor to the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices executive team.

Dalton’s history of leadership in the real estate industry has positively impacted countless organizations and individuals. Over the course of his career, he has created myriad programs for brands and companies across the industry. With futuristic ideas and an ability to tell a story like no other, Dalton has left a permanent imprint on the real estate industry…and continues to do so.

Joan Docktor
President
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS®
Serving as president for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORSⓇ, Docktor has been instrumental in the growth and profitability of the company, which serves Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Docktor understands the importance of leadership in difficult times. In 2020, she quickly adapted to leading the firm’s more than 70 offices, 5,500 sales professionals and 700 employees virtually, holding daily meetings with leadership at the outbreak of the pandemic, and forming a plan to keep everyone safe and business moving. By keeping office communications up-to-date, Docktor kept the company informed and used weekly videos and blogs to stay personally connected and engage with agents.

J. Lennox Scott
CEO
John L. Scott Real Estate
Scott is the third-generation chairman and CEO of Seattle-based John L. Scott Real Estate, founded in 1931 by his grandfather. A longtime industry advocate and thought leader, Scott is also a member of the National Association of REALTORSⓇ’ Strategic Thinkers Advisory Group and the Large Residential Firms Advisory Group.

In 2020, Scott and his team introduced the concept, “Everything Video: LIVE Communication.” Realizing that, during these challenging times, presenting an engaging presence online is crucial, they encouraged the firm’s agents to embrace all the technology available to them in order to reach clients.

Vinnie Tracey
President
Realty ONE Group
Real estate industry veteran Tracey today serves as president of Realty ONE Group, partnering in building the company’s overall strategy at the executive level while leading the growth of the company around the world through franchise sales. His knowledge, years of experience and wisdom are invaluable and inspiring to so many in the Realty ONE Group Network, but it is his true love for people that endears so many to him, and has opened the doors to many exciting new careers in real estate.

In 2020, Tracey provided much-needed strategic direction, inspiration and motivation during live Town Halls throughout the year, and he continues to be a mentoring figure to many, both within the Realty ONE Group network and beyond. With Tracey as its leader, the company expected to exceed both franchise sales and recruiting goals for 2020.

Dan Forsman
President & CEO
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
As the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, Forsman is the leader, visionary, motivator, protector and supporter of more than 1,550 associates in 22 locations across the state. After kicking off 2020 with great success, the pandemic, a microburst of a recession and a contentious presidential election presented many challenges, none of which Forsman wasn’t able to overcome.

From the safety and comfort of his employees to ensuring real estate was deemed an essential service, his continued support and resources never waivered. “Our associates are essential, not expendable,” became Forsman’s mantra. Forsman points to vigor and a positive mindset to see opportunities and solutions as his greatest accomplishment in 2020.

Leslie Appleton-Young
SVP & Chief Economist
California Association of REALTORS®
Appleton-Young, who joined C.A.R. in 1984—a statewide trade organization with more than 195,000 members—directs the strategic thinking for the association, guiding the research and economics team as they collect primary data through survey research, multiple listing services and other sources to analyze and interpret trends, and foster understanding of the economic and housing market landscape.

Appleton-Young has overseen the development of other key programs, such as the Diversity Initiative, designed to increase Black and Latino homeownership and build relationships with cultural groups in the state while promoting equitable access to homeownership. She was also highly involved in the creation of the Housing Affordability Fund, C.A.R.’s philanthropic arm, working with the association’s political advocacy efforts to promote homeownership for first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate-income buyers.

Cameron Merage
CEO & Founder
First Team Real Estate
Early in his career as a top agent, Merage personally completed hundreds of transactions involving millions of dollars of sales volume during his five years in home sales. It is this hands-on experience that Merage drew upon to create the long-term strategic vision for Orange County, California’s First Team Real Estate, which he founded upon the principles of an unwavering commitment to client service, value creation and unmatched knowledge of the local market.

