Awards were presented at the MRI Ascend users conference in Chicago
Solon, Ohio – November 2, 2023 – MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, announced the recipients of the fifth annual RE:Visionary Awards at its MRI Ascend 2023 North American users conference, held in Chicago on October 24-27. The awards address four categories: PropTech Influencer, Innovation, Ambassador of the Year, and Partner of the Year. The RE:Visionary awards honor MRI clients and partners who have used MRI’s open and connected software and extensive partner network to elevate their business and move the industry forward.
“We are proud to highlight the accomplishments of our clients and celebrate their success,” said Mandira Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer at MRI Software. “The award winners share MRI’s commitment to creating value not just for the business, but for the communities they serve.”
2023 RE:Visionary Awards recipients
PropTech Influencer: Wayne Pollard, Tarrant County Housing
This award recognizes an individual that has provided significant contributions to their organization, the MRI community, and the broader real estate industry.
Wayne Pollard is a widely recognized leader in the public housing and voucher management industry. A long-time user of MRI Housing Pro, he has always embraced technology as a means to run his agency more efficiently and make the lives of the families his agency serves better. He was one of the first to install kiosks in his office where residents without access to a computer could easily complete everyday transactions, and he has invested in training his employees to ensure that they are using MRI’s Housing Pro system to its fullest potential. In 2024, Wayne will be taking his software from an on-premise installation of Housing Pro on the county’s server into MRI’s cloud environment. Given his long history of technological adoption, MRI is confident that Wayne and Tarrant County Housing will take full advantage of Housing Pro’s new features and functionality for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Innovation – MRI LivingTM: Southwood Realty
The Innovation awards recognize organizations that demonstrate what it truly means to be open and connected — leveraging MRI technology alongside partner solutions to drive innovation in their business and addresses key challenges.
Southwood Realty is a long-standing MRI client whose business has experienced significant growth in the last 10 years, nearly doubling the size of its portfolio. The firm is currently using and/or piloting multiple capabilities of the MRI Living solution, including RentPayment, screening, automated income verification, multifamily insurance, CheckpointID, MRI Chat, and more. Southwood Realty works closely with the MRI product team on future innovations that will not only benefit its business, but also all MRI Living clients. Southwood Realty leverages MRI partners Bottomline and HappyCo.
Innovation – MRI @WorkTM: Healthcare Realty
Last year, Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) merged with Healthcare Trust of America, creating the country’s largest Medical Outpatient Building REIT. Post-merger, Healthcare Realty owns and operates over 700 multi-tenant properties in 35 states, exceeding 42 million square feet, located mostly on or adjacent to hospital campuses. Even though both legacy organizations used MRI’s core property management and accounting solutions, the systems were configured and leveraged in different ways. Working together with MRI partner RealFoundations and the MRI team, Healthcare Realty successfully deployed a consolidated instance of its MRI solutions to the cloud, streamlining operations and delivering increased value across the combined organization. Andy Baxter, Associate Vice President – Chief Technology Officer at Healthcare Realty, was instrumental in leading the company’s post-merger consolidation efforts and recognizing the value of additional MRI solutions. Under his leadership, the company is nearing completion of its MRI Property Management X upgrade.
Ambassador of the Year: Dianne Hunt, President, Syringa Property Management
This award honors an individual who is instrumental in driving digital transformation with MRI and is regarded as a leader in the PropTech space.
For many years, Dianne has been a strong advocate of MRI’s Affordable Housing platform, which supports Syringa’s efforts to drive innovation internally and externally. She always strives to share her enthusiasm with her team and colleagues. For example, she invited MRI to present the solution to the entire Syringa Company; more than 250 employees attended the demo. She also recommends the solution and/or add-on products to Syringa’s clients in the Boise, Idaho area and throughout ten Intermountain West states in which Syringa represents properties.
Dianne’s advocacy has led to several new clients and prospects for MRI. Furthermore, Syringa has become a role model for other MRI clients, showing how they can drive change and promote efficiencies within their own companies. With Dianne at the helm, Syringa is sure to maintain its technological leadership.
Partner of the Year: REdirect
This award goes to the MRI partner that exemplifies a commitment to our shared clients through innovation and best practices.
REdirect is a leading global provider of real estate technology consulting and support services. As a certified MRI Software Consulting Partner with a global reach, REdirect works with clients across North America, EMEA and APAC. Through their exemplary knowledge of MRI solutions, the REdirect team has successfully led numerous projects and implementations to improve MRI clients’ operational efficiencies and optimize workflows, including migrations from on premise to cloud environments. In addition to their consulting expertise, REdirect builds and develops new capabilities for MRI clients, such as Bank Rec Automation, Bank to Book Automation, and business optimization to align with MRI’s workflows and reporting solutions.
The RE:Visionary Awards and MRI Ascend took place in Chicago. The event brought together more than 1,100 users, staff, and representatives from nearly 70 technology partners f or four days of keynotes, presentations, networking events, seminars, workshops, and exhibits on MRI and its real estate technology ecosystem. The North American conference will be followed by sister events in the UK, South Africa and Australia in 2024.
About MRI Software
MRI Software is a leading provider of real estate software solutions that transform the way communities live, work and play. MRI’s open and connected, AI-first platform empowers owners, operators, agents and occupiers in commercial and residential property organizations to innovate in rapidly changing markets. MRI has been a trailblazer in the PropTech industry for over five decades, serving more than six million users worldwide, including social, affordable, public and community housing organizations. Through innovative solutions and a rich partner ecosystem, MRI gives real estate companies the freedom to realize their vision of building thriving communities and stronger businesses. For more information, please visit www.mrisoftware.com.
Media Contacts:
(North America)
Rachel Antman (+1 212 362 5837)
rachel@saygency.com
(EMEA)
Platform Communications
Hugh Filman (+44 7905 044850)
mri@platformcomms.com
(ANZ)
Heather Jones (+61 400 394 669)
heather@hjconsulting.com.au
