Chambless tops 2020 GABB Million Dollar Club
Nineteen members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) were named to the 2020 Million Dollar Club for helping broker the sale of nearly $61 million worth of small, medium and large businesses.
The GABB Million Dollar Club awards recognizes outstanding business achievements of professional Business Brokers for successfully closing business acquisition transactions totaling one million dollars or more. The GABB has the only Accredited Real Estate School in Georgia that focuses on business and Commercial Real Estate-related transactions and CE Credits.
The top producer for 2020 was C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., a former president of GABB.
“I am honored to be a member of GABB’s 2020 Million Dollar Club,” said Chambless. “I have been a member of the GABB for 17 years, and I have benefited greatly from that membership through the superb semiannual education conferences; access to some of the best bankers, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals; and networking through the best business brokers in Georgia.”
Business brokers who were among the top five brokers with multi-million dollars in business sales for the year are Jeffery Merry, senior business analyst at the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc.; Lisa Young, Business Broker at Transworld Business Advisors; Robin Gagnon, co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com; and Steve Weinbaum, a Certified Restaurant Broker with We Sell Restaurants.
Other Multi-Million-Dollar brokers were J. Snypp, Vice President of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Matt Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Rob Margeton, an M&A Intermediary with Ryco Advisors, LLC; Mannie Maddox, a business broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers; Nick Modares, GABB secretary and president and managing broker of Business Brokers Inc./Atlanta Business Advisors; and Steve Josovitz, Vice President of The Shumacher Group.
Other Million Dollar honorees were Sarabjeet Kaur, a business broker and Realtor with Virtual Properties Realty; GABB President Dean Burnette, the founder of Best Business Brokers; Eric Gagnon, the president of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com; Brian Judson, a business broker with Best Business Brokers; Jon Merry, a senior business broker at the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc.; Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors; Karl Barham, president of Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Peachtree; and Pedro Ferreira, a business advisor with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta.
Ms. Young, Mr. and Mrs. Gagnon and Mr. Modares were all honored as life members of the Million Dollar Club for achieving more than a million dollars in sales for three consecutive years.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) is the state’s only professional organization dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises. The GABB’s website lists hundreds of businesses and franchises for sale throughout Georgia in a variety of fields, including automotive, business services, child care, cleaning, construction, electronics equipment, fitness, flooring, floral, food, gas stations, landscaping, manufacturing, medical, shipping, restaurants, retail, security, signs, and businesses related to the internet.
“GABB members have resources and experience that can smooth out the complicated processes involved in business acquisitions and mergers,” said GABB President Burnette. “Our business brokers are committed to a code of ethics in buying or selling a business in Georgia.”
GABB broker members have represented thousands of business sellers and buyers, and the group has a dedicated membership of lenders, attorneys and other professionals to assist business buyers and sellers at every step of the process. The GABB.org website has more than 400 business-for-sale listings. Find a professional business broker today at https://gabb.org/gabb-business-brokers/
The Awardees:
DAVID CHAMBLESS is the president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., which provides integrated services to sellers (and buyers) of businesses with revenues of $5-to-$30 million, with a focus on businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, technology, and services industries. He has been president of GABB twice, is a lifetime multi-million-dollar member of the Million Dollar Club, and has earned the prestigious GABB Phoenix award for a decade of reaching the Multi-Million Dollar Club. Prior to Abraxas, he held various positions in sales, marketing, and executive roles in technology firms; as CFO for Aaron Rents as well as for private companies; and as a management consultant. Mr. Chambless has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. He is an inactive certified public accountant. Prior to graduate school, Mr. Chambless commanded components of a U.S. Army Pershing Missile unit in West Germany. Mr. Chambless is very active in his communities. He is a member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), the Association for Corporate Growth, and a longtime member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). He serves on a fundraising committee of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and on the board of the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. In his involvement with the Technology Association of Georgia, he served as a member of the TAG board of directors and its executive committee as well as the chairman of TAG’s Leadership Council; he was a founder and the chairman of TAG-FinTech; he chaired TAG-Finance for seven years. He served on the boards of directors for the Grant Park Conservancy and the Southeast Atlanta Business Association, where he is Director Emeritus. Mr. Chambless is actively involved in the All Saints’ Episcopal Church community, where he has ushered for 37 years and currently serves on the church’s finance committee. He was a 15-year board member of The Samaritan House of Atlanta. He served on the board of directors for the Resource Opportunity Center of Atlanta and on the Advisory Council of 24/7 Gateway, a homeless-services center under the auspices of the United Way of Atlanta. Mr. Chambless is the proud father of five men and the honored husband of Lisa McLeod-Chambless, a PhD candidate at Georgia State University and most recently an academic executive at Three W International in Beijing.
JEFFERY MERRY, Sr., MBA, J.D., After employment by a Fortune 100 company, Mr. Merry began the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. more than 20 years ago, and it has become one of the most successful business brokerage firms in the Southeast. As a Business Intermediary, Jeffery has been involved in more than 300 mergers and acquisitions that have ranged in acquisition price from $60,000.00 to more than $15,000,000.00. He specializes in serving the manufacturing, distribution, veterinary, service, and medical industries. Jeffery, a former GABB president and a current board member, is a lifetime member of the GABB’s prestigious Multi-Million Dollar Club and was the first Georgia broker in the GABB to receive the Phoenix award for being in the Multi-Million Dollar Club for 10 consecutive years. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Mercer University, an MBA from the University of Illinois, and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School. Jeffery is also a licensed real estate broker in many states. Further, he is an Adjunct Professor of strategic management, accounting, and finance in MBA programs. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Suwanee, Ga.
