Ben D. Loughry, a founding stockholder and managing partner ofIntegra's Fort Worth and Dallas offices, and Donnie Sherwood,managing director in Fort Worth, have passed the bar for the eliteband of professionals. Loughry says at least two or three moreprofessionals on his teams are in the running for the RICSdesignation, which is viewed as a must-have to secure internationalbusiness as valuation experts in property, land, construction andrelated environmental issues.

"We fully expect Integra will launch into the European market inthe next two years," Loughry tells GlobeSt.com. "We're preparingourselves for entry into that market and for more investors fromAsia who recognize that designation." Loughry confides that talksare under way with an independent foreign firm "with its feet onthe ground to bring into the Integra family."

Integra's RICS team includes nine who have reached the "fellow"level. In all, RICS has 145,000 members in 146 countries, of whichthere are 2,500 in the Americas. At the forefront of the RICS'drive is Integra managing director Marty Glen in San Antonio, who'sheld the designation for years.