About OCREE, Our History and Our Leadership Team

The Trade and Exchange Association was formed in 1959 by then-President Larry Horn and other notable REALTORs many of whom were members of the REALTORS Land and Farm Institute. The purpose of the association was to promote the trade and exchange of real estate other than just land. In 1971, the president was Furmon Tinon and under his leadership, the OAR (known as OAREB) minutes indicated “the way had been cleared for the Traders to merge with the Commercial, Industrial and Investment Property committee of OAREB” and all details were completed by January of 1972. Tinon stated the name of the Traders would be changed to reflect this merger and in the future, the group would be known as The Ohio Comercial and Residential Exchange Association.

It is unclear what date the state (OCREA) and local organization (CREE) were totally separated but in 2002 attorney Roger L. Connor Jr., acted as incorporator of a corporation under the Ohio non-profit corporation law and the by-laws were amended to name the organization Columbus Real Estate Exchangors, Inc. The articles of incorporation stated, “This corporation is a non-profit corporation organized and operated exclusively to promote and educate the real estate profession on the advantages and techniques involved in the trading and exchanging of real estate.”
No matter what the name, from the very beginning, CREE has a long history of major contributions to the real estate industry. As you look at our list of presidents since 1959 you will find that many of them were presidents of the Columbus Board of REALTORS, have served on numerous committees, and have been vital parts of our organization.

The historian is sure that the naming of Elly Creager as their first woman president in 1972 – some documents show this as 1969 – showed how far before their time the organization really was. Elly used to tell how the leaders of OCREA and CREE were instrumental in assisting her with obtaining multiple listing information since in the ’50s women were not allowed to be a member of the OAREB. At that time her husband, John Creager – a notable builder in his own right, had to obtain his real estate broker’s license so that Elly could obtain needed information to run her business without having it “smuggled” to her by the male members.

In 2014, CREE and OCREA merged to become the Ohio Commercial Real Estate Exchangors (OCREE) with a goal to expand their influence throughout Ohio. OCREE remains today an innovator in the real estate community promoting creative thinking and the education of their members with the result that this roster contains some of the best real estate consultants in the business.

In 2021, the organization established two new honors including the lifetime achievement award which was named after its initial recipient Furmon Tinon. The 2021 OCREE Affiliate Award was presented to LandSel Title Marc Zipser for his hours of dedication to the organization.

This information has been compiled by past president Judy Tackett (1943-2017), data contained in the OAR 1971, 1972 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, and 2002 Articles of Corporation. Please excuse any discrepancies or omissions.