LISA YOUNG is a business broker with Dunwoody office of Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta. Ms. Young graduated from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville where she received a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a major in Information Systems. She has worked in the real estate industry since 2000 as well as owning a couple of small businesses before joining Transworld. Through her extensive background in real estate, entrepreneurship, and business consulting, Lisa brings a broad spectrum of knowledge and expertise to her clients and is passionate about helping them achieve their goals. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, swimming, boating, golf and volunteer work with organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and her church. She has two adult sons, two grandchildren, and she splits her time between Marietta and Greensboro, N.C.
ROBIN GAGNON CFE, MBA, CBI is the co-founder of We Sell Restaurants, the largest restaurant brokerage firm in the nation and the only franchisor dedicated exclusively to restaurant sales. She is one of the most prolific Restaurant Brokers in the industry and is a specialist in franchise resales. Robin is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award winning book for restaurant buyers. She serves as the Vice-Chair of the Women’s Franchise Committee of the International Franchise Association and is on the board of the Women’s Franchise Network Atlanta. A Certified Franchise Executive, she has also completed study, testing and experience requirements by the International Business Brokers Association to be awarded the credential of Certified Business Intermediary or CBI. Robin holds an MBA from Appalachian State University, graduated first in her class and was named “Outstanding MBA” of her graduating class. She is a lifetime emeritus member of the Appalachian State University Business Advisory Council and founding member of the Entrepreneurship Board. Robin is a licensed real estate salesperson in both Georgia and Florida. She has been named a National Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press in Franchise Resales. She teaches, trains and speaks nationally on the profession of Business Brokerage. She has written and delivers the only Certified Restaurant Broker training nationwide offered as part of the We Sell Restaurants franchise brand.
STEVE WEINBAUM has been with We Sell Restaurants for more than five years, is a licensed real estate salesperson in Georgia and Florida and a Certified Restaurant Broker. He graduated from SUNY Albany and has more than 30 years of experience in business analysis, marketing, sales, relationship management and contract negotiations. He is a member of the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) and this is his second year in a row as a member of the GABB Multi-Million Dollar Club. Steve has sold many restaurants in both the independent and franchise space with an increased emphasis on multi-unit franchise opportunities.
J. SNYPP III, a former GABB Board member and recent continuing education class instructor, lives in Dunwoody, grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in marketing. Snypp spent more than two decades in the office furniture business before becoming a Business Broker. He has been with Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. for more than 14 years and serves as the company’s Vice President and Associate Broker. He has found success selling businesses in a variety of industries most recently selling a medical services company and a landscaping business. He is past president of the Dunwoody North Driving Club, a board member of the Dunwoody High School Gridiron Club and chairman of the Wildcat Classic Golf Tournament which benefits the Dunwoody High football team. He is also on the board of the Dunwoody High School Tip Off Club. He is married and has two boys ages 17 and 22. Therefore, when he is not selling businesses, he is usually trying to keep up with the boys or involved in some other family activity.
MATT WOCHELE CBI founded Preferred Business Brokers, Inc., in 1996 after a successful 17-year career in the investment banking industry. He is a life member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers Million Dollar Club, the 2021 vice president of the GABB board, a GABB Phoenix Award recipient and a member of the International Business Brokers Association. As president and managing broker of Preferred he has had the opportunity to be personally involved in hundreds of private business sales. The combined personal experience in the public sector with the private business sales has positioned the company to handle both the smaller main street business deals and the larger middle market business acquisitions. Matt and his wife Kathy, a professional artist, live in Sandy Springs.
ROB MARGETON is an M&A Intermediary with Ryco Advisors, LLC in Decatur, Ga., a professional lower middle market business brokerage firm serving Atlanta and the Southeast and specializing in the sale of owner-operated businesses with annual revenues of up to $50 million. He has more than 15 years of experience in financial services and running his own business. Prior to co-founding Ryco Advisors, Rob was a Managing Director at New York middle market financial restructuring firm and has worked on more than 50 transactions across a diverse set of industries. Rob also has extensive experience running and managing his own business. Together with his wife, Rob acquired the flagship Fleet Clean location in 2013 and oversaw a successful sales process in 2018. During their tenure, they successfully grew revenues and EBITDA by 75% and 95%, respectively. They managed over 30 employees and serviced more than 150 clients throughout Metro Atlanta, including many Fortune 500 companies. An Eagle Scout and a Certified M&A Professional, he is a member of M&A Source the Commercial Board of REALTORS. He and his family reside in Decatur, Ga.
MANNIE MADDOX is a business broker and Commercial Realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers. He has more than 35 years’ experience in Business Development, Sales and Capture Management in the Commercial and Federal Government marketplaces. Mr. Maddox successfully developed and led capture teams that won major Government RFPs with more than a billion dollars in revenue. His high level, large dollar volume sales experience at a Fortune 500 Executive Level has proven to be transparent and a major contributor to successful Commercial Real Estate Sales and Marketing as Commercial Realtor. He is a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, and is a Certified Business Broker. He attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Patricia, and they have a son and a granddaughter.
NICK MODARES, president and managing broker of Business Brokers Inc./Atlanta Business Advisors and the managing broker for the Georgia branch of Gottesman Company, a Mergers & Acquisitions group based in Manhattan New York. Mr. Modares has owned and operated several retail, service, and distribution companies in his lifetime. Along the way Nick has accumulated enormous education, practical experience and insight into what it takes to start, own, operate, finance, merge, sell, and acquire privately held companies ranging in size from very small to multi-national, million-dollar operations. Mr. Modares has a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management (MBA of Engineering) from the University of Evansville, Indiana and Purdue University towards his PhD. For two decades, he pursued an engineering and project management career before joining Sunbelt Business Brokers in Atlanta before he established Business Brokers Inc. In his community, he is treasurer of Atlanta Sister Cities Commission and chairs the Atlanta-Bucharest sister city committee. Nick currently serves on Board of GABB. Since 2006, Nick and his family have volunteered in the Adopt-A-Road program in Roswell. Nick and his family live in East Cobb, Marietta.
