By Bruce Propst, senior vice president, Carter
ATLANTA (August 24, 2011) – Carter wins back-to-back championships in the Atlanta Commercial Real Estate Softball League and retains possession of the coveted Watson Cup for another year. Winning successive titles in the highly competitive league is a rare feat not often accomplished over almost 30 years of the league’s existence. I think the team was inspired this year to go out on top as this was the last year that a Carter team will be in the league. The pending acquisition of Carter’s brokerage and management businesses by Cassidy Turley means that the CT team will have to pick up where the Carter team left off.
Carter has been in the league from the very start and played an integral part in the league’s founding. In the early 1980’s, a Carter broker and former Georgia Tech baseball player named Larry Entrekin came up with the idea that Atlanta’s commercial real estate firms ought to form a softball league. I was the youngest broker at Carter at the time so I was given the task of calling all of the major brokerage firms at the time to see if they would be interested. The response was very positive and soon thereafter the formative league meeting was held in Carter’s offices then located at 1100 Spring Street. For many years the league enjoyed playing at the old Hellenic Center on Cheshire Bridge Road (thanks to Pete and Andy Alexander and John Micha) until the property was purchased and redeveloped as apartments, which somehow seems appropriate for a commercial real estate league. The league now plays games at Pace Academy’s Warren Road Field. Dave Watson, now with Grubb & Ellis, was the first real League Commissioner and served in the position for many, many years until the current commissioner, Doug Smith of Seefried Properties, took over.
I asked Ward Entrekin, Larry’s son, who is a former college baseball player himself (Gator) and Carter’s shortstop, for his perspective on why the league had remained so successful over the years.
“When you provide a competitive and social outlet for brokers that compete against each other every day for business and you throw in free beer and good food provided by generous landlords, you have a winning combination,” said Ward.
The 2011 Championship Carter team included John Akin, Jack Arnold, Watson Bryant, Ward Entrekin, Tim Farley, Eli Green, Ryan Meehan, Preston Menning, Bo Moore, Spence Searcy, Beau Terrell and David Zanaty.
Thanks to the Carter team, Doug Smith, Pace Academy, the generous landlords/food and drink sponsors, and all the teams participating this year for another great year of real estate softball. Watch out for that Cassidy Turley team, I hear they are pretty tough to beat.
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