CCIM Feature

Long-Term Leader

NAR honors CCIM for industry service.

By Edward M. Bury, APR |

Ronald L. Myles, CCIM, GRI, has scaled some lofty business and professional peaks in the past quarter-century. His Denver-headquartered real estate company, Myles Enterprises, is multi-disciplined and diversified, specializing in development, brokerage, consulting, and asset management of retail and industrial properties and land in three states.

Within the CCIM community, Myles' impressive service record includes the 1986 institute presidency, chairmanship of various committees, and a long-time instructor. In addition, he has served on the National Association of Realtors board of directors for 17 of the past 23 years.

Concurrent with these national accomplishments, Myles found time to devote energies to many significant and worthwhile real estate, political, and civic causes at the local and state levels. For his service over 25 years, Myles receives NAR's Distinguished Service Award this November.

"It was a combination of visibility and longevity in key positions," Myles says, explaining what he thinks are the reasons for the honor. "One of the things I learned a long time ago is that when you accept a national office, it's not a short-term kind of commitment."

In his years on the NAR board, he has devoted much time to emphasizing the importance of commercial real estate professionals. "[I] recognized the prominence of the commercial practitioner within NAR and served on every task force dealing with commercial real estate," he says.

His leadership helped champion the creation of the organization's commercial committee and formation of commercial overlay boards. "That effort culminated in 1991. Prior to that time, there were not enough [leaders] with commercial experience within NAR. Nobody believed we could get it done, but we did," he says.

In addition, Myles' commitment to industry issues on behalf of NAR encompasses many of the most significant national issues to impact real estate. He has served on committees and task forces involving land use, insurance, governmental affairs, and technology, specifically the formation of the Realtor.com site.

In his hometown of Denver, Myles has held several leadership positions, serving on the local Realtor board as president of the Colorado Realtor

Association in 1987 and chairman of the Denver Economic Development Council. He also has served on the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and was an adviser to the Colorado state legislature on economic development issues.

His company has business holdings in Colorado, Tennessee, and Wyoming; he plans now to concentrate more on restructuring the business, putting his other commitments on the back burner. "I felt it was time to back off and take a break [from volunteer work]," Myles says. "Now, I only do the things I want to do."

However, real estate is part of the Myles' genetic code, as two of his sons are active in the Denver commercial market, and his daughter also works in the field.