STEVEN JOSOVITZ is Senior Vice-President of The Shumacher Group, having joined the firm in 1992. As an Associate Real Estate Broker, he heads up the company’s restaurant business brokerage division in addition to providing commercial retail and restaurant real estate site selection, sales, and lease negotiation expertise. A former restaurant owner and trained professional chef, Steven has an extensive background in restaurant and hotel management. He also offers consulting, appraisal services and has been retained by law firms for his expert opinion to help settle disputes. Mr. Josovitz earned a B.S. in Hotel/Restaurant Management from Florida International University in 1981 and has studied in Europe. Mr. Josovitz is a member of the Georgia Restaurant Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Retail Brokers Network. As a 29-year GABB member, Mr. Josovitz was awarded Life Member and The Phoenix Award and annually receives the Multi-Million Dollar Club Award and Top Five Award for business and restaurant brokerage sales in Georgia. Steven’s goals and thoughts are always “Make sure all parties — buyers, sellers, and landlords — walk away from the closing table happy. Maintaining integrity and honesty along with professionalism and expertise is a must. The needs of your clients and those you work with must always come first before commissions or personal gain.”
SARABJEET KAUR, a business broker and Realtor with Virtual Properties Realty in Duluth specializes in commercial properties, hotels, and convenience stores. She is a member of the Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of REALTORS (NAMAR), and the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors. She was 2019-2020 Million Dollar Club Gold Award-winner with NAMAR; a Million Dollar Club Active member 2019 with Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors; and an All-star award winner with Virtual Properties Realty 2019-2020. She is a member of Asian American Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). She studied in Delhi, India with certifications in IT and fashion designing. She earned her Realtor license in 2017 and is a licensed Life Insurance agent in Georgia. She and her husband, Prakash Srivastava, and her teenage daughter live in Cumming, Ga., where they are involved in social activities with Sewa International, a Hindu faith-based, humanitarian, nonprofit service organization.
DEAN BURNETTE, GABB president from 2019-2020, is the founder of Best Business Brokers (B3) in Savannah. More than three decades of business ownership and management experience in various industries have given Dean a wide range of experience and business knowledge. These experiences contribute to his abilities to help identify and qualify appropriate buyers, put together sales prospectuses, negotiate terms of a sale, recognizing the importance of confidentiality in these types of business transactions. He has been a member of the GABB Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Club. Dean is excited about the many opportunities that the current economic conditions and recent economic events have created in Georgia. He is a sponsor of the Georgia Logistics Summit; a member and past president of the Savannah Small Business Chamber; a member of the Savannah CFO Council; Savannah Traffic Club; Savannah Real Estate Commercial Alliance; the Georgia Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, and serves on the Education Advisory Committee for the Georgia Real Estate Commission. He is married, has two children and four grandchildren.
ERIC GAGNON, CBI is the founder and President of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com. Eric holds the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the International Business Brokerage Association (IBBA) and was named a Fellow of the IBBA in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the business brokerage industry. A frequent writer and speaker in the restaurant industry, Eric co-authored Appetite for Acquisition, an award-winning book on buying restaurants. He has also been designated a Business Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press. He has earned the IBBA’s Outstanding Producer Award for multiple years. He’s a Past President of the GABB and Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Club; he was also the recipient of the GABB Phoenix Award, presented to a select few who have received the Million Dollar Award for more than a decade. Eric is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) where he serves as a board member for VetFran, a strategic initiative of the IFA and the Franchise Education and Research Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of Directions for the Southeast Franchise Forum (SEFF). Eric is a licensed real estate broker in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. He oversees the development and training of Restaurant Brokers nationwide and has created the industry’s only Certified Restaurant Broker coursework and testing program.
BRIAN JUDSON is a senior business broker with Best Business Brokers of Savannah. He has more than a dozen years of experience in business assessments and sales and 30 years of operations management in the service sector. He is active in the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Chamber, and in 2020 will be installed on the board of Buy Local Savannah, while continuing to mentor high school students and serve on the board for TEDx Savannah. Brian has served on the Historic District Board of Review, United Way Funding Review Panel and is a Master Docent for the Telfair and Jepson Museums of Art. His wife, Liza, works as a coordinator in student success advising for SCAD, they have a daughter, and are active in Savannah’s art community.
JON MERRY, a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE of Gainesville, has been in the Business Mergers and Acquisition Industry for more than 15 years. Jon specializes in serving the Manufacturing, Distribution, Service, Medical, and Healthcare Industries. He has a keen understanding of the buying and selling process and is well versed in the industry handling a wide range of deal making activities for the firm and has assisted with numerous M&A transactions. Since 2012, Mr. Merry has been recognized as one of the GABB’s top five brokers for closed M&A transactions and is a former GABB board member. In addition, Mr. Merry has been a Certified Machinery/Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) with the National Equipment Business Builders Institute (NEBB Institute) since 2000 and became a Master CMEA in 2014. As a CMEA, he is intensively trained in the legal requirements involving USPAP standards, as well as the methodology approach employed in establishing fair market value, orderly liquation value, and forced liquation value in any market condition. Mr. Merry is a member of the International Business Broker Association (IBBA) and the International Society of Business Analysts (ISBA). A native of Georgia, Mr. Merry was a professional umpire for Minor League Baseball for 11 years. He and his wife, RaeLynda, and their two sons, Jacob and Joseph, live in historic Dahlonega, Ga.
JON ROMAN is the owner of Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Perimeter, an award-winning group of five agents, an office manager and a marketing sales specialist. For nearly 18 years, prior to Transworld, Mr. Roman had helped entrepreneurs to obtain funding when acquiring, selling or franchising businesses. He established, acquired, operated and sold his own businesses for more than 20 years. Mr. Roman is a former commercial banker with experience in a multitude of deals. Throughout his career, Jon financed mergers and acquisitions, business expansions, construction and development projects. He evaluated businesses, built and consolidated financial records and shared opinions regarding business plans, and/or exit strategies. Mr. Roman is a lifetime million-dollar member of the GABB and is currently serving as the group’s treasurer. Among other qualifications, Jon is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a (Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and a member of the Entrepreneur’s Organization. He lives in Lawrenceville with his wife, Laura, and his children Ryan and Emma.
