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Twenty-two Georgia Business Brokers Achieve GABB 2019 Million Dollar Club

Twenty-two members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) were named to the 2019 Million Dollar Club for helping broker the sale of more than $57 million worth of small, medium and large businesses.

The GABB Million Dollar Club Awards is a program that spotlights industry sales professionals recognizing 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 2019 was GABB Vice President Judy Mims, Qualifying Broker for Childcare Properties, LLC, who specializes in selling child-care businesses.  

“I’d like to thank the entire team of Childcare Properties for the fantastic job they do and the GABB, Georgia’s professional association for business brokers,” Ms. Mims said. “The GABB is working hard to increase the level of professionalism of our profession and I am proud to be a part of that effort.”

Business brokers who were among the top seven brokers with multi-million dollars in business sales for the year are Tim Greene, a Business Broker and Consultant for DeFoor Business Services; Steve Weinbaum, a Certified Restaurant Broker with We Sell Restaurants; C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc.; Brad Coffman, managing director of PHP Business Brokers; and Robin Gagnon, co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com; and Matt Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers.

Other top-selling business brokers with multi-million dollars in sales included: Steve Josovitz, Vice President of The Shumacher Group; J. Snypp, Vice President of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Jon Merry, a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE; Lisa Young, Business Broker at Transworld Business Advisors; Mannie Maddox, a business broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers; Eric Gagnon, the president of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com; Loren Marc Schmerler, President and Founder of Bottom Line Management, Inc.; and Nick Modares, GABB secretary and president and managing broker of Business Brokers Inc./Atlanta Business Advisors.

Mr. Modares was honored as a life member of the Million Dollar Club for achieving more than a million dollars in sales for three consecutive years.

Other leading business brokers in the Million Dollar Club included Greg DeFoor, founder and President of DeFoor Business Services; Pedro Ferreira, a business advisor with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta; David Still, the founder, designated business broker and lead business appraiser of Capital Endeavors, Inc.; Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors; Keith Turner, a business broker with Best Business Brokers; GABB President Dean Burnette, the founder of Best Business Brokers, and Brian Judson, a business broker with Best Business Brokers.

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.

“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:

JUDY MIMS Qualifying Broker for Childcare Properties, is the vice president of GABB for 2019 and 2020. Ms. 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 and 2018. 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, Calif. She is married to Hugh Mims, lives in Brookhaven, and has three grown children and seven grandchildren.

TIM GREENE is a Business Broker and Consultant for DeFoor Business Services and specializes in the evaluation, marketing, sale and acquisition of businesses. 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, asphalt paving, concrete construction, landscaping, HVAC, and hardware stores. During the past five years, Tim has provided consulting advice on more than 30 document management related business transactions and is well known in the industry. 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 several 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 using 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.

STEVE WEINBAUM of We Sell Restaurants is a licensed real estate salesperson in Georgia and Florida and has been a Certified Restaurant Broker for more than four years with the ability to sell restaurants throughout the United States. He graduated from SUNY Albany and has over 30 years of experience in business analysis, marketing, sales, relationship management and contract negotiations. He is a member of the GRA, GABB and BBF. Steve can quickly and accurately review and evaluate financial data. This skill enables him to provide sound valuation feedback and business guidance. His years of experience negotiating complex business-to-business contracts translates to high closing rates. Steve has experience with Casual Dining and Quick Serve Franchise brands, growing both sales and customer engagement. As a Certified Restaurant Broker, Steve is closing an average of two businesses per month and is skilled in complex lease negotiations. His success is highlighted by the personal attention he devotes to each client.

C. 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; he 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 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 an educational executive with Three W International.

BRAD COFFMAN, CFC (Certified Franchise Consultant), BTS (Business Transfer Specialist), President and Managing Director of PHP Business Brokers has more than 15 years of experience in starting and growing businesses. Brad is an entrepreneur establishing his first startup company at the age of 20 which grew to a multi-million-dollar company with more than 30 employees within the first two years. Mr. Coffman’s diverse background as a founder and CEO of multiple businesses include, commercial real estate, commercial relocation services, mergers and acquisitions, restaurants and more. He is a member of the International Franchise Professionals Group, Business Brokers of Florida, and the International Business Brokerage Association. Brad has won awards for 2016 and 2017 Top Ten Business Brokerage Office in South Florida. Brad resides in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with his wife and one-year old son.

