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| HALL FOR ONE: (From left to right) Chris Teesdale, Robert Grunnah, and Darrell Hurmis give commercial real estate titans the recognition they deserve. photography by Dan Sellers |
For a city so rich in commercial real estate, dallas wasn’t doing enough to recognize the accomplishments of its major players. That was the thought Chris Teesdale had 20 years ago. After all, some of the greatest names in the business have called Dallas home—names like Crow, Miller, and Staubach. Then a 33-year-old senior vice president and principal for The Swearingen Company, Teesdale had the lofty ambition to do more to honor the men and women who, quite literally, have built this city—and its reputation as a great place to do business—from the ground up.
“Because some of the nation’s largest and most respected developers were headquartered in Dallas,” says Teesdale, now an executive vice president at Colliers International, “and since there existed a unique, cooperative spirit between the developers and the brokerage community, we thought it would be appropriate to have a Hall of Fame, which no other major city in the U.S. had done, to recognize those who have given us the foundation, principles, and attitude that allow us to enjoy the commercial real estate business that we have in this community.”
Teesdale teamed up with partners Robert Grunnah, now president of Henry S. Miller Commercial Investments, and Darrell Hurmis, now executive vice president of investments and land for Henry S. Miller, and together they founded the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame in 1987. The organization honors those individuals and families—be they developers, brokers, or otherwise—who have made a significant impact in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The impressive inaugural class of 1988 consisted of John M. Stemmons Sr., Henry S. Miller Jr., Angus G. Wynne Jr., L. Storey Stemmons, and Lyn E. Davis. In total, 63 individuals and five families have earned the distinction (including this year’s inductees), an honor that is highly regarded within the industry.
“It was our original intent to create an award that all members of the industry would highly respect and feel truly honored in becoming a member,” Grunnah says.
This year, the Hall of Fame will pay tribute to the achievements of Marc Myers, Craig Hall, and posthumously to George Connell at the annual dinner, induction ceremony, and reunion at the Dallas Country Club on May 10.
“This years’ inductees have common roots of development,” Hurmis says. “They also represent a trend that started last year with the induction of Roger Staubach of the newer generation of inductees. Most of the previous recipients made their mark in the business prior to 1970 with some dating back to the early 1900s. Marc and Craig, for example, represent the former mavericks of the late ’70s to the present.”
To commemorate the Hall of Fame’s 20th anniversary, the founders are compiling a book of biographies and personal anecdotes of each inductee, which they expect to complete by the end of this year.