KARL BARHAM is president of Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Peachtree – a global leader in business brokerage, franchise development, and franchise consulting. He has more than two decades of global business executive experience managing businesses, directing global marketing, sales and operations. He now advises business owners on business exit and acquisition strategies. Mr. Barham has an MBA from Emory University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University at Buffalo. He is the treasurer for the nonprofit organization Global Growers, which partners with people from diverse cultures who grow fresh food for their families and for local marketplaces, and volunteers with Start:Me, a free small business training program for entrepreneurs. He co-founded and co-hosts the Capitalist Sage Podcast in which entrepreneurs and business experts speak to the real world life of doing business. Karl resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two daughters.
PEDRO FERREIRA is a Business Advisor with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta, helping small and mid-size business owners exit their companies by selling their business to third parties confidentially. Pedro is committed to creating win-win deals by listening to the needs of all the parties involved, and providing the most comprehensive business sale process. Pedro has successfully sold business in several industries including Tech, Hospitality, Construction, Distribution, and Beauty. With a background in Business Journalism, Pedro has been a PR Director with the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce, and has published several business and economics articles in government and international media publications. A native of Brazil, Pedro speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish
Read MoreGABB Urges Support of Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers is supporting the proposed Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, which would greatly streamline the process for small business owners seeking forgiveness for the monies from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
The GABB urges its members and other business owners to sign a petition urging Congress to support this new act. If enacted, small business owners who received $150,000 or less in Payroll Protection Program (PPP) monies would need only to submit a one-page attestation form in order to receive forgiveness for the PPP monies. This attestation form would state that the business spent the PPP monies in accordance with the CARES Act and that it has followed the requirements for forgiveness of that loan. Further, it would prohibit any enforcement or other action against a lender relating to loan origination, forgiveness, or guarantee based on the lender’s reliance on certifications or documentation submitted by a loan applicant or recipient.
James Parker, chairman of Business Brokers of Florida, is spearheading an online petition to help persuade Congress to pass the act.
“We further propose that the PPP monies be forgiven immediately upon receipt of this one-page attestation form, thereby eliminating potentially problematic delays for small business transfers/acquisitions,” according to the petition. “Automatic forgiveness would greatly reduce paperwork and assist the smallest of the small businesses by providing much needed economic certainty during these trying pandemic and economic times.”
“Eliminating the uncertainty of delayed forgiveness is critical for small business owners who need to sell their businesses due to economic hardships, retirement, health, death and other issues.
“The U.S. economy is dependent to a great extent on our small business community,” according to Parker’s petition. “The welfare of small businesses affects every one of us directly or indirectly since small business makes up 50% of our GDP. It is vital that we support our local small business owners as well as the American economy as a whole.”
To sign the petition, please see this link.
Please see this link to contact your congressman and Georgia senators to urge their support of the Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act.
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Burnette to Lead Georgia’s Business Brokers in 2019
ATLANTA— Dean Burnette, founder of Best Business Brokers, will lead the Georgia Association of Business Brokers, the state’s only professional association of professionals who help in the sale and purchase of businesses and franchises, in 2019.
Other 2019 GABB officers are vice president, Judy Mims, Qualifying Broker for Childcare Properties, LLC, treasurer, Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors; and secretary, Nick Modares, President and Managing Broker of Business Brokers Inc./Atlanta Business Advisors.
Other board members are historian, Jeffery Merry, founder and owner of the Business House, inc. and Matthew Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. Michael Ramatowski, CBI, Managing Partner of RamBizGroup Business Solutions, was the GABB president in 2017 and 2018 and will remain on the board as the GABB’s past President. Kim Eells, Vice President and of SBA Lending at Renasant Bank, represents affiliate members on the GABB board.
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses and help them establish the sales price of their business, create marketing plans and strategies for the sale of their business, identify and qualify potential buyers, and work to protect the confidentiality of the entire process.
Dean Burnette is the founder of Best Business Brokers (B3) in Savannah. More than three decades of business ownership and management experience in various industries have given Dean a wide range of experience and business knowledge. These experiences contribute to his abilities to help identify and qualify appropriate buyers, put together sales prospectuses, negotiate terms of a sale, recognizing the importance of confidentiality in these types of business transactions. He has been a member of the GABB Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Club. Dean is excited about the many opportunities that the current economic conditions and recent economic events have created in Georgia. He is a sponsor of the Georgia Logistics Summit, a member and past president of the Savannah Small Business Chamber, also is a member of the Savannah CFO Council, Savannah Traffic Club, Savannah Real Estate Commercial Alliance, GAR, NAR, and serves on the Education Advisory Committee for the Georgia Real Estate Commission. He is married, has two children and four grandchildren.
Judy Mims formed Childcare Properties in 2014 to provide the highest levels of integrity, experience and service for the childcare industry in the greater Atlanta metro area. Childcare Properties, LLC focuses exclusively on the sale of childcare facilities, preschools, Montessori and private schools. She is an active member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (ACBR), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the Georgia Child Care Association (GCCA), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA). She is a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board Million Dollar Club with more than $5 million in sales in 2016 and 2018, and member of the GABB’s Multi-Million Dollar Club in 2017. Prior to her career in commercial real estate, Judy worked as an independent publisher’s representative, selling advertising space in various trade magazines. Judy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Scripps College, Claremont, CA. She is married to Hugh Mims, lives in Brookhaven, and has three grown children and seven grandchildren.
