Jim was the 2009 president of the Appraisal Institute and has been actively involved in the areas of admissions, education, ethics and counseling. In addition to a number of chapter and region roles, he has served as chair of the national Audit Committee, has chaired the Finance Committee and has served on the board of the Appraisal Institute Relief Foundation. He also belongs to the International Right of Way Association and the CCIM Institute. And, he also is on the board of the Green Building Finance Consortium.

Jim is vice president of Atrium Real Estate Services, a full-service real estate appraisal and consulting firm in Austin, Texas. He holds degrees in finance and real estate and urban land development from the University of Texas at Austin.

This year I am honoring him with the President’s Award in recognition of his development of the Capstone program and for his tireless work on the updated version of the “Fundamentals of Separating Real and Intangible Property” course. Last year we designated nearly three hundred Associate members, but this year we are well on our way to nearly double that number, if current trends continue. A huge reason that our designation rate will be at that level is the work that Jim has completed on the Capstone program, first as a developer, and now as an instructor.

Leslie Sellers served as president of the Appraisal Institute in 2010. Les has been a member of the Appraisal Institute for thirty-plus years. He has served on the national Audit Committee, Education Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee and was a member of the project teams that formulated and implemented the Appraisal Institute’s current governance structure. In 2007, he headed up the Chapter-National-Regions Project Team and was co-chair of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary Project Team. He also is an Appraisal Institute certified instructor and seminar author.

Les resides in Clinton, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, where he is the owner of several real estate companies, offering real estate appraisals, property management, brokerage, development and investment services.

While Les has served in many capacities, the President’s Award is being given in recognition of his untiring work on the updates of the Fundamentals course. Les has given up hours of his personal time, has gone the extra mile to research and has talked with many experts in the field of intangible valuation to help A-I meet the needs of its members and to further the opportunity that successful completion of the course allows. When I asked for his help, there was no hesitation, just a very quick “yes” … a commitment that has allowed more than twenty-one hundred participants to complete a fundamentals class in valuation so far this year.

John Wintrol has made significant contributions to the Appraisal Institute for more than thirty years. He has served as legal counsel to the Appraisal Institute (and one of its predecessors) for more than thirty years. The Appraisal Institute is not merely one of his clients; John long has demonstrated a passion for the organization and its members. He has advised and helped guide the Appraisal Institute and its leaders through the major events and challenges in its history.

John has spent more than 35 years in federal court and international litigation with extensive oral advocacy and drafting experience. His litigation background has emphasized complex civil and commercial disputes and international arbitrations. He received his bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

He has provided the Appraisal Institute with his legal expertise and has been a sustaining force within the organization. I know very few individuals who have personal commitment to the Appraisal Institute on a par with John’s. His guidance has been monumental in very difficult decisions that the organization has made.

AI staff provide tremendous service to the Appraisal Institute’s members on a daily basis. The description of those who should be considered for the President’s Award mentions commitment, effectiveness, day to day representation of the organization and being in touch with our members’ needs. There surely wouldn’t be an Appraisal Institute without the day-to-day hard work and devotion of our Appraisal Institute staff, and while I know that there are nearly one hundred individuals on staff, each of them has a part in the success of our Appraisal Institute. I am recognizing them for all that they do, every day, for each and every one of us.

Jay Massey has dedicated an enormous amount of time for many years teaching Appraisal Institute courses and seminars. We recognize Jay for his more than two decades of service to the valuation profession, sharing his expertise and knowledge to strengthen real estate organizations and their impact on the appraisal profession.

A military veteran who served in the Special Forces during the Vietnam War, Jay in recent years has returned to Vietnam as an Appraisal Institute instructor.

Jay’s contributions also include service on the board of directors and on the Commercial Property Network Committee of the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors; as a CCIM member of the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute; as a CRE member of The Counselors of Real Estate; and as a member of the Society of Texas A-and-M Real Estate Professionals.

In his community, Jay has been a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for many years and dedicates numerous hours of service to that organization and its members

Greg Opelka has served the valuation profession for more than half a century. He was executive vice president, director and chief appraiser of Fairfield Savings Bank from 1954 to 2002, and he served as the 1980 international president of the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. Greg was an appraisal consultant for the U-S Savings and Loan League from 1960 to 1993, and he authored more than 380 consecutive monthly articles for the Savings and Loan News.

In fact, the F. Gregory Opelka Award was created by the Chicago Chapter of the Appraisal Institute in his honor. He has served as a mentor to thousands of valuation professionals, including his sons: George Opelka and the late Chris Opelka. In addition to bringing standardization to the appraisal profession, Greg has been a nationally recognized appraisal evangelist and a true pioneer. During his more than fifty years of service, he has fought for our profession with unrivaled passion, integrity and determination.