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. A Certified Franchise Executive, she is one of the most prolific Restaurant Brokers in the industry and is a specialist in franchise resales. In addition, she has completed study, testing and experience requirements by the International Business Brokers Association to be awarded the credential of Certified Business Intermediary or CBI. Robin is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award winning book for restaurant buyers. She serves on the Women’s Franchise Committee of the IFA and is past chair of the Women’s Franchise Network Atlanta and current member of its Executive Board. Robin holds an MBA and graduated first in her class where she was named “Outstanding MBA” from her business school.  She is a lifetime emeritus member of WHOSE Business Advisory Council and founding member of the Entrepreneurship Board. Robin is a licensed real estate salesperson in both Georgia and Florida and member of the Business Brokers of Florida and the GABB. She has been named a National Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press in Franchise Resales. She teaches the only Certified Restaurant Broker training offered nationwide as part of the We Sell Restaurants franchise brand.

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, membership chairman 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, and have five daughters, one granddaughter and one grandson.

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 27-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.

J. SNYPP III, a former GABB Board member, 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 13 years. 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 football team. He is also on the board of the Dunwoody High School Tip Off Club. He is married and has two sons aged 16 and 21. 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.

JON MERRY, a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE of Gainesville, 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 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.

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 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. 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, two grandchildren and she splits her time between Marietta and Lake Oconee.

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. 

ERIC GAGNON is the founder and President of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com. Eric is an industry expert in restaurant sales and holds the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the International Business Brokerage Association (IBBA).  A frequent writer and speaker in the restaurant industry, Eric co-authored Appetite for Acquisition, an award-winning book on buying restaurants. Eric was named a Fellow of the IBBA in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the business brokerage industry and was a recipient of the Outstanding Producer Award given by the International Business Brokers Association for multiple years. Eric began his career in the financial services industry for Bank of America, Bank of New York and big five accounting firm, KPMG before launching the nation’s premiere restaurant brokerage firm and restaurant brokerage franchise nearly two decades ago. He oversees the development and training of Restaurant Brokers nationwide and has created the industry’s only Certified Restaurant Broker coursework and testing program. Mr. Gagnon is a past GABB president, a Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Club and received the GABB Phoenix Award, presented to a select few who have received the Million Dollar Award for more than a decade.  He is also a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF). 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 has also been designated a Business Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press.

Loren Marc Schmerler, CPC, APC is President and Founder of Bottom Line Management, Inc., an Atlanta-based business brokerage and consulting firm. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the prestigious Boston University School of Management and recipient of the Harold C. Case Scholarship for Academic Excellence, he holds an MBA with Honors from Georgia State University. Prior to entering the business brokerage and consulting field, he served as Chief Financial Officer or Controller for several firms ranging from start-up to Fortune 500 subsidiary. Mr. Schmerler is a Certified Professional Consultant with experience in over 200 industries and types of businesses and has helped thousands of business owners in his career. He was a 1998 national business seminar presenter for STAPLES, the world’s largest office products chain. Loren was INC. Magazine’s Cash Flow and Negotiation expert for INC. World EXPOs in 1994 and a speaker for that publication’s “Growing the Company” conference in 1991 and 1992. Mr. Schmerler is a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA).

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.  

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 several 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 several industrial classifications. Mr. DeFoor has an accounting degree from Auburn University and lives in Powder Springs.

PEDRO FERREIRA is a Business Advisor with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta. Transworld Business Advisor is the world’s largest business brokerage franchise with more than a billion dollars in cumulative listings. 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. He lives in Grant Park and attends Passion City Church.

DAVID STILL is the founder, designated business broker and lead business appraiser of Capital Endeavors, Inc. located in Lawrenceville, Ga. David graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration. As an M&AMI and CBI, David has achieved the highest level of recognition possible from the International Business Brokers Association and the M&A Source. Furthermore, as a former co-owner and publisher of the Gwinnett Post-Tribune newspaper, he is familiar firsthand with what a business owner goes through during the sale of a business–both financially and emotionally. As a business appraiser, David focuses on privately owned corporations, family businesses, and partnerships that are looking to clarify their growth strategies and estate planning through planned exit strategies for the future. David specializes in the mergers and acquisitions of privately held companies with gross sales of between $1,000,000 and $50,000,000. In 2020, he will be the mayor of Lawrenceville.

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, his children Ryan and Emma.

