Catawba College alumnus Thomas “Tom” S. Dennard ’77 of Charleston, S.C., is the recipient of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) 2018 Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF) Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented to Dennard at the MBA’s 28th annual CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo held in San Diego, Calif., in early February.
Dennard, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, has more than 35 years of experience in commercial mortgage banking. He also serves as chairman of the Grandbridge Board of Managers and is a member of BB&T’s Senior Leadership Team. He has served terms on MBA’s Board of Directors and is a long-time member and past chairman of MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors. He is a licensed real estate broker in both North and South Carolina.
In addition to his leadership within MBA, he has served as co-chair of Freddie Mac’s National Advisory Council and has served on numerous life insurance companies’ National Advisory Councils. He is a member of Catawba College’s Board of Visitors and a member of the Catawba College Foundation Board of Directors.
A varsity basketball player while a student at Catawba, Dennard and wife Mary Jo, a 1975 alumna, are very supportive of their alma mater. The two made a $200,000 gift to Catawba in 2015, designating $150,000 to upgrade Abernethy Physical Education Center and Goodman Gymnasium and $50,000 targeted to an Endowed Scholarship available for deserving students majoring in Early Childhood Education.
