WC Smith President John Ritz (above, center) won the David H. Hillman Maverick Award, which is given each year to a commercial real estate leader by the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA).
This award was created in 2020 to highlight key characteristics of AOBA’s late member David H. Hillman, who was noted for his exceptional and innovative commitment to his industry and community. The winner demonstrates unwavering enthusiasm in identifying, researching, and solving a need; someone who meets challenges head-on and offers creative solutions.
John has been a forceful and effective leader Washington’s commercial real estate industry. For 48 years, 36 of those as company president, he has been a key architect of WC Smith’s success, as well as a respected and fair-minded colleague and supervisor, and a passionate advocate of DC’s housing industry and its communities. He was AOBA president in 2009 and has served on nearly 40 committees throughout his career, testifying before the DC Council countless times on behalf of building owners.