KEITH TURNER joined the B3 Brokerage Team (Best Business Brokers) in Savannah in 2017 as a licensed Business Broker. He holds a Real Estate License in Georgia, is a member of the Savannah Area Realtors (SAR), and the Real Estate Commercial Alliance (RCA). Keith was the Vice President of Armor Metals, a small manufacturing plant in Savannah. In 1995 he and his brother-in-law, Kevin Stanford, started Savannah Tank, another manufacturing plant that was eventually sold in 2013. Keith is active in local business groups and organizations including BNI’s, The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Effingham Chamber of Commerce, and Savannah Small Business Chamber. Mr. Turner is a graduate of Georgia Southern University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Keith is an active volunteer with United Way, LIFE of Savannah, GAP Ministry and GLOW Ministries in Effingham County, and he has supported many foreign and local mission trips. He lives in Rincon, Ga., with his wife of 35 years, Wendy Johnson Turner, and they have two daughters and six grandchildren. Keith’s hobbies include being a numismatist, a coin and currency dealer.

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.

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.

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Slappey leads 18 Business Brokers in GABB’s 2017 Million Dollar Club

Eighteen members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) were named to the 2017 Million Dollar Clubs for helping to broker the sale of small-, medium-sized and large businesses worth more than $91 million in 2017.

GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses in extremely important 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 and skills needed to help maintain the confidential nature of the process.

The top producer for 2017 was Matt Slappey, the owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation.

“This is great time to sell a business given all of the capital seeking businesses to acquire and the potential tax reductions on the horizon,” said Slappey. “It is a great honor to serve my clients and my referral partners. These transactions can be life-changing events, and I appreciate their placing their trust in me.”

Business brokers who were among the top five with multi-million dollars in business sales for the year are C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc.; Jeffery Merry, owner and founder of THE BUSINESS HOUSE; Patrick Harkins, President of Anchor Business Advisors, Inc.; and Steve Josovitz, vice president of The Shumacher Group.

Business brokers with multi-million dollars in sales included David Still, founder, designated business broker, and lead business appraiser of Capital Endeavors, Inc.; Dru Pio, CBI of Professional Business Intermediaries; Matt Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Art Lennig, a business broker with Murphy Business & Financial Corporation;  Jon Merry, a senior business broker with THE BUSINESS HOUSE; Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors; J. Snypp, Vice President of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Pedro Ferreira, a business broker with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta; and Eric Gagnon, the president of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com. Mr. Chambless and Mr. Still were both awarded the GABB’s Phoenix Award for being a member of the Million Dollar Club for more than ten years.

Other Million Dollar Club members are  Richard Burgess, owner and founder of Priority Business Acquisitions, Inc.; Paul Cushman, founder and managing partner of Cushman & Associates, LLC;  Dominique Maddox, a certified restaurant broker with We Sell Restaurants; and Judy Mims, the Qualifying Broker for Childcare Properties, LLC.

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 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:

GABB Lifetime Multi-Million Dollar Club Member and 2013 GABB President MATT SLAPPEY is the owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation. Mr. Slappey was awarded the #1 M&A Advisor for 2014 and 2016, out of more than 200 brokers. Matt has extensive experience on transactions typically in the $1 million-$50 million EBITDA range (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).  Mr. Slappey, a native of Decatur/DeKalb County, has earned the Mergers and Acquisitions Master Intermediary (M&AMI) and Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designations, and he also completed the Kennesaw State University Coles College of Business “Certified M&A Professional” program. He holds degrees in accounting, economics and business from Presbyterian College and has 12 years of experience in management for a Fortune-100 healthcare company. Mr. Slappey’s attributes of maturity, respect, and honor were developed and honed during seven years as an officer in the U.S. Army. His strong technical skills allowed him to obtain the rare combination of duties as both a military intelligence officer and a pilot with the dual qualifications for both rotary and fixed wing aircraft. Mr. Slappey piloted more than 100 missions and 500 flight hours during Top Secret missions.  He is an active member of Passion City Church, the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and M&A Source, and the Hall County Chamber of Commerce and enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters, playing music, and enjoying the great outdoors.

C. 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 maintains his family’s home in historic Grant Park while his wife and son spend several years in Guangzhou, China, where she leads an educational joint venture for Georgia State University.

JEFFERY E. MERRY, SR 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. He is currently a GABB board member and will remain on the board in 2018. 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.

