Additional award recipients included:

Most Transactions: Benton Green, Fraser Gough and Scott Pennington of Retail Planning Corporation in Atlanta, GA were recognized for generating the most new lease transactions during the past year. Green, Gough and Pennington currently manage leasing activity for seven assets totaling approximately 1.1 million square feet in the Atlanta and Augusta, GA markets.

Best Prospector Team: Stephanie Moore and Jon Stanley of JLL Retail in Raleigh, NC. The team is responsible for leasing seven assets totaling approximately 670,300 square feet. Moore and Stanley were honored for performing extensive void analysis and demonstrating excellent preparation and follow-up for target tenants.

Several leasing broker partners were honored with Allegiance Awards which recognize their ability to align with the goals, objectives and interests of VEREIT while showing commitment, loyalty and dedication.

Honorees included:

Larry Davis of CBRE in Indianapolis, IN. Davis manages leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 253,800 in Columbus and Muncie, IN.

Seth Biggerstaff of Veritas Realty in Indianapolis, IN. Biggerstaff manages leasing activity for a 348,000 square-foot anchored shopping center in Lafayette, IN.

Marcy Wood of CBRE in Oak Brook, IL. Wood manages leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 328,800 square feet in South Elgin and Bartlett, IL.

Liz Krebs and Katie Hennegan of Mid-America in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Krebs and Hennegan manage leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 277,000 square feet in Plainfield and Matteson, IL.

James Chung and Marisa Organo of Cushman & Wakefield in San Jose, CA. Chung and Organo manage leasing activity for a 509,300 square-foot anchored shopping center in San Jose, CA.

Christina Coffey of CBRE in Raleigh, NC. Coffey manages leasing activity for a 61,600-square-foot anchored shopping center in Raleigh, NC.

Joe Parrott and Sean McCourt of CBRE in Chicago, IL. Parrott and McCourt manage leasing activity for six assets in the Chicago market totaling approximately 1 million square feet.

Sheets tells GlobeSt.com that “Our meetings with retailers were quite positive overall this year at RECon. One trend that we saw was more retailers adopting Omni channel strategies, even if they are service providers and not selling product, as they realize the importance of integrating the sales experience across multiple channels, from taking reservations to providing special offers or incentives. Looking at expansion, the retailers we talked to – especially discount and necessity retailers – are planning hundreds of new store openings in 2017 and 2018 including smaller and underserved markets. Not only can they serve these markets with brick and mortar, but it also helps provide a solution for 'last mile' order fulfillment.”

LAS VEGAS—VEREIT Inc. revealed the recipients of its annual awards for leasing excellence, recognizing the top professionals leasing available retail space on behalf of the company across its owned and managed net lease portfolio. The recipients were honored at an awards ceremony in conjunction with ICSC RECon 2017 here in Las Vegas.

The leasing broker of the year, the award program's most prestigious honor, was presented to Patrick Bentley of the Shopping Center Group. He currently leases East West Commons, a 158,000-square-foot anchored shopping center in Austell, GA, owned by Cole Credit Property Trust IV Inc., and managed by VEREIT. Bentley was responsible for handling pre-leasing on an outparcel development project at the center. Discussions with a key tenant, led by Bentley, shaped the development project to include the addition of a drive-through, plus four additional retail store fronts. This addition increased the visibility of the center from major roads and improved parking, increasing the value of the entire center. Completion of this development project is expected in the summer of 2017, according to a prepared statement.

“This is the seventh year we have recognized our outstanding local market leasing partners at RECon, the ultimate event for retail leasing professionals and retailers,” notes Brett Sheets, SVP of leasing for VEREIT. “When combined with the expertise of our in-house leasing team, our extensive national network of leasing brokers enables VEREIT to attract and retain top-quality tenants. Patrick Bentley leveraged his strong relationships with tenants wanting to expand in the market while continually demonstrating the excellence we expect from our local leasing partners.”

Overall, award recipients demonstrated superior performance in their efforts to maximize the value of the portfolios of both VEREIT and the Cole REITs. Criteria for the awards include the number and quality of transactions, accuracy and timeliness of reports, quality of marketing materials, market knowledge and prospecting prowess.

Additional award recipients included:

Most Transactions: Benton Green, Fraser Gough and Scott Pennington of Retail Planning Corporation in Atlanta, GA were recognized for generating the most new lease transactions during the past year. Green, Gough and Pennington currently manage leasing activity for seven assets totaling approximately 1.1 million square feet in the Atlanta and Augusta, GA markets.

Best Prospector Team: Stephanie Moore and Jon Stanley of JLL Retail in Raleigh, NC. The team is responsible for leasing seven assets totaling approximately 670,300 square feet. Moore and Stanley were honored for performing extensive void analysis and demonstrating excellent preparation and follow-up for target tenants.

Several leasing broker partners were honored with Allegiance Awards which recognize their ability to align with the goals, objectives and interests of VEREIT while showing commitment, loyalty and dedication.

Honorees included:

Larry Davis of CBRE in Indianapolis, IN. Davis manages leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 253,800 in Columbus and Muncie, IN.

Seth Biggerstaff of Veritas Realty in Indianapolis, IN. Biggerstaff manages leasing activity for a 348,000 square-foot anchored shopping center in Lafayette, IN.

Marcy Wood of CBRE in Oak Brook, IL. Wood manages leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 328,800 square feet in South Elgin and Bartlett, IL.

Liz Krebs and Katie Hennegan of Mid-America in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Krebs and Hennegan manage leasing activity for two assets totaling approximately 277,000 square feet in Plainfield and Matteson, IL.

James Chung and Marisa Organo of Cushman & Wakefield in San Jose, CA. Chung and Organo manage leasing activity for a 509,300 square-foot anchored shopping center in San Jose, CA.

Christina Coffey of CBRE in Raleigh, NC. Coffey manages leasing activity for a 61,600-square-foot anchored shopping center in Raleigh, NC.

Joe Parrott and Sean McCourt of CBRE in Chicago, IL. Parrott and McCourt manage leasing activity for six assets in the Chicago market totaling approximately 1 million square feet.

Sheets tells GlobeSt.com that “Our meetings with retailers were quite positive overall this year at RECon. One trend that we saw was more retailers adopting Omni channel strategies, even if they are service providers and not selling product, as they realize the importance of integrating the sales experience across multiple channels, from taking reservations to providing special offers or incentives. Looking at expansion, the retailers we talked to – especially discount and necessity retailers – are planning hundreds of new store openings in 2017 and 2018 including smaller and underserved markets. Not only can they serve these markets with brick and mortar, but it also helps provide a solution for 'last mile' order fulfillment.”