REI INK

Scott Kelly

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President | CONREX I entered military service immediately following high school graduation having watched too many John Wayne movies. Little did I realize that path would take me on an incredible journey not only of personal growth but being a part of some of the most secretive missions in our nation’s history. At the beginning, however, I was just a private, which is a great place to start! No matter what level of responsibility you are given in an organization, the ability to understand and empathize with those at every rung of the ladder is invaluable. Listen to them, connect with them, feel their struggles; it helps you really know the company which ultimately, helps you make better decisions. Seeing yourself is difficult and seeing your organization is even more difficult. As leaders, we should be purposeful about doing both. There is no better opportunity to become self-aware than in attending a selection and assessment course for Army special operations. The experience was invaluable for me with everything you could ask for; complete ambiguity, extreme physical and mental stress, and a humbling collection of the most talented people in the world! While I do not tend to wish that experience on anyone, I do encourage leaders to do hard things. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations that test you and strengthen you; physically, intellectually, spiritually, emotionally. We should be constant learners. As a leader, testing and strengthening your team can be even more important. Shared hardships bind men and you need to capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves to do just that. Combat is historically the central crucible for forging deep connections among soldiers and I experienced plenty, having deployed nearly a dozen times for operations and intelligence activities, alongside some of the finest Americans I know. With demanding and focused preparation, teams will rise to meet ‘game time’. Like any sports coach, knowing when to achieve optimal performance can be more art than science and requires constant awareness of your people and the battlefield environment. Time for a Change After 20+ years in the military, I knew that I did not want to do anything related to national security and about one-year out from retirement, a good friend gave me the opportunity to consult for his firm which did Single Family Rentals. I got hooked and two weeks after my last day in uniform, the company had me come in and start running operations. It was a wonderful move for me and my family to Charleston, SC where we already had a solid church that we loved and a good group of very close friends. It made for a smooth transition from the military, though, as to be expected, there were several points of struggle that had to be managed. Real Estate, like the Army, has an encyclopedia of acronyms and essentially, its own language, so I spent time reading and speaking with people to improve my knowledge of the industry’s vernacular. Additionally, because of the structure of Conrex, capital raising, REIT structures, financing and investor engagement are essential functions to our organization’s success and, as expected, areas of weakness for me. So, while I take various courses to improve my competency, I will never have the expertise of many others. Fortunately, the military is full of situations for leaders where you are not the expert! During my career, I was given the responsibility to lead the finest commandos in the world. They are absolute masters of the requisite skills for such a profession; shooting, parachuting, diving, grappling, etc. They have nerves of steel, unending courage, and the ability to think clearly and deeply under incredible duress; the proverbial, ‘PhDs that can win a bar fight’! Unfortunately for them, I was but a pale shadow of these men and their tremendous competence and experience. I was grateful, however, to be told early on by one of the most seasoned of these warriors, “you are not here to be one of them, but to lead them.”  The ROI for leadership is facilitating optimized performance from individuals and achieving exponential performance from a collective group. This requires a tailored touch to people and organizations whether executing clandestine raids or buying, renovating, and renting single family homes! The most compelling commonality between leading a real estate company and leading a military unit is purpose. All individuals and therefore all organizations need a raison d’etre and great leaders provide this! While my military career was rewarding and challenging, my personal purpose remains the same, Soli Deo Gloria! This purpose has made the transition from soldier to corporate leader generally seamless and serves me in all aspects of my life as husband, father, friend. I am very fortunate to be in a sector of the real estate market experiencing tremendous growth with still lots of runway ahead. Hopefully, my military experience from the Army will serve Conrex well as we continue to scale across the country! 

