Once a year, the REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI) offers land professionals the opportunity to greatly enhance their expertise by taking all six courses needed to earn RLI’s elite Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Designation in one place, at one time: LANDU Education Week. Every year, a dedicated group of agents attend that take full advantage of this opportunity, complete all the courses, and go on to proudly receive their ALC pin. Many of those who received their pin after attending LANDU Week were also named top-producing agents as award recipients as part of RLI's esteemed APEX Awards Program.

 

Left to right: Geoff Hurdle, ALC; Walter Hatchett, ALC; Eric Frickle, ALC; Clayton Pilgrim, ALC; Michael Murphy, ALC; Clay McCullar, ALC; Justin Osborn, ALC; Dan Murphy, ALC; Brent Lyday, ALC; and Joey Burns, ALC.

The coveted ALC Designation pin is awarded each year in March at RLI’s National Land Conference. This year’s recipients received their pins from 2018-19 RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, on March 5^th in Albuquerque, NM. Of those in attendance who were invited to the stage to accept their pin, ten of them had attended the 2018 LANDU Education Week that took place in Arlington, TX, the previous June. RLI is proud to recognize these professionals and all of the elite agents that dedicated themselves to the earning the designation in 2018.

Eric Frickle, ALC, receiving his ALC pin from RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, at the 2019 National Land Conference.

Of those receiving their pin at conference was Eric C. Frickle, ALC, CCIM, with Eric Conrad Frickle Commercial Realty in California who was also awarded the RLI APEX 2018 Broker of the Year in Commercial Land Sales. When later asked about the value that the week provided, he stated "RLI’s LANDU Education Week was a great experience. It afforded me the opportunity to complete all of the courses I needed for designation in a classroom environment. This provided a great opportunity for building relationships with fellow classmates… and it was great to see them all again at NLC!"

 

Michael Murphy, ALC, receiving his ALC pin from RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, at the 2019 National Land Conference.

Also receiving their pins in Albuquerque were Dan Murphy, ALC, and Michael Murphy, ALC, Broker/Owners of the M4 Ranch Group in Colorado. If their names sound familiar it’s likely because they tied to be named the RLI APEX 2017 Top National Producer, the program’s most coveted and prestigious award, at NLC17. When discussing his experience at the 2018 LANDU Education Week, he recalled “We attended LANDU Week in 2018 and this is by far the best way to complete a majority of the ALC classes and make connections for life. Great classes and great instructors but the friendships created were a perfect bonus!”

 

Dan Murphy, ALC, receiving his ALC pin from RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, at the 2019 National Land Conference.

His brother Dan also raved about the week saying “LANDU is the best way to accomplish the goal of attaining the highly coveted ALC Designation. The best part is surrounding yourself with the true professionals in our industry. While the education and convenience of LANDU is outstanding on its own, the contacts and friendships greatly outweigh the learning.”

 

Geoff Hurdle, ALC, receiving his ALC pin from RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, at the 2019 National Land Conference.

The star-studded line up of ALCs that were handed their pins in Albuquerque doesn’t end there. The RLI 2018 APEX Wrangler Award winner also spoke about what an honor it was to receive his pin after having completed the courses at the 2018 LANDU Education Week. Geoff Hurdle, ALC, of Hurdle Land & Realty in Tennessee with the APEX 2018 Wrangler Award for largest number of transactions closed in 2018; Geoff had over 181 closed transaction sides in 2018! Reflecting on the experience he mentioned “I knew that LANDU Week was the only way I was going to get in the education requirements for my ALC without it taking me years to complete. To have done that all at once sounds like a time-suck but, in actuality, it was a time-saver! LANDU Week also saved me money from a lot of travel. I am so, so thankful for LANDU and how it all worked out! I highly recommend LANDU Education Week. Besides, you meet a bunch of people after the same thing that become great friends!”

 

Walter Hatchett, ALC, receiving his ALC pin from RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, at the 2019 National Land Conference.

On connecting with one other 2018 LANDU Education Week attendee that went on to get his pin at the 2019 National Land Conference, Walter Hatchett, ALC, of Kohler & Associates in Georgia said “Having the opportunity to attend the 2018 LANDU Week in Dallas and listen to and learn from top land real estate professionals was a great experience for me. The networking and knowledge gained was priceless, as well as making friendships that will last a lifetime. It was truly worth the investment, to me, to have all the classes needed in one location and timeframe to assist in obtaining my ALC Designation.” Walter was also recognized as part of the RLI APEX Awards Program as a RLI 2018 APEX Top Twenty Producer.

If you are thinking about earning the elite Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Designation, make sure to check out the 2019 LANDU Education Week taking place in Denver, CO, from June 2-10. We hope to see you receiving your ALC pin at the 2020 National Land Conference (NLC20) in San Antonio, TX, from March 29 - April 1 -- and maybe even receiving one of our esteemed RLI APEX Awards after all that expertise makes you a top producer!

About the Author: Jessa Friedrich, MBA, is Marketing Manager for the REALTORS® Land Institute. She has served in her current role in the land real estate industry since March 2015 overseeing all matters pertaining to the organization's marketing and communications.