The Springfield commercial real estate market is still reeling from the loss of one of its most well-known names - and the company that bears his name is planning how best to move forward.
Tom McLoud, founder and owner of commercial real estate brokerage and management firm McLoud & Co., died suddenly Nov. 18, at age 56.
An alumnus of the University of Arkansas with bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration, McLoud founded Springfield-based McLoud & Co. in 1992 after spending 13 years in various other sectors of the commercial real estate industry, according to the company's Web site at www.mcloud.net.
The company's real estate portfolio comprises more than 900,000 square feet of commercial space in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, with clients ranging from Principal Insurance Co. to Walmart to Village Inn.
"Tom was the driving force behind the company - he was the man that made everything go," said Ray Meyer, McLoud & Co. property manager and 25-year veteran of the sales and marketing fields. "His knowledge and his enthusiasm for the business and the work was amazing to see."
Ownership of the company that bears McLoud's name passed to McLoud's wife, Jill, though she is not involved with the business on a daily basis, and discussions are under way as to how the business will move forward.
Most leadership responsibility, at least in the near future, falls to Meyer, the company's lone remaining agent out of five employees. Meyer said that while everyone wants the business to press on, it's unclear what the next step will be.
"At this stage of the game, obviously, there are still a lot of things we don't know," Meyer said. "We're still in the shock of the event, but we're still planning on going forward. We'll have to see how things fall out."
Memorial services for McLoud were held Nov. 23 and 24 in Springfield and Huntsville, Ark., respectively, according to his obituary in the Springfield News-Leader. Memorial contributions can be made to Boy Scouts of America, Camp Barnabas - where McLoud served on the advisory board - or to the Tom McLoud Scholarship Fund at Southwest Baptist University, where he served on the Board of Regents Investment Committee.[[In-content Ad]]
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