IRR-Los Angeles' John Ellis to Honored by SoCal AI Chapter Aug 15, 2018

John G. Ellis, MAI, CRE, FRICS
Senior Managing Director
Integra Realty Resources - Los Angeles

To be honored by the Southern California Chapter of the Appraisal Institute
at their 2018 Heritage Night Event

John grew up in Taft, California and is the youngest of six siblings.  His father was one of the Town’s primary physicians and as a result, the family was well known and respected by all.  For those of you that know John, you know that amongst his many positive attributes, he is well respected by his friends, peers and clients.  He has a strong moral compass and the highest of ethics.  His character was in large part shaped by his parents who were remarkable people.  In the early years of John’s upbringing in Taft, the area was somewhat affected by racial prejudice.  A Hispanic family moved to the area and opened a Mexican Restaurant, and many residents refused to frequent the establishment.  John’s father decided that this was unacceptable and moved forward to hold all Rotary Club meetings at the restaurant.  This helped the restaurant establish roots and become successful.  The restaurant is still in existence today.  John lives his life and operates his business with the same values of fairness for all.

While in high school in Taft, John was on the cross country and golf teams.  To this day, John regularly runs and not so regularly plays golf.  He either swims or jogs, at least five mornings a week before coming into the office.  In 2011 John participated in a Triathlon and successfully completed the course and in 2017 he successfully completed a marathon.

After high school, John attended UCLA (Go Bruins!), and graduated with a B.A. in Business/Economics in 1981.  John had always been interested in financial analysis and considered becoming a stockbroker.  In John’s senior year at UCLA, Roger Lindley, who was a friend and advisor to John, recommended that John consider appraisal as a profession and introduced John to Bob Lea.  John began working with Bob on a part time basis prior to graduating from UCLA.  The rest is history!  John worked with Bob at Lea Associates for 16 years.

In 1986, John met his beautiful wife Patty and they married in 1988.  They have two fantastic adult children, Andrew and Carolyn.  As many of you know, Patty is an accomplished artist and creates beautiful paintings and sculptures.  On the surface, both Andrew and Carolyn appear to have followed in their mother’s footsteps in terms of their artistic leanings.  Andrew is a filmmaker specializing in documentaries focused on social justice, and Carolyn is involved in dance, drama and teaching of the arts.  However, if you have ever met Andrew or Carolyn, you know they have a strong sense of business and fair play, which they come by naturally from John.

1986 was a big year for John, not only did he meet Patty, he received his MAI designation and was the youngest member to hold the MAI designation at the time.  In 1996, John opened his own firm, Ellis Group, Inc.  In 1999, he brought his firm into Integra Realty Resources – Los Angeles, were he is the majority shareholder and Senior Managing Director.  John has always maintained past relationships, while pursuing new relationships.  In early 2018, Bob Lea merged his firm with Integra Realty Resources – Los Angeles, and now the circle is complete.

John began his history of service to the appraisal profession, the Appraisal Institute, and our Chapter early in his career.  In 1994 he was a member of the Young Advisory Council and went on in leadership from there.  John was a Regional Representative in 1995, 1996 and 1998, was also the SCCAI Finance Chair and Treasurer in 1998.  He served as Secretary of the Chapter in 1997, Vice President in 1999 and was President in 2000.  John’s contributions to our Chapter are many including being the Host of a Japanese Appraiser Contingent, a member of the Symposium Committee, Chair of Research Committee, Chair of Educational Workshops, Chair of Seminars, Chair of Courses, Educational Chair, Admissions Committee (3 years), Nominating Committee (2 years), Inducting Officer (2 years), and Board Member at Large.  In addition, John has been a frequent speaker at seminars and other chapter events.  He continues to Chair seminars and events when requested, most recently having Chaired and Co-Chaired the Litigation Seminar several times.

On a National level, John was a member of the Ethics and Counseling committee, and the Demonstration and Counseling Committee.  He represented the Chapter at LDAC, and taught courses for the Institute, with a focus on Income Capitalization.  John was honored regionally by the Appraisal Institute as a Volunteer of Distinction in 2013.

John’s service to the profession does not stop with his service to our Chapter and to the Appraisal Institute.  He has published five articles related to appraisal, in different publications and as indicated above is a frequent speaker, having spoken at more than 25 seminars.  John has also been an instructor at the CSUN Center for Real Estate and at UCLA, on the appraiser’s role in litigation.  John has helped to mentor a number of appraisers that have become MAI’s including Richard Hammel, Jason Lund, Sydney Hawran, Donna Bradley, Linas Venckus and Scott Gohl.  He continues to mentor a number of well-respected state licensed appraisers.

John is one of the most well respected and sought-after litigation specialists in Southern California, and beyond.  John’s name is synonymous with integrity, quality, and professionalism.  He is a Certified General Appraiser and holds not only the MAI designation, but is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), and a member of the prestigious Counselors of Real Estate (CRE).

John represents the best our profession has to offer, not only in terms of the quality of his work, but also as a leader, mentor, and one of the finest people I have ever met.

You are personally invited to join in this very special evening as we honor John G. Ellis, MAI, CRE, FRICS at Heritage Night on Thursday, October 18, 2018.  The event is being held at the Altadena Country Club and begins at 5:30 PM.

This is an opportunity for the membership to express our appreciation to John for the significant contributions he has made to our Chapter, the Appraisal Institute and the appraisal profession.  We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Beth B. Finestone, MAI, AI-GRS, FRICS, CRE
2018 Heritage Night Committee Chair