PATRICK HARKINS, a CPA, is the President and CEO of Anchor Business Advisors of Atlanta, Georgia and resides in Marietta, Ga. He graduated with a major in Accounting Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame, was awarded his CPA Certificate from the University of Illinois and received his Master’s Degree in Business Administration with Distinction from DePaul University in Chicago. A former GABB president and board member, Mr. Harkins has been active in the Merger & Acquisition Field all of his working life. After working for six years in a large international CPA firm involved in large M&A transactions, he served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for three different companies. Twenty years ago he started Anchor Business Advisors serving the interests of entrepreneurs in the Southeast.  Patrick has served on a number of Board of Directors in both the private and charitable sectors. He is on the Board of Directors of Enervex, Inc., an international manufacturer and supplier of completely integrated venting solutions.

 

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 backgroundin 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 25-year GABB member, Mr. Josovitz has attained Life Member-GABB Million Dollar Club status for business and restaurant brokerage sales in Georgia. Steven’s goals and thoughts are always “Making 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.”

GABB Lifetime Multi-Million Dollar Club Member and former GABB President DAVID R. STILL is the founder, designated business broker, and lead business appraiser of Capital Endeavors, Inc., established in 1995 and located in Lawrenceville, Ga.  He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia. As a Certified Business Intermediary, he specializes in the mergers and acquisitions of privately held companies with gross sales between $1 million and $50 million. Mr. Still was a co-owner and publisher of the Gwinnett Post-Tribune newspaper. Mr. Still received the GABB Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and the Phoenix Award in 2017. He is a member of the Lawrenceville City Council and of the Downtown Development Authority of the City of Lawrenceville and active in multiple non-profit organizations.  He is married and has two grown children, one daughter-in- law and two grandchildren.

 

DRU PIO CBI has more than 25 years of experience in Entrepreneurship, Mergers and Acquisitions and Operations Consulting. In addition to a role in the initial public offering of several small businesses early in his career, he has spent a decade creating and restructuring businesses and executing Mergers and Acquisitions in main street corporate America across multiple industries. Mr. Pio served as Chief Operating Officer of more than 600 franchise units and successfully brokered deals with one of largest retailers in the world.  Mr. Pio received his degree from the University of Richmond and currently holds his Certified Business Intermediary accreditation from the IBBA.  He currently holds real estate licenses in Georgia and Florida and actively services buyers and sellers in both states. Mr. Pio lives in Atlanta and Palm Beach, Fla.

 

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 and one granddaughter.

ART LENNIG, a business broker with Murphy Business & Financial Corporation,  has 25 years of experience from running his own company and is a Life Member of GABB’s Million Dollar Club.  He is a past GABB president, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Lennig is a member of International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) which awarded him the  prestigious Certified Business Intermediary (CBI®) designation. He earned the Senior Business Analyst Award from the Society of Business Analysts in 2003. Mr. Lennig has earned the Board Certified Intermediary (BCI) and Certified Merger and Acquisition Intermediary (CMAI) awards from Murphy Business & Financial Corporation. Mr. Lennig earned a B.S. in Marketing from the  University of Evansville and lives in Acworth, Ga. He enjoys working with buyers and sellers to help them accomplish their goals and dreams.

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.

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.

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.

PEDRO FERREIRA  is Business Broker with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta. As a broker, his mission is to structure confidential win-win deals ranging from $0 to $50 million. Before he was a business broker, Mr. Ferreira worked as a Public Relations Executive, International Journalist, Christian Program Coordinator, musician and actor. A graduate from Georgia State University, he specialized in Rhetoric and Public Relations. A native of Brazil, Mr. Ferreira has lived in the state of Georgia for most of his life. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and is currently learning French. He is also assistant director of development for a non-profit called Peacebuilding Solutions, and is an Artistic Associate for Pinch ‘n’ Ouch Theatre. Currently, he lives in Cabbagetown with his wife, Sara.

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 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.

PAUL CUSHMAN is the founder and managing partner of Cushman & Associates, LLC. He is also the CEO of CM Payroll & Business Services, founded in 2001; the founder and managing partner of Lawnscapes of Georgia, LLC, a landscaping firm; the broker for John Hunsinger Inc., a Commercial Real Estate firm, and is the General Manager of CM Properties, a property management firm. He is a disabled veteran of the U.S. Air Force.  He holds a BSEE and Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he also played collegiate basketball and soccer.  A member of the GABB Board of Directors, Mr. Cushman, is also a member of the Commercial Board of Realtors, and he is a Certified Business Intermediary and a member of the IBBA.  He is also a choir member at First Redeemer Church in Cumming, Ga.