Nick Modares, President and Managing Broker of Business Brokers Inc./Atlanta Business Advisors, has owned and operated several retail, service, and distribution companies in his lifetime. Nick is also the managing broker for the Georgia branch of Gottesman Company, a Mergers & Acquisitions group based in Manhattan, New York. Along the way, he has accumulated enormous education, practical experience and insight into what it takes to start-up, own, operate, finance, merge, sell, and acquire privately held companies ranging in size from very small to multi-national, million dollar operations. Nick has a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management (MBA of Engineering) and continued education courses from the University of Evansville, Indiana, and Purdue University towards his PhD. Nick pursued an engineering and project management career for 20 years prior to joining Sunbelt Business Brokers in Atlanta in late 90’s as a broker for a few years before he established Business Brokers Inc. His community involvement includes serving as treasurer of Atlanta Sister Cities Commission under Atlanta City Hall Charter and he is current chairman of Atlanta-Bucharest sister city committee. He is a member of IBBA. Since 2006, Nick and his family are volunteers in the Adopt-A-Road program in Roswell. He and his family have lived in Roswell or Marietta, Ga. since 1990.
Jon Roman is the owner of Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Perimeter, the company that helps business owners either with the sale of their business, or with its expansion through franchising. He has been helping entrepreneurs for nearly 18 years to obtain funding when acquiring, selling or franchising businesses. He established, acquired, operated and sold his own businesses for over 20 years. Mr. Roman is a former commercial banker with experience in a multitude of deals. Throughout his career, Jon financed mergers and acquisitions, business expansions, construction and development projects. He evaluated businesses, built and consolidated financial records and shared opinions regarding business plans, and/or exit strategies. Jon is a multi-million-dollar member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB), and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of GBBA. Among other qualifications, Jon is a CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), as well as a member of the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). He lives in Gwinnett County with his wife and two children.
Matt Wochele CBI (Certified Business Intermediary) founded Preferred Business Brokers, Inc., in 1996 after a successful 17-year career in the investment banking industry. He is a life member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers Million Dollar Club, Phoenix Award recipient and a member of the International Business Brokers Association. As president and managing broker of Preferred he has had the opportunity to be personally involved in hundreds of private business sales. The combined personal experience in the public sector with the private business sales has positioned the company to handle both the smaller main street business deals and the larger middle market business acquisitions. Mr. Wochele volunteers with the Atlanta Mission and is a member of the Atlanta Rowing Club. On a personal note Matt and his wife Kathy, a professional artist, have been married thirty five years, live in Sandy Springs, and have five daughters, one granddaughter and one grandson.
Jeff Merry, past President of the GABB, has been the GABB’s top producer numerous times, and has been a part of the Million Dollar Club since its inception in 1999. Mr. Merry, owner and founder of THE BUSINESS HOUSE of Gainesville, is a member of the International Business Brokers Association and the Business Brokers of Florida. For more than two decades, his firm has specialized in serving the manufacturing, distribution, technology, service, veterinary and medical industries. As a business intermediary, Certified Exit Planner, and consultant, Mr. Merry has been involved in mergers and acquisitions that have ranged in acquisition price from $60,000 to more than $15 million. He is an adjunct instructor for the MBA program at North Georgia College. Mr. Merry holds a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University in Macon, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Edwardsville, and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School. Mr. Merry, a resident of Dahlonega, is a licensed real estate agent in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina; a senior business analyst, and a member of the Exit Planning Institute. He has three children and five grandchildren, and enjoys traveling, reading, and riding his motorcycle.
Michael Ramatowski, CBI, Managing Partner RamBizGroup Business Solutions, works with business owners, sellers and candidates for merger by acquisition from manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses. He has owned and managed businesses that included a real estate master franchise, a property management networking company, and a service business. As COO of a banking conglomerate he managed brokerage operations, title companies, home and service warranty programs, and a relocation company. Mr. Ramatowski has served on the board of directors of 12 different organizations with diverse specialties including real estate brokerage, mortgage companies, title insurance, banking, health care, fitness center operations, and office supply operations, providing marketing and organizational growth expertise. He served as an Electronic Specialist in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service. He attended Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace College. He has earned the Certified Business Intermediary professional designation by the International Business Brokers Association.
Kim Eells began her career in SBA lending in 1997. Kim is a SBA Business Development Officer and Vice President with Renasant Bank. She has worked for several banks in her career including a National PLP Lender, a Southeastern regional bank and three community banks. She is on the Board of the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle for 2019 where she previously served as Chair for two years. She is passionate about helping small business owners in their pursuit of starting, acquiring or expanding their businesses. Kim lives in Conyers with her husband of 12 years, Chris Eells, together they have four children and five grandchildren. Kim enjoys spending time with her family.
The GABB is composed of professionals who work with owners of Georgia businesses. Many of today’s business buyers are individuals who have decided not to re-enter corporate America, but are ready to control their own destiny by purchasing and operating a Georgia business. The GABB’s monthly meeting is at the Georgia Association of Realtors at 6065 Barfield Road, Sandy Springs, GA, 30328. For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President Dean Burnette at 912-247-3209 dean@b3brokers.com, or GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at 404-374-3990 or email diane@gabb.org.
Read MoreThirteen Georgia Business Brokers Achieve GABB 2018 Million Dollar Club
Thirteen members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) were named to the 2018 Million Dollar Club for helping broker the sale of more than $71 million worth of small, medium and large businesses.
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses in important and complicated transactions: the sale of their business. GABB members help owners determine the asking price of their business, create marketing plans and strategies for selling their business, identify and qualify buyers, and have the knowledge, experience and skills needed to help maintain the confidential nature of the process.
The top producer for 2018 was C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the GABB, Georgia’s professional association for business brokers,” said Mr. Chambless. “The GABB is a leader in helping small business owners sell their businesses, and I am proud to be a member.”
