The Bert L. Thornton President’s Award is given at the President’s discretion to a person(s) who is: committed to the organization, currently engaged in its activities, an effective spokesperson, representative at all times, and in touch with both the needs of other AI professionals and the changes that the organization must help its AI professionals to meet.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an AI professional who best demonstrates high ethical standards; contributed to the Appraisal Institute at the chapter, regional, national and/or international level(s); provided service to his or her community; and contributed to the appraisal profession. A minimum of 20 years of service is recommended to be eligible for this award.
The Outstanding Service Award is presented to an AI professional who has contributed ideas, service hours and dedication to ensure a specific program or effort is implemented at either the chapter, region, national and/or international level(s). This AI professional must be instrumental to the success of the program or effort, which also must be far enough along to measure and provide proof of success. Additionally, the program or effort must be beneficial to chapters, regions, national, international, designated members, candidates, affiliates, practicing affiliates and/or the profession.
Contact Joan Barngrover (JBarngrover@appraisalinstitute.org) with any questions.
2020 Burt L. Thornton President’s Award Winners
Gary T. Crabtree, SRA
Gary Crabtree, SRA, is the owner of Affiliated Appraisers of Bakersfield California, an independent real estate appraisal company.
A Bakersfield native, he is in his 59th year of real estate valuation in Kern County, California. His area of expertise is in residential and residential income valuations, litigation, relocation, forensic review valuations, eminent domain and single-family market condition studies.
He served on the Appraisal Institute Board of Directors, and has served two terms each on its Professional Standards and Guidance and Government Relations Committees.
He is a former 16-year member of the adjunct faculty of Bakersfield College instructing Real Estate Appraisal, and is an instructor for the Appraisal Institute’s entry level courses, Fannie Mae and FHA seminars. He is the author of the “Crabtree Report” a monthly publication of Bakersfield housing characteristics. Since 2005, he has been actively engaged in working with authorities in the detection and research of fraudulent single-family real estate transactions and testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on the causes of financial and economic crisis in the United States.
William (Bill) E. Garber, Jr.
Bill Garber is the director of government and external relations for the Appraisal Institute, where he serves as head of the AI Washington operations. As director, he represents the interests of AI professionals before Congress, federal agencies and outreach to aligned real estate organizations.
Garber has a range of expertise with real estate issues, including residential and commercial valuation and finance, economic development and land use, conservation and historic preservation issues, financial reporting, asset backed securities and real estate disposition and acquisition.
He serves as the liaison to the Appraisal Institute’s Government Relations Committee and Client Advisory Board, and as treasurer of the Appraisal Institute Political Action Committee. Garber has testified before Congress, and he is a frequent speaker before government agencies and industry organizations. He was also instrumental in the development and passage of appraisal provisions found in last three major housing finance bills in Congress.
Garber has more than 20 years of association lobbying and management experience in the real estate and economic development professions. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Oregon State University.
Paula K. Konikoff, JD, MAI, AI-GRS
Paula Konikoff, JD, MAI, AI-GRS, provides clients with expert litigation/arbitration and real estate consulting services nationwide. Her expert testimony includes damages claims, the bankruptcy of an international theater owner, portfolios of securitized residential loans for plaintiffs and defendants, appraiser liability cases for plaintiffs and defendants and she has qualified as an expert in pension real estate investments. Konikoff serves as an arbitrator and is the author of “Appraisers in Arbitration.”
Konikoff is an adjunct professor at New York Law School, a Certified USPAP Instructor, an instructor for the Appraisal Institute, immediate past chair of AI’s Professional Standards and Guidance Committee and chair of the Women’s Initiative Committee. She develops courses and seminars for AI, and is a reviewer for AI publications.
Konikoff served on the federal Appraisal Standards Board from 2003-09.
Jeffrey E. Liskar, Esq.
Stephen D. Roach, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS
Stephen D. Roach, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, has been an appraiser for over 42 years, and has been a co-owner of Jones, Roach & Caringella, Inc. since 1986. His appraisal assignments have included the valuation of numerous income-producing properties, historical valuations dating back to 1900, numerous partial acquisitions and other significant and complex assignments throughout the United States. He has extensive deposition and trial testimony experience in matters involving condemnation, construction defects, contract breach, fraud, professional liability, property tax appeal, appraisal methodology and many other issues. Roach holds a bachelor’s degree in Real Estate from San Diego State University.
Roach co-wrote the Appraisal Institute’s course on Condemnation Appraising, and has done extensive curriculum development and oversight for the Appraisal Institute. He has been published twice in The Appraisal Journal and twice in the journal of the International Right-of-Way Association. He is a contributing editor to 13 Appraisal Institute books and over 30 courses and seminars. His Appraisal Institute teaching experience includes basic and advanced courses on income capitalization, litigation courses, and over 300 additional courses and seminars that have been presented to over 8,000 participants. He has taught workshops and seminars relating to condemnation law and appraisal practice. In addition to teaching courses throughout the United States, Roach has presented appraisal courses, seminars or lectures in Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China and Mexico. Roach has served as a visiting professor of appraisal theory and practice at the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training in Taipei, Taiwan since 2004, where his courses have been presented to students from more than 85 countries.
Roach serves the Appraisal Institute as the vice chair of the Education Committee, a member of the Body of Knowledge Committee, a member of the General Comprehensive Examination Panel, a member of the Editorial Board of The Appraisal Journal and as a trustee of the Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation. He formerly served as chair of the Education Committee, the International Relations Committee and the Curriculum Subcommittee.
