7 minute read
BUILDING VALUE DOESN’T STOP: PAT FREEMAN
Pat Freeman (center) stands with past presidents of BOMA Georgia at his March 17, 2022 Retirement Luncheon.
Patrick M. Freeman, RPA, SMA, CPM, CCIM, LEED AP, BOMI-HP, BOMA Fellow, entered commercial real estate in 1984 after a brief stint as a high-school band director. Since his entry into the industry, he has mentored generations of property managers, and continued learning and growing all along the way. He has been a mainstay of Atlanta real estate and BOMA Georgia for decades and continues to help raise the next generation of property professionals to this day.
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There’s an old saying, that you are either green and growing, or ripe and rotting. If nothing else, the alphabet that follows Pat’s name shows that he never finished growing and continues to be one of the greenest of us.
Starting in the Industry
Pat Freeman graduated from Florida State University cum laude with a degree in Music Education in 1980, and he went on to instruct with DeKalb County schools for nearly four years. By the end of his educational career, he began looking for something new.
“I was a high-school band director when I realized that I didn’t enjoy it. It didn’t work well for me. So, I did a bunch of informational interviews, and did one with a VP with Carter.” Freeman explained. “After that interview, I became an office manager with Carter & Associates, and after about a year and a half of that I moved into property management in ‘86. Great field, love it.”
While at Carter & Associates, Freeman had the opportunity to meet one of his greatest mentors, the incredible Rutledge Beacham.
“Rutledge was one of my first bosses at Carter. He was an exemplary person on all fronts. He knew the business very well and he was a great mentor and teacher. He was a great person to learn from, and I miss him dearly. Great great great man, great friend.”
Freeman was with Carter & Associates for eight years and grew and learned immensely under the tutelage of Beacham. While there, he gained his Georgia Real Estate License in 1990, and the first of his long list of designations, the Real Property Administrator (RPA) in 1993.
Growing Into a Leader
Freeman went on to work with Childress Klein Properties as a senior property manager. While there, Freeman continued to grow and learn, achieving his Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA) designation in 1996, Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation in 1998, and his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation in 1999.
Through all of this, Freeman was an active participant in the BOMA family, achieving recognition as the BOMA-Atlanta Member of the Year in 1999 and again in 2001. Freeman served as BOMA-Atlanta’s 2001 president, and he served spectacularly, with grace and humor.
“When I was president, the sports outing group was coming up with a creative way to pitch, if you will, the activity.” Freeman explained. “So, there were a bunch of people in the back of the luncheon with tennis balls, and they were hurtling them to the front.”
“The intention was that [the tennis balls] would go over the crowd’s heads. They didn’t. I remember one hitting my head, and I stood up and fell down, feigning death. Got a good laugh.” Freeman added. “It scared the sports committee to death, but it was a lot of fun, and I like making people laugh.”
During this time, Freeman served his community as a deacon at Intown Community Church in North Druid Hills, and as an instructor for numerous BOMI RPA and Facility Management Administrator (FMA) courses. He continues to serve as an elder at Intown Community Church to this day, and instructs BOMA Georgia’s Property Management 101 and 201 courses, as well as a few BOMI classes.
In between all this, Freeman found time to continue growing and learning, attaining a Master of Science degree with great praise (magna cum laude) from Georgia Tech. His thesis looked at the value of learning opportunities in CRE, and his work demonstrated the benefit education has for property professionals. At this point in time, Freeman held four designations, RPA, SMA, CPM, CCIM, and served as a senior property manager.
BOMA Family
Pat Freeman addresses BOMA Family and friends at his retirement luncheon.
After nearly a decade with Childress Klein, Freeman went on to become a vice president of Trammell Crow Company in 2003, and then as senior vice president of property management with Wells Real Estate Funds in 2005. Through his roles with Trammell Crow Company and Well Real Estate Funds, Freeman oversaw class A assets in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, and Pittsburgh.