Business brokers who were among the top five with multi-million dollars in business sales for the year are Matt Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers.; J. Snypp, Vice President of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Steve Josovitz, Vice President of The Shumacher Group; and Greg DeFoor, founder and President of DeFoor Business Services
Business brokers with multi-million dollars in sales included Robin Gagnon, co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com; Jon Merry, a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE; Tim Greene, Business Broker and Consultant for DeFoor Business Services; Lisa Young, Business Broker at Transworld Business Advisors; Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors; and Jay Fenello, Business Broker and Intermediary with BizPlacements.com.
Other Million Dollar Club members are Richard S. Burgess, president and founder of Priority Business Acquisitions, Inc.; and Eric Gagnon, the president of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com.
Mr. Josovitz earned the GABB’s Phoenix Award for being a member of the Million Dollar Club for more than ten years. Mr. Roman was named a life member of the GABB Million Dollar Club for achieving more than a million dollars in sales for three consecutive years.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) is the state’s only professional organization dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises. The GABB’s website t lists hundreds of businesses and franchises for sale throughout Georgia in a variety of fields, including automotive, business services, child care, cleaning, construction, electronics equipment, fitness, flooring, floral, food, gas stations, landscaping, manufacturing, medical, shipping, restaurants, retail, security, signs, and businesses related to the internet.
According to GABB’s President Mike Ramatowski, selling a business is a complex process that business brokers help owners and sellers navigate.
“Buying or selling a business using a professional business broker is one of the best economic decisions a business owner will ever make,” said Ramatowski, who is president of Georgia Business Associates, Inc. “This was a great year for doing transactions, and no matter what the market does, owners and buyers will always get their best deal using a professional who is experienced in these transactions.
GABB broker members have represented thousands of business owners and buyers, and the group has a dedicated membership of lenders, attorneys and other professionals to assist business buyers and sellers at every step of the process.
The Awardees:
DAVID CHAMBLESS is the president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc. which provides integrated services to sellers (and buyers) of businesses with revenues of $5- to $30-million, with a focus on businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, technology, and services industries. A former GABB President, Mr. Chambless has earned the prestigious GABB Phoenix award for a decade of reaching the Multi-Million Dollar Club. Prior to Abraxas, he held various positions in sales, marketing, and executive roles in technology firms; as CFO for Aaron Rents as well as for private companies; and as a management consultant. Mr. Chambless has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. He is a certified public accountant (inactive). He is a longtime member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). Active in community work, he has served as a member of the Technology Association of Georgia board of directors and its executive committee and as the chairman of its Leadership Council, TAG-Finance and TAG-FinTech. Mr. Chambless has chaired the membership committee for the Atlanta chapter of Business Executives for National Security; is on the board of the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center; and on the Sporting Clays Tournament committee for the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He has been on the boards of the Grant Park Conservancy and the Southeast Atlanta Business Association, and is very involved in the All Saints’ Episcopal Church community. He served for 15 years on the board of The Samaritan House of Atlanta. He has served on the board of directors for the Resource Opportunity Center of Atlanta and is on the Advisory Council of 24/7 Gateway, a homeless-services center under the auspices of the United Way of Atlanta. Mr. Chambless, along with his last at-home son, maintains his family’s home in historic Grant Park while his wife works in Beijing, China, where she is a principal with Three W International.
Matt Wochele CBI (Certified Business Intermediary) founded Preferred Business Brokers, Inc., in 1996 after a successful 17-year career in the investment banking industry. He is a life member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers Million Dollar Club, Phoenix Award recipient and a member of the International Business Brokers Association. As president and managing broker of Preferred he has had the opportunity to be personally involved in hundreds of private business sales. The combined personal experience in the public sector with the private business sales has positioned the company to handle both the smaller main street business deals and the larger middle market business acquisitions. Mr. Wochele volunteers with the Atlanta Mission and is a member of the Atlanta Rowing Club. On a personal note Matt and his wife Kathy, a professional artist, have been married thirty five years, live in Sandy Springs, and have five daughters, one granddaughter and one grandson.
J. SNYPP III, a former GABB Board member and a life member of the Million Dollar Club, lives in Dunwoody, grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in marketing. Mr. Snypp spent more than two decades in the office furniture business before becoming a Business Broker and has been with Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. for more than 10 years. He has found success selling businesses in a variety of industries most recently selling multiple day care centers. He is president of the Dunwoody North Driving Club, a member of the Dunwoody High School Gridiron Club and chairman of the Wildcat Classic Golf Tournament which benefits the Dunwoody High football team. He is married and has two boys aged 14 and 19. Therefore, when he is not selling businesses he is usually coaching a football or baseball team, camping, canoeing, water skiing, scuba diving, shooting sports or involved in some other family activity.
STEVEN JOSOVITZ is vice president of The Shumacher Group, having joined the firm in 1992. As an Associate Real Estate Broker, he heads up the company’s restaurant business brokerage division in addition to providing commercial retail and restaurant real estate site selection, sales and lease negotiation expertise. A former restaurant owner and trained professional chef, Steven has an extensive background in restaurant and hotel management. He also offers consulting, appraisal services and has been retained by law firms for his expert opinion to help settle disputes. Mr. Josovitz earned a B.S. in Hotel/Restaurant Management from Florida International University in 1981 and has studied in Europe. Mr. Josovitz is a member of the Georgia Restaurant Association, Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB), International Council of Shopping Centers and the Retail Brokers Network. As a 26-year GABB member, Mr. Josovitz was awarded Life Member and The Phoenix Award and annually receives the Multi-Million Dollar Club Award and Top Five Award for business and restaurant brokerage sales in Georgia. Steven’s goals and thoughts are always “Make sure all parties – Buyers, Sellers and Landlords walk away from the closing table happy. Maintaining integrity and honesty along with professionalism and expertise is a must. The needs of your clients and those you work with must always come first before commission or personal gain.”