Leslie P. Sellers, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS
Leslie P. Sellers, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, is principal appraiser and owner of Sellers & Associates Valuation & Advisory Services in Clinton, Tennessee, and holds a B.S. degree in Real Estate and Urban Development from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. An active real estate appraiser, broker, and developer since 1973, Sellers’ other work experience has been in the development of office complexes, multi-family residential, industrial and single-family subdivisions through another company he owns, Sellers Land and Development Company LLC in Clinton, Tennessee.
Sellers is a long-standing member of the Appraisal Institute education faculty, and has taught real estate valuation courses and seminars for the Appraisal Institute, in 19 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Kuwait and the People’s Republic of China. He has served as chair of the Appraisal Institute Body of Knowledge Committee, the Professional Standards and Guidance Committee, the International Relations Committee and serves on the International Valuation Standards Council Advisory Group. He is an author and co-author on many seminars and has acted as a reviewer on Appraisal Institute courses, seminars and publications. Sellers was an author-contributor to the 14th edition of “The Appraisal of Real Estate” textbook and the “Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal,” 6th edition. He was the recipient of the Appraisal Institute Life Achievement Award in 2018 and the Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation Dr. William Kinnard, Jr. Award in 2019.
He has testified before U. S. Congress and presented to the United Nations on real estate valuation, and has served as a resource in the national press for stories in CNBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications. He also was appointed in 2011 by the International Valuations Standards Council to their Advisory Working Group and has served in that capacity to-date.
Gary S. Wright, MAI, SRA
Gary S. Wright, MAI, SRA, is senior managing director of Integra Realty Resources - Cincinnati/Dayton. He was one of the founding members of Integra when it began in 1999. He has been actively engaged in commercial, office, industrial and residential real estate valuation and consultation since 1972.
Wright has appraised for government entities, corporations and attorneys, including, but not limited to: General Services Administration, Internal Revenue Service ; Federal Aviation Administration; Department of Housing & Urban Development; Federal Deposit Insurance Corp; and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Wright has appraised for financial institutions, pension funds, conduits, REITs, including PNC Bank, Fifth Third Bank, US Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Huntington National Bank, Bank of America, CSX and Cincinnati Development Fund.
He is qualified as an expert in the Courts of Common Pleas in Hamilton and Clermont Counties, Ohio; Ohio Southern District Bankruptcy Court; Board of Tax Appeals in Ohio and Boards of Revision in Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties In Ohio. Wright holds both the MAI and SRA designations from the Appraisal Institute. He currently is chair of the Appraisal Institute Insurance Trust, and a former chair of Region V and member of the national Board of Directors.
Wright graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bacherlor’s degree in Business Administration. He has been married to his wife Chris for 47 years and has three children and six grandchildren. He still actively plays the drums and guitar and enjoys golf.
2020 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Sandra K. Adomatis, SRA
Sandra K Adomatis, SRA, is the CEO of Adomatis Appraisal Service. She is an appraiser, instructor, author and appraisal course developer. Her specialty is the valuation of green features in residential homes. It was her leadership that spearheaded the development of the Appraisal Institute Residential and Commercial Green and Energy Efficient Addendum that is being used by builders, appraisers and energy organizations around the country.
Adomatis is a national speaker on valuing high performance features to audiences that include appraisers, builders, real estate agents and governmental agencies. Her background as an active real estate appraiser, REALTOR, instructor and course developer brings insightful dialogue to share with builders, lenders and real estate professionals. She wrote the book, “Residential Green Valuation Tools.”
Her works include the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory studies, “Selling into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes” and “Appraising into the Sun: A Six-state Solar Home Paired Sales Analysis” in 2015. Adomatis authored the 2015 study “What is Green Worth? Unveiling High Performance Premiums in Washington, D.C.”
She shares her knowledge of the high performance features hoping to move the market to a higher performing place where homeowners will enjoy a safer, healthier and lower cost of maintenance. She has received the Appraisal Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, President’s Award and Outstanding Service Award. She also was recipient of the Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation Dr. William N. Kinnard, Jr. Award and The Appraisal Journal Swango Award.
2020 Outstanding Service Award Winners
Ing. César S. Cantú Martínez, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS
Cantú Martinez served on the Appraisal Institute Board of Directors as its international Board member, on the Demonstration Appraisal Grading Panel, International Relations Committee, International Community Engagement Project Team and an adviser for Candidate Adviser Resources.
He is a Leadership Development & Advisory Council conference alumni, and a former member of the University Relations Panel. He also in 2017 arranged meetings with potential partners in Panama, which AI hopes will open up the Latin America markets for its educational offerings, membership pathways and additional business opportunities for its professionals.
He was the prime motivator in establishing the first generation of AI Designated Members in Mexico. Through his involvement in FECOVAL he assisted the Appraisal Institute in hosting the meeting and administration of UPAV in 2008-09, and he made it possible for AI to hold its first annual meeting outside the U.S. in Cancun in 2008.
James L. Henderson, SRA
Charles R. Mills, Jr., MAI, SRA, AI-GRS
Charles Mills grew up in southern Ohio.
Mills joined the U.S. Navy in March 1969, and was placed on active duty June 18, 1969. He attended and passed Radarman A school and Electronic Countermeasures C school. He served on the USS Lexington CVT 16 and USS America, CVA 66 in the South China Sea (Vietnam), and achieved rank
Operations Specialist second class (OS2, E-5). After six years of service, he was discharged in June 1975.
Mills attended Pensacola Jr. College for one year in the Navy while stationed in Pensacola, Florida. He also attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Ironton Branch in Ohio, Bowling Green State in Bowling Green, Ohio, and graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree with hours toward masters.
While in school, Mills worked as an Ad Valorem Tax appraiser in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Texas.
Mills participated in courses offered by the Society of Real Estate Appraisers and the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, which unified in 1991.
Mills is an owner of Mills, Biggs, Haire & Reisert, Inc. in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
View 2019 Awards and Recognition