 

 

DOMINIQUE MADDOX of We Sell Restaurants has worked in mortgage financing, real estate, business to business sales, and restaurant brokerage sales. Dominique received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management from Morehouse College, which he attended on a football scholarship, and brings that same competitive spirit and energy to the field of restaurant brokerage. Dominique was named the recipient of the GABB “Rookie of the Year” in 2011, and served on the GABB board of directors in 2011 and 2012.  Dominique has earned the Certified Restaurant Broker designation and is enrolled in the Certified Franchise Executives Program endorsed by the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives (ICFE). He lives in Johns Creek, Ga.

JUDY J. MIMS is the Qualifying Broker for Childcare Properties, LLC.  She 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 school. Ms. Mims received her real estate license in 2004 and her Broker’s license in 2011.  She is an active member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (ACBR), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB), the Georgia Child Care Association (GCCA), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA).  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Scripps College, Claremont, Calif. She resides in Brookhaven.

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GABB Donates Toys, Other Items To Foster Care Support Foundation

The Georgia Association of Business Brokers donated a carload of toys, diapers and other items to the Foster Care Support Foundation (FCSF).

GABB members donated the items at the association’s annual holiday dinner on Dec. 6.

FCSF serves a vital and growing need throughout Georgia by providing free clothing, infant equipment and developmental toys to thousands of children in foster and relative care. The foundation serves basic-care (costs reimbursed less than $25 per day) foster children residing in Georgia’s foster homes, administered by the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and children housed by private agencies.

The foundation also serves grandparents raising grandchildren and parents caring for relative’s children for a limited time. The group partners with Georgia’s DFCS for child referral, verification, foster parent recruiting, and foster parent training. The Foster Care Support Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

The FCSF needs in-kind goods of new, like new and gently used items such as:

• Clothing sizes preemie to adult, especially boys pants and shoes
• Toys in excellent condition, if not new. (see below for specific needs)
• Safe and clean infant care equipment.

These are crucial to maintaining a clean safe and nurturing environment for the children.

General Items

• Batteries – AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt
• Ball pumps
• Chalk board erasers
• Washable ink stamp pads
• Plastic containers with lids approximately 14″ L x 8″ W x 6″ D
• Heavy plastic bags that held comforters, blankets, sheets, etc.
• Bike Helmets

Infant Toddler Toys

• Rattles
• Crib and Stroller Attachables
• Stackables
• Shape Sorters
• Pop Pop Push toys
• Pull toys
• Electronic learning toys
• Toddler ride-ons
• Soft baby Books
• Plush for 2 and under-no eyes that can be bitten off
• Bath tub toys
• Board Books for ages 2 and under
• General toys for ages 0 – 3 years

General Toys (please make sure all parts and pieces are included)

• Puzzles 100 – 500 (please make sure the picture of the puzzle is of interest to the appropriate age)
• DVD’s rated G, PG or PG-13
• Board games and card games for ages 8-12

Toys for Girls

• Tea sets
• 18 – 22 inch dolls for girls ages 8 and up (American girl, Battat & accessories, Caucasian and African American)
• Doll blankets, bottles, strollers and high chairs
• Play makeup and jewelry sets
• Easy Bake oven and accessories
• Legos for girls age 4 and up
• Hula Hoops

Toys for Boys

• Boys Small train sets 3-5
• Crafts for boys ages 6 and up
• K’nex and Legos building sets for all ages
• Remote control cars for ages 7 and up (small to medium size)
• Nerf guns
• Hot Wheels/Matchbox racing sets (not just cars)
• Action figures – men not women
• Model car kits
• Science kits
• Balls – basket, football (all sizes), soccer (size 3)

Teen Items

• Lip gloss
• Nail polish
• Bath and body sets
• Makeup sets
• Shampoo, cream rinse
• Body wash
• Deodorant
• Jewelry
• Billfolds for boys
• Diaries/journals
• Electronic games
• Playing cards
• Darts

Items not needed can be sold at the Fostering Hope Bargain Resale Shop(open to the public) to help support our program costs for 3000 children each year.

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