Phillips Murrah Continues Support of CREW-OKC for Seventh Year

Band, troop, squad, and team – all synonyms for “crew.” Although, the CREW featured in this article does not have such a synonym. Rather, CREW is an acronym for Commercial Real Estate Women, an organization that is transforming the commercial real estate (CRE) landscape in Oklahoma City.

Sally A. Hasenfratz, a Phillips Murrah Director and member of the Firm’s Real Estate, Tax Law, and Estate Planning practice groups, came in on the ground floor of CREW-OKC. Sally co-founded the organization in 2016 with Julie Kriegel, President at Kriegel Commercial Real Estate.

(From left) Phillips Murrah attorneys and CREW-OKC members Erica Blackstock and Sally Hasenfratz.

“CREW-OKC isn’t just a women’s group,” Sally clarified when asked about the importance of a women-specific professional real estate networking organization. “It’s for anyone who believes in the goals of the organization.”

Those goals are actuated by way of four main initiatives designed to help their membership: business networking, industry research, leadership development, and career outreach, which dovetails perfectly with their mission of empowering their membership through networking, mentoring and education.

“The goal with this organization, for me,” Sally continued, “was to get it started, for it to have a meaningful impact, and for it to be self-sustaining.”

Phillips Murrah Sponsorship

The law firm of Phillips Murrah understands the important role non-profits play in our community, and we help them get the word out through several philanthropic initiatives. For organizations like CREW-OKC, which have the talent to rival the OU/OSU band during a Bedlam rivalry, Phillips Murrah is proud to partner with them, as we have since CREW-OKC’s inception seven years ago.

“Sponsors are key partners aligning with our mission,” said Kristin Killgore, 2023 CREW-OKC Sponsorship Chair and Civic & Education Market Principal at FSB Architects + Engineers. “Their support allows CREW-OKC to create value for our members through networking, education, and professional development.”

She added that a big part CREW-OKC’s value resides in the diverse array of qualified fields within the CRE industry, which positions their membership to successfully navigate the complexity of any commercial real estate deal.

“Sponsors receive recognition for their support through multiple media sources,” she continued. “They are featured on our website, social media, chapter communications, monthly programming, and through other events. Our sponsors mean our mission thrives in Oklahoma City as we connect our members to our community promoting fields of commercial real estate.”

The Global CREW Network

CREW-OKC is an affiliate partner organization of the national CREW Network. CREW was originally founded on Jan. 1, 1989, and it now has 78 local affiliate organizations, including their most recent addition is Paris, France.

Prior to its establishment, there were specific organizations for professions within CRE, such as appraisers, lawyers, brokers, and accountants, but there wasn’t one group that brought them all together. The CREW Network solved that with a membership that represents all the disciplines and parties involved in a commercial real estate transaction. Now, it boasts 12,000 members globally, with 63 percent being CEOs, presidents, owners, and senior managers, all with an average of 14 years in commercial real estate experience.