Coming up …. November 12, 2009 at The City Club ….

Pat Riley
 

Pat Riley
President and COO
Allen Tate Realtors


A 37-year veteran of the real estate industry, Pat Riley guides all aspects of the 52-year old Allen Tate Company as the region's industry leader.

Under his direction, the company posted sales of more than $3.6 billion in 2008. Allen Tate ranks #11 in America in transaction sides; Allen Tate Realtors® ranks #6 among America's top 500 largest independently owned, non-franchised brokers, based on transaction sides. The Company has more than 1,600 Realtors® serving clients in the greater Charlotte, Triad, Triangle and Upstate South Carolina regions.

Allen Tate Company specializes in residential brokerage, including the marketing of new homes through its Builder Services division. The Allen Tate Family of Companies also includes the award-winning Allen Tate Relocation Services and other specialty companies such as Mortgage, Insurance, Home Services and the Allen Tate School of Real Estate.

Riley is widely recognized as a visionary leader in the real estate industry. He currently serves on the board of directors for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™, a global network of more than 700 independent real estate firms.

During his 19 years with Allen Tate Company, Riley has embraced a variety of civic leadership positions. He is the immediate past chair of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce; past chair of the Charlotte Advocates for Education, and has co-chaired two School Bond campaigns. In addition, he is a past chair of the Arts & Science Council; and past hair of the Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust through the Foundation for the Carolinas.

He currently serves on the President's Council of Central Piedmont Community College.; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation Board of Trustees; the foundation board of Fight Night for Kids with the Charlotte Regional Sports Commission; and on the cabinet for the Campaign for Cultural Facilities. He is an executive committee member of the Center City Partners Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Riley resides in Charlotte with his wife, Robbin, and has three children, Brian, Kelly and Taylor. He enjoys running, tennis, spectator sports and spending time at the beach.

 

Coming up …. December 8, 2009 at The City Club ….

Pat McCrory

Pat McCrory
Mayor, City of Charlotte

In November 2007, Mayor Pat McCrory became the first seven-term mayor in the history of the City of Charlotte, continuing his record as the City's longest-serving mayor.

Mayor McCrory began his political career in Charlotte in 1989 when he was elected as an At-Large City Council representative in his first run for an elected office. He was reelected in both 1991 and 1993, serving as Mayor Pro Tem in 1993 until first elected Mayor in 1995.

Mayor McCrory has distinguished himself as a leader in public safety, economic development, housing and transportation. He has been recognized nationally for his leadership in developing Charlotte's 25-year transportation and land use plan, including his efforts to secure $200 million in federal funds for light rail in Charlotte. Also, $2 billion in local and state road improvements have been made throughout the city over the past decade.

During McCrory's time as mayor, the City population has grown by 20%, 200,000 jobs have been created, and he led the effort to recruit such companies as TIAA-CREF, General Dynamics Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales Culinary School. He was also instrumental in Charlotte being selected as the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the development of the new Charlotte Arena and the U.S. Whitewater Center. In 2005, Money Magazine listed Charlotte in its Top 3 Best Places to Live and Reader's Digest named it one of the 20 Cleanest Cities in America.

Charlotte's overall quality of life has been impacted through the mayor's efforts to establish a Residential Tree Ordinance, which requires developers to save 10% of the trees in every residential development, the establishment of a Sidewalk Policy that requires sidewalks in every new subdivision and provides funding for sidewalks in neighborhoods without them. The mayor also worked to integrate bike lanes in the city's transportation policy, establishing 42 miles of bike lanes throughout the city. McCrory founded the Mayor's Mentoring Alliance in 1995 and has personally served as a Mentor to two youth. In 2008, Charlotte was named a "100 Best Communities for Youth" by America's Promise for the third year.

Mayor McCrory is involved in many national organizations. He serves as Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Environment Committee and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Committee in October 2003. He served as president of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO) organization and was the Founding Chair for the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition, a group of the state's 25 large-city mayors.

The mayor has testified before Congress and has been a guest on several national media broadcasts, including National Public Radio, ABC World News, Lehrer News Hour, CBS This Morning, MSNBC News, CNN, CNBC and Fox News, among others.

Mayor McCrory graduated from Catawba College in 1978 with a B.A. degree in Political Science/ Education. He currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Catawba College and received an Honorary Doctorate degree from the school in 2001. In January 2008, the mayor left his employment with Duke Energy Corporation to enter the race for governor. He is married to Ann Gordon McCrory.

 

          PAST SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Brian Kennedy, CEO Park Sterling Bank

Richard Moore, NC State Treasurer

Alan C. Simonini, President, Simonini Builders 

Michael Smith, President of Charlotte Center City Partners

Carro1l Gray, Former President - Charlotte Chamber of Commerce

J. Frank Harrison III, CEO - Coca-Cola Consolidated

Jim Thompson – Co-Founder, Southeast BioDiesel