Commercial Real Estate Community Gathering Draws 250 Professionals in Deal, NJ

By: Fern Sidman

Each summer the Jersey Shore enclave of Deal is the preferred venue for a panoply of charitable events hosted by members of the Sephardic Jewish community who vacation there.

In addition to a litany of worthy causes in which funds are raised for, on Friday, July 15th, a unique and inspiring event took place which sizzled with a tangible excitement.

Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of business leaders and varied entrepreneurs, a meeting of real estate industry professionals who represent the Sephardic Jewish community took place at the home of esteemed attorney, Morris Missry of the Wachtel Missry law firm.

Also spearheading the event that drew approximately 250 people was Shlomi Bagdadi, the founder and CEO of the Tri State Commercial real estate firm.

In an interview with the Jewish Voice, Mr. Bagdadi explained, “We really wanted to create an event like none other, in terms of representing the values of our community. We asked people and they were excited at the prospect of coming together as industry professionals to share information, contacts and knowledge with one another.”

He added that, “In the business world in general, there is a highly competitive climate, a kind of ‘every man for himself’ attitude and the last thing these business people want is their colleagues to succeed. Within our community, however, we have our collective finger on the pulse of the many business people that we live and work with and the opposite is true. We genuinely want our friends and neighbors to succeed and we want to share what helped us become successful. In this spirit of unity and Ahavat Israel, did we conceive and bring to fruition this meeting.”

Addressing the assemblage was host Morris Missry, Esq. He began by speaking of the importance of community cooperation and sharing with one another. He relayed a story about how successful businessman and community philanthropist Alex Adjmi assisted him in obtaining an introduction to Bill Wachtel.

After extending plaudits to the event organizers including Eddie Essses, Shlomi Bagdadi and Avi Akiva, Mr. Missry said: “I started practicing 32 years ago and I’ve seen and experienced a lot. Mostly good, some challenging, There were the difficult times which included the recession and Covid.

What did I learn? I learned that all you guys here today need to always push and be aggressive in difficult times and never get complacent in good times.

Life is a marathon; not a sprint. Play the long game, but most importantly realize that you guys aren’t competitors, you are friends! First and foremost! Realize that it generally takes 20-25 years to make real money and become successful.

Life shouldn’t be a competition. You’re only competitor is yourself.  You’re like a golfer.  You need to score the best you can.  Don’t worry about others, just yourself.  Your mind is the only thing that can hold you back.  The bottom line is that you all need is to work together if you can and to help each other. We need to partner with each other and think long term, not short term. This is how we build relationships.”

 

Jeff Sutton, founder of Wharton Properties made a surprise appearance at the event and offered his invaluable insights on real estate to the group members. He also graciously shared important business related takeaways from the time that the Covid pandemic struck until now.

According to an attendee at the meeting, “This was a really beautiful event. The food, the music, the bar and the amazing camaraderie made it very special. We all thank Morris and Linda Missry for opening their home so graciously for this important day.”

Mr. Bagdadi said, “the objective of this event was to bring together landlords, contractors, private equity professional, investors, developers, mortgage brokers, attorneys, building managers, etc in the commercial real estate industry so we could exchange ideas and offer assistance to each other. To offer an example, if one person has purchased let’s say, a retail store or an office building and he needs a good contractor to do some work or if he needs a good attorney to do a closing, or if he needs an honest mortgage broker, we count on others to advise him and share their contacts.”

Of the event, Mr. Bagdadi added, “Everyone was very excited. You really felt the energy. Nobody wanted to leave. We really hope we can do this again as everyone really benefitted from it.”

Host Morris Missry said, “I was happy and thrilled to host the inaugural community commercial real estate event in my home last Friday. We were able to host over 250 young professionals in our community with the hope and desire of fostering friendships and relationships, that will continue on into the future. I’d like to give a special thanks especially to Eddie Esses, who conceived of this real estate group and to Shlomi Bagdadi and Avi Akiva for sponsoring this fantastic event.”