Exceptional People & Firms

Riverwoods, IL -- Randy D. Podolsky, SIOR and Managing Principal of Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International, has been elected Commodore, Ninth District Western Region, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, a lead agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The election last month comes approximately 17 years after “stumbling” onto the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Waukegan IL, and more than 25 years after he first became a boat owner. As Commodore, Podolsky is on the National Board of Directors of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, the parent organization of the Auxiliary, representing the western region of the 9th Coast Guard District. In this capacity Podolsky provides leadership to execute the National Coast Guard programs and initiatives utilizing the 100% volunteer workforce the Auxiliary comprises.

The geographic area of the western region of the 9th district encompasses most all of Lake Michigan and the surrounding four states from the center of Michigan to the middle of Illinois and includes the Northern portions of Indiana and approximately half of Wisconsin. In all, this section of the region has 10 divisions and 57 flotillas with a total of approximately 1,200 volunteer members.

“The Western Region of the 9th Coast Guard District more than doubles the Coast Guard workforce in the area, and provides an essential service for protecting the waterways in the area,” Podolsky said. “It is an honor to serve the Coast Guard, and the United States, as a member of the Auxiliary and as Commodore for the region.”

According to Podolsky, he stumbled upon the Auxiliary in Waukegan, where he docks his boat, more than 17 years ago. “I sat in on a few meetings, observed what they were doing and quickly determined I wanted to be more involved,” Podolsky said. “The rest is history.”

Podolsky volunteers more than 1,100 hours of time annually to the Auxiliary. In addition to its main focus of providing education and information for recreational boating safety to the public, the Auxiliary performs all missions of service as the Coast Guard with the exception of direct law-enforcement and war support, including search and rescue, communications, free vessel safety checks and Maritime Domain Awareness initiatives. Podolsky also is the founder and President of the Waukegan Water Safety Association, which he formed to assure ongoing funding for the local Auxiliary’s activities, assets and equipment that is not provided by government funding sources.

At Podolsky Northstar, Randy also serves as an Asset Manager for a portion of the Management Division's portfolio. He is responsible for new transactions, renewal negotiations and real estate purchase and sale contracts for an average of three quarters of a million square feet per year. He also provides specialized brokerage and investment real estate negotiation and consulting services to Fortune 1,000 firms, entrepreneurs, institutions, and not-for-profits. Randy also heads the firm’s Investment, REO, Receiver and Property/Facility Management Teams.