Rick Smith was appointed president of Crawford Hoying Smith, previously known as Crawford & Co. Realtors. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Smith has leased more than 2.9 million square feet of office space and executed real estate investment transactions totaling more than $350 million. Most recently, he served as vice president of ROI Realty Services Inc.
His key clients have included Huntington National Bank, Glimcher Realty Trust, Lane, Alton & Horst, the Columbus Bar Association and Hahn Loeser + Parks.
“Our mission is to offer our clients quality real estate services with a personal touch,” says Smith. “Our services will be an inch wide and a mile deep. We know how to stay focused on the small details that get deals done in this market.”
A graduate of The Ohio State University, Smith served as captain of the OSU men’s basketball team in 1979. He’s the immediate past president of the Varsity “O” Athletic Alumni Association and has served on the boards of Champions for Children/Children’s Hospital, the Capitol Area Humane Society and the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center.
“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Rick,” says Brent Crawford, principal of Crawford Hoying, Crawford Hoying Smith’s parent company. “Now we can leverage all of our areas of expertise — from brokerage and construction to leasing and property management — to provide the strongest, most comprehensive real estate services available.”
THE FRANK GATES COS.
Robinson M. Overly was promoted to president of The Frank Gates Cos. Most recently, Overly served as executive vice president and director of operations for the western region. He has been with Frank Gates since 1967 and has served on the board of directors since 1970.
J. Luke McCormick, corporate secretary, was given the additional duties of executive vice president. In his new position, McCormick will be involved with strategies for the future of Frank Gates, as well as work force development programs. His duties include being the senior staff liaison to the Action Committee for Excellence, an internal committee that recognizes superb customer service.
Rick Stasi was named chief operating officer for Frank Gates Alternative Risk. Stasi will be responsible for overall operations of Frank Gates Alternative Risk. He will oversee the management, administration, marketing and client services for Frank Gates’ alternative risk programs, which include Atlantic Gateway International Ltd., a fully owned rent-a-captive facility in Bermuda.
Keith Gerhardstein was promoted to vice president of Frank Gates Alternative Risk. Gerhardstein will design alternative risk financing programs and sell Frank Gates’ claims services to large regional agents, associations and large commercial accounts. He will also continue to manage underwriting risks for Frank Gates Alternative Risk.
ULMER & BERNE
Ulmer & Berne named Brian O’Neill chair of its firmwide Business/Tax Department, one of the regional firm’s two major departments.
“Ulmer & Berne continues to upgrade and expand the 97-year-old firm’s business practice,” O’Neill says. “We are working with more Fortune 500 and 1000 clients. We are involved in increasingly more sophisticated deals. And we’ve added a number of key, recognized attorneys from some of the major firms around the state.”
The business/tax department includes the firm’s business law, health care, intellectual property & technology, real estate and tax groups in its four offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Chicago.
O’Neill says the firm’s business practice has grown over the past two years at a time when most firms have scaled back their corporate and business practices. “Clients see that we do as good a job as larger firms, and we deliver what we promise,” says O’Neill.
THE DANCY-m GROUP
Sherry Dancy, president of the Dancy Group, was appointed a director of the Employers Resource Association, a regional board representing the interests of employers.
Dancy founded The Dancy Group, a benefit solutions company targeting corporations with 100 or more employees. Her appointment to the Employer Resource Association board of directors is a three-year term.
The Employer Resource Association is a nonprofit regional association serving members in Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati and Columbus. Its mission is to assist members in human resource management, through research, professional services, training, and management development programs.
With a track record of more than 25 years of success, The Dancy Group specializes in executive and employee benefit solutions for companies with 100 or more employees in more than 47 states.
