Becoming a CCIM
We are Officially a Team of CCIMs!
Brian Sorrentino, CCIM - Pinned in 2010
To start with, I’m an information junkie. I also love jigsaw puzzles. Real estate is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. There are a bunch of puzzle pieces on the board, but you need to know how to assemble them to complete the picture. When I first started as a broker, I was fortunate enough to be in a great firm and hit the ground running. The problem was there was lots of information missing from the board and while I could complete the pictures, I wasn’t so sure that I didn’t squish some of the pieces into place to make them fit! I was starving for more information that would help ensure that I was putting the right pieces in the right places. I then saw a flyer and signed up for a CCIM intro class. I was blown away by all of the puzzle pieces it revealed. I was hooked and completed my CCIM, served on our chapters Board of Directors, and eventually was lucky enough to serve as chapter president. My education, experience, and relationships as a CCIM has opened countless doors and given me the foundation for credibility that just weren’t there prior to the knowledge it provided. I am also so proud that my partners Angelica and Isabella both finished their CCIM journey’s this past year. They are also a heck of a lot better at their jobs now too, which makes all our lives that much easier!
Angelica Clemmer, CCIM - Pinned in 2020
My journey to the pin started in 2013 when I joined the Southern Nevada CCIM Chapter. I had been the receptionist at my old firm for the past 4 years and wanted the brokerage community to take me seriously as a new broker. Signed up for a CCIM Intro class that gave me a good amount of lingo to be able to pretend to know what I was talking about on conference calls and in negotiations. I’m kidding, I had a few really great mentors who helped me along the way as well. One of them being my now partner, Brian Sorrentino. I started working with Brian in 2014 and he had been the Southern Nevada CCIM Chapter President the year before. The pressure was officially on. Brian continued to encourage me to take classes and earn my designation. However, I am as stubborn as they come, and I waited 5 years. I decided in 2019, my busiest year yet in my career that I would start pursing my designation. I had the portfolio requirement and took two classes that year and two more in 2020. Luckily, Isabella had taken a couple of the same classes with me and we were able to phone a CCIM friend for assistance when Capital Accumulation didn’t make sense. Thank you Soozi! On November 16th, 2020, I tested in Anaheim, CA and to my surprise, I passed. Through my involvement with the SNCCIM I have sat on various committees and have been able to build incredible relationships and friendships. One of those friends being Bobbi Miracle, who was my test proctor and was able to pin me! The networking and the tools that are provided are helpful and worth the class costs alone. In my opinion, you get the most bang for your buck on the change of perspective that it teaches you on how to view a transaction. If you are on the fence, do it! At the very least, do it for the 4 letters that will forever follow your name.
Isabella Sorrentino, CCIM - Pinned in 2021
When I first started at ROI Commercial Real Estate, I was so overwhelmed with grasping the concept of real estate and learning more about how the deals worked. In my office I worked with Brian Sorrentino, Angelica Clemmer, Jennifer Ott, and Robin Civish daily, who all have their CCIM designations, and I quickly learned that it has helped set them apart from others in the business. The skills that they used daily and the creativity behind their work is derived from CCIM. I realized that I too wanted to be a CCIM.I first started my journey by going to lunches and getting to know the other Southern Nevada chapter members. The lunches are a fun way to learn about the local market and have also made it possible for me to get to know more people in the industry. The next step was to get more involved, so I decided to join our local chapter’s Wine Committee, which I am now in charge of running the Annual Chapter Event that raises tens of thousands of dollars each year for local charities. It has been an absolute joy being a member of this chapter and I believe that being involved in an organization like SNV CCIM has not only benefited myself but also my clients. I have made a ton of connections with my peers and even some new friends. The courses required for the designation provide business professionals the tools and the ability to set themselves up for success. There is extreme value in having knowledge in the financial and investment aspects in Commercial Real Estate in both my profession and for me personally. It has been such an amazing journey to earn this designation. I know that my time with CCIM is just getting started, and I look forward to using this knowledge provided through the designation process in my day to day practice for the rest of my career.