GREG DeFOOR is a business broker, a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. He became a business broker in 2002 after working in public accounting followed by private industry experience as an accounting and financial executive in the healthcare and retail automotive industries. While in private industry, he was involved in a number of business transactions and decided to use that knowledge and experience to start his own firm. He has a unique blend of audit, tax, accounting, corporate finance, business advisory and transaction experience to use for the benefit of his clients. He has an active Georgia real estate broker’s license. His firm specializes in the sale of small and middle-market privately owned businesses in a number of industrial classifications. Mr. DeFoor has an accounting degree from Auburn University and lives in Powder Springs.
ROBIN GAGNON is the Co-Founder of We Sell Restaurants and the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer. One of the most prolific restaurant brokers in the industry and a franchise resale specialist, she holds the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the International Business Brokers Association or IBBA and is an MBA. She is a writer and speaker who has addressed many groups nationwide She co-authored Appetite for Acquisition, the industry’s leading book on buying restaurants that received the prestigious “Best of ” award by Small Business Book Awards. Robin is a member of the International Franchise Association and serves on the Women’s Franchise Committee at the national level. She is also the Chair of the Women’s Franchise Network – Atlanta Chapter. Robin holds an undergraduate degree and an MBA where she graduated first in her class and was named “Outstanding MBA.” Robin is an emeritus member of the ASU Business Advisory Council. She is also a founding member of the ASU Entrepreneurship Board. Robin is a licensed real estate salesperson in both Georgia and Florida and member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB), the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF). Robin, along with her husband Eric teach the nation’s only Certified Restaurant Broker curriculum training and testing agents in the practice of restaurant brokerage.
JON MERRY is a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE of Gainesville. Mr. Merry has been in the Business Mergers and Acquisition Industry for more than 10 years. Jon specializes in serving the Manufacturing, Distribution, Service, Medical, and Health Care Industries. He a keen understanding for the buying and selling process, and is well versed in the industry handling a wide range of deal making activities for the firm and has assisted with numerous M&A transactions. Since 2012, Mr. Merry has been recognized as one of the GABB’s top five brokers for closed M&A transactions and is a former GABB board member. In addition, Mr. Merry has been a Certified Machinery/Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) with the National Equipment Business Builders Institute (NEBB Institute) since 2000, and became a Master CMEA in 2014. As a CMEA, he is intensively trained in the legal requirements involving USPAP standards, as well as the methodology approach employed in establishing fair market value, orderly liquation value, and forced liquation value in any market condition. Mr. Merry is a member of the International Business Broker Association (IBBA) and the International Society of Business Analysts (ISBA). A native of Georgia, Mr. Merry was a professional umpire for Minor League Baseball for 11 years. He and his wife, RaeLynda, and their two sons, Jacob and Joseph, live in historic Dahlonega, Ga.
TIM GREENE is a Business Broker and Consultant for DeFoor Business Services and specializes in the evaluation, marketing, sale and acquisition of businesses in a variety of classifications. His technical expertise, analytical background, and experience owning businesses enable him to provide professional services to buyers and sellers of many types of businesses. His areas of expertise include businesses engaged in document shredding/management, carpet/flooring, construction and engineering. Tim has provided consulting advice on over 30 document management related business transactions over the past 5 years for his clients and is well known in the industry. He is very active as a Business Broker and has transactional experience with a variety of business types including asphalt paving, concrete construction, landscaping, HVAC, carpet and flooring and hardware stores. As a licensed Business Broker and Consultant and through proven web sites and connections, he has global access to buyers and sellers. Mr. Greene has a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Ohio Northern University in 1979. He began his employment with Marathon Oil Company in Findlay, Ohio. After a number of promotions and transfers he settled in Atlanta, Georgia. Following his entrepreneurial drive he purchased part ownership in an industrial company providing services to the oil, paper and power industries. That company was a fast growing organization that grew primarily through acquisition of existing operating companies.In 1999, Tim purchased a concrete services business and grew sales volumes, later adding a significant volume of asphalt paving. He sold that profitable business in 2007 and is now utilizing his knowledge and expertise to assist sellers and buyers of businesses. Mr. Greene lives in the West Cobb area of Acworth, with his wife, Sharon. His two children attended Harrison High School and are now adults.
LISA YOUNG is a business broker with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta, working in the Dunwoody office. Ms. Young graduated from Georgia Military Prep School and Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville where she received a Bachelors in Business Administration with a major in Information Systems. She has worked in the real estate industry since 2000 as well as owning a couple of small businesses before joining Transworld. She enjoys gardening, swimming, boating, golf and volunteer work with organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and Lake Oconee Church. She has two grown sons, one grandson and she splits time between Marietta and Lake Oconee.
JON ROMAN is a business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors and a member of the GABB board. After 18 years of various business ownerships, including startups, established or franchised ventures and a full-time career as a commercial banker, he founded the local Transworld Business Advisors office in
Atlanta. His experience includes mergers and acquisition of privately owned companies with revenues of up to $30 million. His team includes buyer and seller agents, franchise consultants and business evaluation specialists. Mr. Roman is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a member of the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG), of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Transworld Business Advisors has more than 400 brokers and more than 150 offices worldwide.
ERIC GAGNON is the President and founder of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com, ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as the nation’s fifth largest business brokerage franchise and the largest focused on the restaurant industry. An expert in restaurant sales and valuation, he is a frequent speaker, writer and radio personality for the industry. Mr. Gagnon is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award winning book on buying restaurants. He is past President of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers, has been named to the GABB Million Dollar Club many times, has received the GABB Lifetime Million Dollar Club Award and received the prestigious GABB Phoenix award for a decade of reaching those milestones. Business Brokerage Press first designated Mr. Gagnon as an Industry Expert over a decade ago. In addition to GABB, Eric is a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), the International Franchise Association (IFA), and the Southeast Franchise Forum (SEFF) where he serves on the Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF). Mr. Gagnon is licensed as a broker in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
RICHARD S. BURGESS is owner and founder of Priority Business Acquisitions, Inc. (PBA) which uses a Christ-centered, straightforward, successful approach to its Mergers and Acquisitions services. Mr. Burgess is also the treasurer of the GABB. He has more than 20 years of successful M & A and real estate experience, is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Georgia, and can handle the sale, acquisition and financing of privately held companies and real estate. Mr. Burgess understands that choosing the right intermediary to help you accomplish your goals can be a difficult and anxious experience. His goal is to make the process as smooth and rewarding as possible through clear communication and attention to clients’ objectives. He is a resident of Lawrenceville, GA, attends Christ The Lord Lutheran church, and also owns Priority Real Estate Services, LLC to handle exclusive real estate deals.