Freeman served on BOMA International’s Board of Directors from 2005 to 2007, and he was named a BOMA Fellow in 2013. In 2008 he achieved the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designation, growing the alphabet after his name. Freeman continued to teach, grow, and work with BOMA-Atlanta/Georgia.
“BOMA is a huge enhancement,” Freeman explained. “You get to network and meet so many peers, friends really, over the years. Education and advocacy have been a big deal, but the friends I’ve made along the way have been awesome.”
Pat Freeman has had an enormous impact on commercial real estate, in Atlanta and beyond. A large part of that has been his kindness, humor, and dedication to education, which has enabled him to make connections everywhere he stopped along the way.
“Pat has got a dry sense of humor, and that was always appreciated in the BOMI classes we taught.” Recalled Dave Ferguson, RPA, FMA. “Pat and I taught DOM I and II [Design, Operations, and Maintenance] together for a few years. I’d do the morning half, and he would do the afternoon. He developed this great handout on the refrigeration cycle that compared it to a roller coaster with its ups and downs. I still use that handout in my DOM I and II classes, twenty years later, and it still holds up.”
Always Green
While at Wells Real Estate Funds, Freeman moved laterally to the newly formed Columbia Property Trust, Wells Real Estate Funds’ second REIT, in 2013. His role grew even further, and he became steward of over 8 million square feet across Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, and Pittsburgh.
Freeman then became an executive vice president with Brand Real Estate Services in 2015. In 2016 Freeman was named as the chair of the BOMA Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees, where he oversaw the expansion of the BOMA Georgia Foundation’s scholarship and research. In 2017, Freeman received the Huey Award for Lifetime achievement from BOMA Georgia. In his distinguished career, Freeman served on nearly every BOMA Georgia committee possible, including the Trade Show, Sports Outing, Membership, TOBY, Nominations, Community Service, and Industry Insights committees. He has also served in the Allied Member Resource Group and Professional Development Council.
In 2019, Freeman served as chair of the BOMA Southern Region Conference Education Task Force, ensuring the Southern Region Conference in Savannah had strong educational offerings. Freeman has been a mainstay of the BOMA Georgia Foundation, both as a supporter and leader, and received the Foundation Philanthropic Leadership Award in 2019.
“Pat is a lifelong learner, supporter of continuing education, leads by example, and has made a tremendous impact in the lives of so many people through his commitment to the BOMA Georgia Foundation,” said Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE, BOMA Georgia Chief Executive Officer. “It is fitting that he is being recognized by the BOMA Georgia Foundation for his many years of helping others.”
Freeman still somehow found time for continuing education, achieving the BOMI High Performance (BOMI-HP) designation in 2020. When Freeman won his Huey Award in 2017, the 2013 president, Miller Getz, had this to say.
“This year’s winner is famous—dare I say infamous—for holding nearly every designation available to a real estate professional,” Getz said. “I have heard it joked that it is easier to list the letters of the alphabet that are not in his name, than those that are. Fun fact: just in case you are wondering, it is nine. There are nine letters of the alphabet that you won’t find in Pat’s name and in his designation listing that follows it.”
With his BOMI-HP Designation, Patrick M. Freeman, RPA, SMA, CPM, CCIM, MS, LEED AP, BOMA Fellow, BOMI-HP, only has G, J, U, V, X, Y, and Z left. Freeman has constantly been growing and educating himself throughout his career. He has been a mentor to generations of property professionals. His humor has made classrooms of nervous property administrators and managers bowl over in laughter.
His work to promote education in commercial real estate has been tireless and profound. Even after he retired in 2022, he continues to assist CRE and his own community as a member of BOMI International’s Board of Trustees, an elder at Intown Community Church, and as a board member of Decatur Cooperative Ministry Incorporated. Even in retirement, I think we can all agree that Patrick M. Freeman, RPA, SMA, CPM, CCIM, MS, LEED AP, BOMA Fellow, BOMI-HP, is still green and still growing.
Scan to Watch Pat Freeman’s Reflections on BOMA and Leadership on BOMA Legacy!
