When Warren Buffet gives the opening tribute (albeit via video), you know it’s not your typical awards luncheon. The business magnate’s short but sweet message — “Go Cowboys, Go Allie Beth” — set the tone for last Thursday’s sold-out event honoring real estate matriarch Allie Beth Allman, the recipient of Dallas Business Journal’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
“It was time,” said DBJ Market President and Publisher Ollie Chandhok. “The sorority of honorees who have had impact and influence is significant. And there’s no one better than Allie Beth Allman.”
The crowd packing the Fairmont Dallas Regency ballroom was obviously in agreement. The adulation was overwhelming. Agents, old and young, established and up-and-coming, were on hand to cheer on the woman who helped shape their careers—not to mention, made many of them millionaires.
Buffet, whose company Berkshire Hathaway acquired Allie Beth & Associates for an undisclosed sum in 2015, wasn’t the only high-profile well-wisher. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was on hand to introduce Allman.
“Allie Beth has a special gift of making people feel special and feel loved.”
“That’s part of why she’s as good as she is at what she does within her profession,” said the NFL Hall-of-Famer.
The video tribute also included former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. “You know what story I’m going to tell,” he said, recalling the time he and his wife Brill were house hunting in Dallas. “She met me at 9 p.m. on four consecutive nights.”
Turns out, at one showing, Garrett had a question and was calling our “Allie Beth! Allie Beth!” to no response.
“I found her laying on her back, sleeping on the kitchen counter. It’s a great example of her hard work and the value she places on friendship and relationships.”
George and Laura Bush are also clients-turned-friends. “Allie Beth is a legend in real estate,” said the former First Lady. “She’s helped thousands of people in Dallas find homes.”
After closing on the Bushes’ Daria Place home in December 2008, Allman delivered the keys to the White House.
The Allie Beth team continues to excel. As reported in CandyDirt.com, the firm racked up more than $3.8 billion in sales in 2021.
Taking the stage to accept the Lifetime Award, Allman credited her three “guiding lights”: Roots, respect, and responsibility.
“You have to give respect to receive it,” she said. As for the latter: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”
Allie Beth agent Christine McKenny called Allman a “role model, for me and so many. This honor is well deserved. She is THE BEST in the business!”
Veteran Realtor Karen Luter, a long-time associate, and even longer friend, summed it up this way: “Allie Beth thrives on the art of the deal. She loves negotiating, and the completion of every transaction.
“I’ve never heard her say anything is tough or tiring,” she added. When everybody’s happy, she’s energized. It’s what keeps her going.”
