Prudential Names Downs Senior Vice President
Henry S. Miller Creates Tech Team
NAR Names Verstandig as Lobbyist
ERA Appoints New Director of Preferred Alliances
Fred Sands Expands into Glendale and Hacienda Heights
St. Louis Regional MLS Renews Contract with Interealty
Cendant Mobility Takes Home Nine Awards
The New York Times Company Joins Classified Ventures' Online Network

Prudential Names Downs Senior Vice President

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Solutions (PRERS), parent company of The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. (PREA) and Prudential Relocation, has promoted Andrew Downs to Senior Vice President. Downs will play a major role in developing and implementing the financial strategies of PRERS, including PREA and Prudential Relocation.

Prior to the promotion, Downs was named senior vice president of credit and investments for The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates in July 1997. He was later made president of the newly formed Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America, Inc. which facilitates strategic capitalization initiatives for The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. He will retain these positions as he takes on larger responsibilities for PRERS.

Downs has served as President of PREFSA since its creation last year and during its formative stages. He has supervised and been actively engaged in the purchase, sale or financing of a variety of affiliated real estate companies within the Prudential Real Estate network.

Henry S. Miller Creates Tech Team

Ranked #19 in the nation among all residential real estate companies, Texas-based Henry S. Miller, Realtors® has created a new Tech Team which will provide technology support and services to Miller's 1,000 sales associates.

Led by Kent Southerland, director of Information Technology Services, the team will place all listings on Henry S. Miller's Web site and provide free hands-on training in many software programs. The Tech Team will offer a one-time configuration of each associate's personal real estate software and is available to offer advice in selecting new hardware and software. Each Miller associate will also receive a free e-mail address to foster speedy communication with their clients and the full PREP software package will be made available for a nominal fee.

Mr. Southerland will work with Will Watson, a licensed broker, who will teach all agents and staff to use proprietary software provided by the company, as well as popular programs such as MS Office Suite and Internet applications. Rounding out the team will be Network Administrators Tony Hill, an electronics expert, Mark Southerland, Miller's Web master, and Brian Koen, a hardware troubleshooter. Stephanie Helms will serve as the company's help desk administrator while Glenda Burnham will support the company's Houston offices.

NAR Names Verstandig as Lobbyist

The National Association of Realtors has selected longtime Washington lobbyist Dr. Lee L. Verstandig to head its government affairs operation.

As senior vice president of government affairs, Verstandig will report to NAR Executive Vice President Terrence M. McDermott, who cited Verstandig's broad experience both in and out of Washington.

Verstandig comes to the Realtor organization from the Wexler Group lobbying firm in Washington, where he served as executive vice president since 1992. He served in the Reagan administration at the White House as assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and chief of staff to the First Lady; and as under secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Verstandig also was acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and assistant secretary for governmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Reagan presidency. He was legislative director and administrative assistant to U.S. Sen. John H. Chaffee, R - R.I. from 1977 to 1981; and is a former associate dean of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

ERA Appoints New Director of Preferred Alliances

ERA® Franchise Systems, Inc. has announced the appointment of Cristine Moors as Director of Preferred Alliances. Moors will be responsible for educating franchise members on the added value and benefits of partnering with preferred alliances. She will also advance the use and establishment of service and product discounts from companies with whom Cendant Corporation has existing partnerships. A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology and certified in German and Spanish from the International School of Tourism in Krems, Austria, Moors has served Cendant for six years in a number of capacities, most recently as General Manager of a full service hotel in Rhode Island.

Fred Sands Expands into Glendale and Hacienda Heights

Fred C. Sands, founder and CEO of Fred Sands Realtors® announces the firm's expansion into the Glendale and Hacienda Heights areas, both suburbs of Los Angeles in Southern California.. Fred Sands Professionals is a new office that has been established in Glendale under the leadership of Robert Hartounian. Fred Sands Unique Properties is the new office in Hacienda Heights under the direction of Omar Honegger.

St. Louis Regional MLS Renews Contract with Interealty

The Greater St. Louis Regional Multiple Listing Service has renewed its contract with Interealty for term of two years plus a one-year extension option. The 7,000-member, association-owned MLS is the 24th largest MLS service in terms of membership according to the BIG120 MLS Survey Report compiled by Clareity Consulting, Ltd.

Interealty will upgrade the hardware and network connections fo rthe MLS, hosting its 500-port system from Interealty's computer Operations Center in Virginia and providing high-speed connections over Interealty's national data network.

Significantly, the MLS will assume full responsibility for providing its members with access to the MLS over the local telecommunications system, managing its own dial-up lines, and providing access to the Internet.

Cendant Mobility Takes Home Nine Awards From Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership

Cendant Mobility won nine silver Connecticut Innovation Prizes out of 106 applications in the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership (CQIA). The CQIA uses criteria from the nationally recognized Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards to assist in the selection of winners. Cendant Mobility was the only relocation company to win awards in this year’s application process. It has won thirty three awards since originally participating in the CQIA in 1995.

Cendant Mobility received its nine silver Connecticut Innovation Prizes for a wide array of projects, including the implementation of financial and accounting procedures resulting in improved speed and enhanced service. Its innovative solutions recognized by the CQIA will be shared with other Connecticut businesses to further promote a healthy business environment within the state. Cendant Mobility will be recognized with all other winners at CQIA Partnership’s 11th Annual Conference on Quality and Innovation at the Southbury, CT Hilton on Tuesday, October 6, 1998.

The New York Times Company Joins Classified Ventures' Online Network

Classified Ventures, L.L.C. has announced that The New York Times Company has joined Classified Ventures' network of National and Local Auto, Apartment and Real Estate Classified Advertising and Information Services.

"With the addition of The New York Times Company and its newspaper properties in Boston, New York and Sarasota, Classified Ventures continues to build the Internet's first network capable of delivering the deepest and broadest information available about national and local classified advertising listings and related information," said Tim Landon, Classified Ventures' acting chief executive officer.

Russell T. Lewis, president and CEO of The New York Times Company, said, "With Classified Ventures, we are creating an exciting new medium to strengthen our relationships with consumers and advertisers in local markets, while developing a promising new channel for national and regional advertisers."

The New York Times Company publishes 20 dailies in eight states with a combined circulation of more than 2.3 million on weekdays and more than 3.2 million on Sunday. It brings to the Classified Ventures network the nation's largest seven day circulating newspaper (The New York Times) and 14th largest (The Boston Globe) weekday circulation newspaper.

Published: July 31, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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