After a touching video showing local athletes competing in various events, CAR presented Scott with a check for $2,000, but that was just the beginning. After presenters Jay Jacobsmulhen of Lane Denning Properties and Don Ossey of Ossey Patterson each matched the gift toward the end of the evening, it sparked an auction-like atmosphere directed by CAR president Don Maltase during which the heads of various brokerages began standing up with matching $2,000 pledges. By the end of the night, no less than $20,000 had been raised for the organization.

In between, a verbose Mitchell doled out a table full of awards and a mouthful of one-liners. In addition to the production-based Broker of the Year awards, there was the Bill Naito Award for the most outstanding real estate transaction, the Humanitarian Award for public service and the Member of the Year Award for outstanding work on behalf of the organization.

The Humanitarian Award went to office broker Mike Holzgang, who among other things spent time last year assisting needy people in Romania "and got much more than I gave," he told the audience. A successful broker with Cushman & Wakefield, Holzgang says he derives meaning and purpose not from his next commission but from what that money allows him to do for other people. In accepting the award, he encouraged everyone to find a cause they believe in and volunteer because, he says, "To whom much is given, much is expected."

CAR's Member of the Year Award went to crowd favorite Charles Digregorio, an office broker with CB Richard Ellis. Mitchell introduced him as a member of, among other things, the National Association of Real Estate Nerds, which got a roar from the crowd. Then, as Digregorio approached the stage, one broker yelled "speech, speech," while another followed with "don't worry," implying a penchant for long windedness that he ultimately didn't reveal on stage, humbly thanking his company, his clients and his family.

The Bill Naito Award for the most outstanding real estate transaction went to office broker Ramona Harrington of Cushman & Wakefield for her work on the acquisition of the Oregon Historical Society Building. To make it happen for her client, Harrington had to sidetrack a transaction already on the table for the building. "It was a complicated deal with a lot of components," said Harrington in accepting the award, adding that it was an honor to be recognized given the competition, which included Norris Beggs & Simpson's sale of the Oki Semiconductor property in Tualatin to Novellus systems and CB Richard Ellis' sale of the U.S. Bank Tower.

Lou Lauman, who with fellow CBRE broker Clint Benson handled the U.S. Bank Tower transaction, won the Investment Broker of Year Award. In accepting the award, Lauman was modest, saying everyone had a great 2000 in the real estate business. By doing so, Lauman lived up to Mitchell's introductory description of investment brokers as those who "walk tall, think big, dress well and say little." The two other nominees were Gary Griff, Cushman & Wakefield, for his work on Opus Northwest's 90,000-sf build-to-suit in Wood Village for Merix Corp., and Chris Johnson, Norris Beggs & Simpson, for his $118.7 million sale of the Lincoln Center office tower to Spieker Properties on behalf of J.P. Morgan.

The Office Broker of the Year Award went to Dave Squire, whose production ranked him NO. 20 in the nation among Grubb & Ellis brokers, earning him a trip to Whistler B.C. that made him unavailable to accept his award. Combined, Squire and the other two nominees, Mike Holzgang and Clint Benson, brokered deals with an aggregate value in excess of $180 million in 2000.

With Squire in Whistler was Grubb & Ellis' Bradford Fletcher, winner of the Industrial Broker of the Year Award. In presenting the award, Mitchell described industrial brokers the kind of people who drive Ford Explorers "and keep the Bridgestone's on them," drawing a big roar from the crowd. The other two nominees for the award were Marty Horeis of CBRE and Jack McConnell of Norris Beggs & Simpson.

The Retail Broker of the Year was Jon Kellogg of HSM Pacific, whose major transaction in 2000 was representing Gerding/Edlen Development in its acquisition of the five-block Blitz Weinhard Brewery Property. The two other nominees for the award were Steven Daneman of Daneman Realty and Alex MacLean of Commercial Realty Advisors Northwest. The Rookie of the Year Award went to Raymond Duchek of CBRE. The two other nominees were Cindy Brown of Ossey Patterson and Linda Craig of Doug Bean & Assoc.