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Trent Ferris

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SVP Auction Events | Auction.com Inspired by my uncle, Calvin “Cal” Ferris, who flew 200 types of aircrafts, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in June 1985. Originally, I enlisted as an E-1 and rose to E-5, and I was then commissioned as an Officer of Marines attaining my final rank at retirement in 2005 from the Corps as a Major. During my tenure with the Marine Corps, I had some truly diverse positions, both during peacetime as well as wartime. And in each position, the two things I learned most was the importance of mission accomplishment and troop welfare. One must always have a clearly defined mission and the right people around you to succeed. And, this is such a bigger topic, however. It comes down to perseverance, adaptability, acceptance of other ideas, and working towards a common goal. One of the positions I held was as an Aviation Ordnanceman. In fact, I was the first U.S. Marine selected as the Ordnanceman of the Year. I also served as an Air Traffic Control Detachment Commander and led a team of Marines focused on training and readiness for remote ATC operations. As a Facility Watch Officer for ATC Deployment I served in Support of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, Mogadishu. Senior Positions Later, I was selected as a team Member for OAG (Operational Advisory Group) Command and Control Systems planning for future conflicts and events. As is often required in an officer’s career, I was also a Recruiting Station Operations Officer, Executive Officer and on a second recruiting tour, the Western Region Operations Officer. After my recruiting tour, I became the Air Traffic Control Facility Officer at MCAS Miramar and served as the COMCABWEST Operations Officer for Airfield Inspection and Licensure as a dual role. All military veterans have memorable events that occurred during their careers. Mine was participating in Operation Restore Hope. Operation Restore Hope was a combat mission. “I’m Not in Kansas Anymore” Leaving the U.S. for the first time to an unknown part of the world, Somalia, only a few weeks from Christmas, was quite memorable. As one of the senior officers, I was responsible for the well-being of 39 fellow Marines and most of the deployment equipment. Delays in Dover, Delaware, coupled with landings in several other countries enroute and then landing at Mogadishu in the early hours was dynamic. What made it more dynamic was that later that morning, less than 72 hours after leaving my family at home, I was in a Humvee with several other Marines headed to the former U.S. Embassy compound when a “Technical” vehicle pulled in front of us.  We were in the basic, un-armored Humvee and there we were, staring down a mounted machine gun in the back of some tribe’s Nissan pick-up. That was really my, “I’m not in Kansas anymore, am I?!” moment. The Rules Of Engagement at the time did not allow any action and as we approached the embassy compound, the technical turned off the main road and we went our own way. Beginning with Auction.com When I retired in 2005 as a Major, I went looking for a job that could utilize my military lessons and skills. I obtained my start at Auction.com largely on the faith of one of my military peers, Walter Skrzynski. Walter told me to go see him after my retirement before I accepted any other position. As it turned out, Walter, who had retired nearly a year earlier, had been in a key position at the original company that eventually founded Auction.com.  I recall going in to meet with Walter and the CEO, Jeff Frieden, and within 5 minutes, based largely off Walter’s recommendation and Jeff’s faith in the work ethic of U. S. Marines, I had an offer. I also recall that the next 55 minutes were spent with Jeff telling Walter how I would not be working for him, but on the auction side of the company at the time. My first year with the Company we conducted 18 auctions; we did 15,500 auctions last year; and in total over 85,000 auctions in my time with the Company. I am currently the SVP of Live Auctions. I lead a team of approximately 400 associate members with the goal of bringing buyers and sellers together through the auction sales model pioneered by Jeff Frieden and Rob Freidman, our original founders. Foundationally, I have the responsibility to ensure that all my team members are executing auctions within theapplicable compliance standards. However, beyond that we are a sales team. My goals with the company are to expand our technology resources and grow our overall presence as the nation’s leading foreclosure auction company through data-driven, customer-focused resources.  Finally, in real estate, there are multiple aspects of a process in flight at any one time. My ATC background really helps me understand how to prioritize and manage multiple tasks while never losing site of the goal. And while being deployed to such far away distant places such as Okinawa, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait, I realized that the lifestyle we have in the United States is something that I will always appreciate. It is from these past events that I passionately believe that our country, the U.S.A., is the best place to live. 

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Tanice & Paul Myers

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Turning Their Passions Into a Thriving Operation Tanice and Paul Myers began their HomeVestors careers in February 2018. They bought their first franchise in the Seattle area, called Fobes Hill, LLC. After that, they bought a second franchise in Crawfordsville, Indiana called Northern Point and own thirty rental properties in that area. Tanice was born in California, the daughter of a United States Army combat soldier, Pete Hjellen, who served during the Vietnam War. At two years of age the family moved to Anchorage, Alaska where she is considering buying another HomeVestors franchise. Tanice worked at Microsoft for over ten years and as she said, “Microsoft will always have a special place in my heart, and I will cherish my memories forever. And I am so very thankful for everything that Microsoft has provided me over the last 10 years.” She also felt very empowered the day she resigned in December of 2018. Tanice gave up a W-2 income and great benefits so she could join her husband in their new real estate business. She loves being in control and wanted to spend more time with her family and “have time to play.” Paul, on the other hand, had worked with real estate investors for the last fifteen years. Prior to becoming a HomeVestors franchisee, he worked as a real estate broker, general contractor, and investment specialist. Tanice and Paul have turned their passions for family, technology, and real estate into a thriving operation. Not only do they currently own two franchises, and looking at a third, but they are also building their own portfolio with five rental properties in the Seattle area and thirty in Indiana. They attribute HomeVestors with their portfolio expansion. HomeVestors provides training, networking opportunities, mentorship, and financing. Tanice and Paul are also Development Agents in Washington state, helping new franchisees and providing mentorship. HomeVestors also formed the Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) of which Tanice is the Chairperson. There are fourteen HomeVestors regions nationwide, and HomeVestors welcomes feedback from “the field”. This feedback allows HomeVestors to adjust their training and marketing programs. Owning a real estate business is life changing and naturally comes with risks. At HomeVestors, their priority is to limit those risks through training, tools, mentorship, leads, and financing resources. For any questions, Tanice can be reached at Tanice.Myers@homevestors.com and Paul can be reached at Paul.Myers@homevestors.com 

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Danny Byrnes Promoted to Chief Revenue Officer at Nationwide Title Clearing

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Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC), the leading post-closing services provider for the nation’s largest financial institutions, investors and servicers, announced Danny Byrnes has been promoted from VP Sales and Marketing to Chief Revenue Officer. Byrnes was hired in early 2011 as the VP Sales. In his second year, sales nearly doubled, and, in his tenure, Byrnes has expanded sales by over 5X (570%). He is a stable executive that has taken responsibility for the entire company, a keynote of any Chief at NTC. “CRO is the ultimate challenge for any sales or marketing executive. I am excited to fully take control of NTC’s destiny and honored that I am being trusted with this. I plan to continue delivering what I promised when I joined this incredible team 10 years ago,” said Byrnes. Byrnes has helped broaden the scope of services offered by initiating and customizing solutions for NTC’s clients. The 35 years of experience and knowledge of complex sales, marketing, sales management, and product management he brings to the table is invaluable to NTC. “In a time of tremendous growth for NTC, now was the perfect time to add Danny’s deep industry knowledge and skillsets to our C-suite,” Said John Hillman, NTC’s chief executive officer. “We look forward to further expansion and increasing the sales of the organization overall.” About NTC Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) is a privately-owned leading research, analytics and document-processing service provider to the residential mortgage industry. NTC services the nation’s top mortgage lenders, servicers, investors and custodians. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://nationwidetitleclearing.info/.

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