Piedmont Realty Trust and Fortress Consulting received the 2025 Excellence in Collaborative Service Award from CRE Insight Journal. The award recognizes an exemplary partnership between a real estate product or service provider and a real estate management company. Building management teams and product/service providers often collaborate to improve operational efficiency, environmental sustainability, tenant care, and more. The award recognizes excellence found in this type of collaboration. 

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Piedmont Realty Trust manages a premier portfolio of office properties across the United States. The company’s commitment to workplace safety is shown through its longstanding partnership with Fortress Consulting, a firm specializing in active threat response training and workplace violence prevention. 

The mission of Fortress Consulting, also based in Atlanta, Georgia, is to enhance workplace safety through tailored training programs and clear emergency protocols. The company’s approach goes beyond classroom instruction and is built on engagement with facility teams and an investment in preparedness.  

Marie Worsham, Regional Manager with Piedmont Realty Trust, initially formed a relationship with Fortress Consulting following an educational program at an ASIS International conference.  

“The safety and security of tenants and visitors at the properties we serve as always been a top priority,” said Marie. “It has been through collaborating with Fortress Consulting that we have been able to take this focus to the next level.” 

For several years, Piedmont and Fortress Consulting have collaborated to provide safety and security training for Piedmont staff, as well as develop site-specific response protocols, tenant outreach, and skills development to enhance the security of properties managed by the company. Importantly, this has included conducting annual active threat response training, which combines scenario planning, tenant education, and hands-on drills to improve incidence response readiness.  

In addition to live instruction, Fortress Consulting also created custom, property-customized training videos that are used as part of the onboarding process for new Piedmont staff and to regularly reinforce safety and security skills for all team members. 

Collectively, the training programs and other resources that Piedmont and Fortress Consulting have collaborated on have significantly increased the knowledge and skills of both employees and tenants to better understand, identify, and adapt quickly to security threats, should they occur.  

“The ability to adapt quickly and support each other in moments of crisis is essential to ensuring the safety and security of a property’s employees, tenants, and visitors,” Karla Baldini, Partner and Training Coordinator with Fortress Consulting. “This this is the type of responsiveness that has been strengthened by Piedmont Realty Trust through our collaboration.” 

In recognition of collaboration that has enhanced the physical security of a portfolio of properties, and the safety of CRE employees, tenants, and visitors, Piedmont Realty Trust and Fortress Consulting have received the 2025 Excellence in Collaborative Service Award from CRE Insight Journal. 

CRE Insight Journal is the leading, on-demand resource for real estate professionals. It features a rapidly growing collection of real estate industry insight recorded in articles, webinars, publications, and videos. The CRE Insight Journal Awards program recognizes excellence in companies, people and properties in the CRE industry.  

Announcing Applications for the 2025 10 to Watch Program! CRE Insight Journal 10 to Watch recognizes the real estate industry’s top early career professionals. The awards program tells the stories of how emerging professionals are shaping the real estate industry through a variety of career pathways.  

Applications close on September 25, 2025, and winners will be announced in November 2025. Will you apply? Learn more at https://creinsightjournal.com/ten-to-watch/.  

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