Benzakein of Cresa Long Island elected president of Downstate SIOR

Ralph Benzakein, SIOR, VP of Cresa Long Island, was recently elected as the president of the NY Downstate Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS (SIOR). In this position, Benzakein will oversee and represent the interests of the chapter to the board of directors. The induction took place during the Fall World Conference. Benzakein has 13 years of commercial real estate experience—specializing in tenant representation. An SIOR member since 2005, he has served SIOR in various leadership positions including: chapter secretary/treasurer and VP, along with serving on the national membership benefits and digital communications committees. "It is an exciting opportunity to be elected president of this important chapter. I look forward to pursuing new and existing organization initiatives with the integrity and professionalism that is expected from SIOR," said Benzakein. Along with Benzakein, Gabriel Silverstein, SIOR, of Angelic Real Estate was elected VP; John La Ruffa, SIOR of NAI Long Island was elected treasurer and Steven Kornspun, SIOR, of NAI Friedland Realty was elected secretary. SIOR is a global professional organization that certifies commercial real estate service providers with the exclusive SIOR designation, based on achievement, knowledge, accountability and ethical standards. Only the industry's top professionals qualify for SIOR. Today, there are more than 3,000 members in 580 cities in 28 countries. For more information, visit www.sior.com.