Amid the pandemic, Merage shifted his team to a remote work environment and guided his agents to success by creating targeted digital marketing campaigns and improving internal communication to increase productivity. He also launched the Helping Community Heroes program, offering a free 1/4% interest rate reduction for essential workers.

Craig Cheatham
President & CEO
The Realty Alliance
Cheatham is president and CEO of The Realty Alliance, an invitation-only network of some of the largest, full-service real estate firms in North America. Comprising nearly 70 residential real estate firms, which are home to more than 120,000 agents collectively, The Realty Alliance members also operate mortgage, insurance, title/settlement, concierge, commercial, property management and other related business lines.

In his role, Cheatham is responsible for coordinating the network’s significant influence on industry policy in conjunction with major industry organizations. He leverages the group’s size and strength to negotiate favorable agreements with various providers on behalf of the organization, and coordinates benchmarking and networking programs for member-firm representatives.

Rosey Koberlein
Chairperson
Long Companies
After nearly four decades in real estate, Koberlein recently passed her CEO role on to Renee Gonzales, and will now serve as chairperson of Long Companies. In this role, Koberlein will focus on strategic planning for the company’s direction and growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and step away from the nuts and bolts of daily operations. In 2020, Koberlein led Long Realty through the trials of the pandemic and shutdown to success.

“The world is in a pandemic, yet we are doing more business than we can possibly ever think of doing,” said Koberlein during RISMedia’s 2020 CEO Exchange. In addition to her local commitments, Koberlein frequently speaks at the national level.

The 2021 Hall of Fame Newsmakers join 27 other Hall of Fame members:

– Paul Boomsma, President & CEO, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (2020)
– Brian Buffini, Chairman & Founder, Buffini & Company (2020)
– Harold Crye, Principal & CEO, Crye-Leike REALTORS® (2020)
– Marilyn Eiland and Mark Woodroof, Managing Partners, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene (2020)
– Stuart Elsea, President, Financial Services; Dan Elsea, President, Brokerage Services, Real Estate One Family of Companies (2020)
– Georgianna Findlay Finn, Co-Owner & Founder, Coach Real Estate Associates, Inc. (2020)
– Lawrence “Larry” Flick IV, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® (2020)
– Bob Hale, President & CEO, Houston Association of REALTORS® (2020)
– Dave and Gail Liniger, Co-Founders & Vice Chairs of the Board, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (2020)
– Nick Shivers, President & CEO, The Nick Shivers Team, Keller Williams Portland Central (2020)
– Gino Blefari, CEO, HomeServices of America (2019)
– William E. Brown, Founder, Investment Properties; 2017 President, National Association of REALTORS® (2019)
– Carl Carter, Jr., REALTOR®, RE/MAX Elite; Founder, Beverly Carter Foundation (2019)
– Helen Hanna Casey, CEO, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services (2018)
– David Charron, President, MRIS Investors, Inc. (2019)
– Bob Goldberg, CEO, National Association of REALTORS® (2018)
– Todd Hetherington, CEO & Co-Owner, NM Management, Inc., and CENTURY 21 New Millennium (2019)
– Elizabeth Mendenhall, CEO, RE/MAX Boone Realty; 2018 President, National Association of REALTORS® (2018)
– Rei Mesa, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty (2019)
– Teresa Palacios Smith, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion, HSF Affiliates (2018)
– Ron Peltier, Executive Chairman, HomeServices of America (2018)
– Diane M. Ramirez, Chairman & CEO, Halstead (2019)
– Joseph Rand, Chief Creative Officer, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty (2018)
– Mike Ryan, Partner, Rainmakers Group (2019)
– Michael Saunders, Founder & CEO, Michael Saunders & Company (2019)
– Mary Lynn Stone, President & Co-Owner, NM Management, Inc., and CENTURY 21 New Millennium (2019)
– Matt Widdows, CEO & Founder, HomeSmart International (2018)

For more from the 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers, go to RISMedia.com/2021-Newsmakers or RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. For consideration for the 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers, please email nominations to maria@rismedia.com. Official online nominations will open this spring.