Woodyard, leader in commercial real estate, dies at 62
Judi Woodyard blazed a trail for women to make big money in commercial real estate. In the past four years, she averaged more than $100 million a year in transactions, putting her in an elite, male-dominated class of power brokers.
She was one of the most respected female brokers not only in Las Vegas but in the Western United States, her associates said.
Woodyard, who came to Las Vegas in 1989 to open an office for Burke Commercial, died May 8 at her Las Vegas home after an 11-year battle with breast cancer. She was 62.
“A couple things made her successful,” said Chuck Witters, one of her former partners at Lee & Associates. “One, she was a tireless worker. However many hours in the day it took to do it, she was there. She didn’t mind working until midnight if she had to.
“I give her credit. We had our differences, but when she had the first bout with cancer, she worked through it. She was a very strong woman.”
Woodyard began her career in commercial real estate in 1980 and became managing partner of Burke Commercial Real Estate in Southern California. When Burke closed its Las Vegas office in 1992, she became founder and president of Lee & Associates’ first Nevada office.
Within seven years, she built the business from four employees in a small office to a staff of 47 in a 12,000-square-foot office and opened an office in Reno. She resigned from the company in 1998 but retained majority ownership until 2000.
In 2001, Woodyard founded Commercial Associates and The Real Estate Center, an affiliated group of related independent companies. She narrowed her focus to tenant services that relied on her expertise in development, site selection and marketing.
Witters noted that she homed in on colleges, university and government agencies. She was a supporter of the University of Southern Nevada, formerly the Nevada College of Pharmacy, and served on its board of directors. She also provided nearly $40,000 in scholarships to pharmacy students.
Woodyard was founding president of Commercial Real Estate Executive Women in Nevada and a charter member of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Nevada. She was chosen as one of the most influential businesswomen in Southern Nevada in 2000.
Woodyard was born Nov. 8, 1944, in Portland, Ore. She is survived by two daughters, Traci Winter of Las Vegas and Tara Manto of Denver; two sisters, Jeri Macarow of Sacramento, Calif., and Joyce Long of Las Vegas; and two grandchildren.
A celebration of Woodyard’s life is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. July 10 at the University of Southern Nevada, 11 Sunset Way, Henderson.