JAY FENELLO is the founder of BizPlacements.com, a Business Brokerage website dedicated to helping people buy and sell small businesses and franchises, especially owner-operated companies. Jay started his career as a computer engineer for IBM in Boca Raton, Fla., where he worked on a new product called the IBM PC. Soon after, he returned to school where he earned an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona, one of the top programs in the nation. He first started in business brokerage in 1995, and has since worked for several firms, including one of the largest M&A firms in the country. Jay is a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and the Georgia Association of Business Brokers, where he has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top brokers in the state. He resides in Woodstock.
Read MoreHicks, Jay Named Life Members of the GABB
ATLANTA— Henry Hicks, chairman and CEO of Georgia Business Associates, Inc., and Charles Jay, founder and owner of Jay & Associates, LLC of Macon, have been named life members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. The association’s board honored the two longtime members for their decades of service to the GABB, the state’s only professional association of professionals who help in the sale and purchase of businesses and franchises.
Both Mr. Hicks and Mr. Jay helped pioneer the profession of business brokering in Georgia. Henry Hicks, CBI, BCB, M&AMI, Fellow of the IBBA is a former president of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and a former treasurer and director of the GABB board. Mr. Jay is a former president of the GABB and is one of the first five individuals in Georgia to be awarded the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation by the IBBA.
The GABB is composed of professionals who work with owners of Georgia businesses. Many of today’s business buyers are individuals who have decided not to re-enter corporate America, but are ready to control their own destiny by purchasing and operating a Georgia business.
Mr. Hicks has represented sellers and buyers since 1992. His merger and acquisition activities include manufacturing, distribution, and service companies. Successful M&A representations include design/construction firms, business to business distribution, industrial services, temporary placement firms for professionals, food service, and insurance industry services.
Mr. Hicks is an active member of the International Business Brokers Association, which he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Treasurer, and Director. His activities in the IBBA have included Chair of Finance, Chair of Membership, Chair of Government Affairs, and Chair of Publications where he served as Editor of the IBBA News. He has been awarded the professional designation of Lifetime Certified Business Intermediary by the IBBA, recognized for his services to IBBA by being named Fellow of the IBBA, and received the Chairman’s Award. Mr. Hicks currently serves as on the Board of Directors of the Business Intermediary Education Foundation, Inc.
Mr. Hicks has been recognized as a member of the Million Dollar Club of GABB. He was instrumental in the establishment of the GABB multiple listing service that supports co-brokerage and provides greater exposure to available listings and in the establishment of the Business Brokerage Management System. He is a member of the Atlanta Board of Commercial Realtors.
Mr. Hicks has been a CPA in public practice with KPMG Peat Marwick. His clients included an array of manufacturing, distribution, and service organizations. He is a member of AICPA and NC Association of CPAs. He has served as financial officer for an information technology firm and a real estate developer of in-town high-rise mixed use properties. He has served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of a North Carolina savings bank, which he took public with an IPO in the mid-eighties. Mr. Hicks received his undergraduate degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters degree in business from Georgia State University.
He is a member of the Rotary Club of Roswell where he has served as Chair of the Charity Committee. He has served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Child Development Association of North Fulton, a non-profit organization providing child care services for one hundred forty disadvantaged children. Mr. Hicks has served as a board member of the Georgia Ensemble Theater in Roswell. He served as Treasurer and as a member of Board of Directors of the Chattahoochee Nature Center. He has served on the Planning and Zoning Committee of the City of Roswell. He has been Elder, Deacon, and Treasurer of the Roswell Presbyterian Church. He is a former member and Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Rocky Mount, NC. He was recognized as Jaycee of the Year by the Roswell Jaycees and Boss of the Year by the Rocky Mount Professional Woman’s Club.
Mr. Jay is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) based in Macon, Georgia. His company, founded in 1984, works closely with select clients in investments, commercial real estate, insurance, and business acquisitions throughout the State of Georgia.
Mr. Jay is active in both the IBBA and GABB. Through Jay’s affiliation with the GABB, he earned the professional designation of Board Certified Broker (BCB). His CBI and BCB designations show the business community the extra steps and commitment that are synonymous with total professionalism. It denotes a combination of experience and education only a small percentage of business brokers have attained.
Jay has received the GABB Phoenix Million Dollar Club Award, GABB Lifetime Achievement Award and is a Life Member of the GABB Million Dollar Club.
His community activities including serving as a Mercer University Trustee, President of a Financial Institution for 20 years and Chairman of the Board, President or Board member of more than 30 different business, civic or religious organizations in his community and state.
In 1998 Jay & Associates received the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. This award recognizes and encourages ethical business practices and the recipient must be a company committed to high standards of behavior in buyer and seller relationships.
Mr. Jay’s extensive list of community accolades includes the United Way of Central Georgia J. Clay Murphey Society Award, the Man of the Year in Macon-Bibb County, Outstanding Georgia Citizen Award, the Service to Mankind Award, the Golden Deeds Award, one of Five Outstanding Young Men of Georgia, the Cherry Blossom Hall of Fame and the Stratford Academy Hall of Fame.
The GABB’s monthly meeting is at the Atlanta Realtors Center at 5784 Lake Forrest Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30328. For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President Mike Ramatowski at 770-634-0428 or rambizgroup@bellsouth.net call Diane Loupe at 404-374-3990 or email director@gabb.org.
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