

The 2017 RLI APEX Awards
RLI held its first-ever APEX Awards Program sponsored by The Land Report at NLC18. This program is designed to recognize the excellence and performance of our RLI Members — the best in the business — with these prestigious land real estate awards. Winners were recognized at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 13, at the 2018 National Land Conference in Nashville, TN. All winners were announced by RLI CEO Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE, as well as The Land Report’s Co-founders Eddie Lee Rider Jr. and Eric O’Keefe at a special awards ceremony.
“The APEX 2017 Award Winners are the crème of the crop when it comes to conducting land transactions. RLI is proud to be partnered with The Land Report to give these land agents the national industry recognition as a top-producer that they deserve,” said RLI’s CEO Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE, about the new program.
The APEX Awards Program celebrated its inaugural year with fifty applicants totaling a combined $1B+ in qualifying transaction volume.
For more information on the award winners, make sure to get a copy of The Land Report, one of the industry’s leading magazines for landowners and land professionals, which will be publicizing winners in their upcoming Spring 2018 issue. All land real estate professionals are invited to join RLI and apply to the prestigious APEX Awards Program next year.
2017 APEX Award Winners
2017 Top National Producer APEX Award Winners (tie)
The APEX Top National Producer Award is the program’s most coveted and prestigious award recognizing the applicant with the highest qualifying transaction volume.

Dan Murphy
Top National Producer

Michael Murphy
Top National Producer
National Broker of the Year (by category)
RLI is also proud to recognize the accomplishments of the APEX National Broker of The Year recipients in each of the following seven distinct land categories:

Troy Louwagie, ALC
Ag Land Sales – Crops

Dax Hayden
Ag Land Sales – Ranches

Dan Murphy
Recreational Land Sales (tie)

Michael Murphy
Recreational Land Sales (tie)

Clint Flowers, ALC
Timber Land Sales

Ryan Sampson, ALC
Commercial Land Sales

Danny Smith, ALC
Residential Land Sales

Troy Louwagie, ALC
Auction Land Sales
2017 Wrangler APEX Award
The APEX Wrangler Award goes to the applicant with the largest number of transactions closed during the year.

Troy Louwagie, ALC
Wrangler Award for most transactions closed.
2017 Top Twenty Producer APEX Award
- Rick Bourne, Southeastern Land Group, AL
- Ray Brownfield, ALC, Land Pro LLC, IL
- Steve Bruere, Peoples Company Of Indianola, IA
- Jason DurJava, ALC, Century 21 M&M and Associates Ag and Ranch, CA
- Bill Eshenbaugh, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company, FL
- Clint Flowers, ALC, National Land Realty, AL
- Kyle Hansen, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services, IA
- Dax Hayden, Hayden Outdoors LLC, CO
- Ryan Hostetler, ALC, Agprofessionals LLC, CO
- John Knipe, ALC, Knipe Land Company, ID
- Troy Louwagie, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services, IA
- Kasey Mock, KW LAND, Mock Ranches, TX
- Dan Murphy, M4 Ranch Group a division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC, CO
- Michael Murphy, M4 Ranch Group a division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC, CO
- Billy Rollins, ALC, Land Solutions, Inc., FL
- Ryan Sampson, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company, FL
- Dean Saunders, ALC, Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate, FL
- Danny Smith, ALC, Smith & Smith Realty, FL
- Bob Stalberger, ALC, Whitetail Properties Real Estate, LLC, MN
- Minor Taylor, ALC, Taylor Land Investments, TX
2017 APEX Producers Club
All applicants with at least four million dollars of qualifying dollar volume in closed land sales are recognized as part of the RLI APEX Producers Club.
- Matt Adams, Peoples Company Of Indianola, IA
- Daran Becker, Peoples Company, IA
- Rick Bourne, Southeastern Land Group, AL
- Sam Bowers, ALC, Bowers and Burns Real Estate Company, GA
- Ray Brownfield, ALC, Land Pro, LLC, IL
- Steve Bruere, Peoples Company of Indianola, IA
- Jared Chambers, Peoples Company, IA
- Brad Chandler, Buy A Farm Land & Auction Company, LLC, IL
- Bill Davis, Keller Williams Foothills Realty, CO
- Mike Downey, ALC, Hertz Farm Management, Inc., IA
- Jason DurJava, ALC, Century 21 M&M and Associates Ag and Ranch, CA
- Devin Dye, Ron Spencer Real Estate, OH
- Brenda England, First Realty Company, TN
- Bill Eshenbaugh, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company, FL
- Clint Flowers, ALC, National Land Realty, AL
- Wendy Forthun, ALC, 1 Stop Realty Inc., MN
- Jonathan Goode, ALC, Southeastern Land Group, AL
- Kyle Hansen, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services, IA
- Dax Hayden, Hayden Outdoors, LLC, CO
- Kenny Herring, ALC, Peoples Company, IA
- Ryan Hostetler, ALC, Agprofessional, LLC, CO
- Marv Huntrod, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services, IA
- John Knipe, ALC, Knipe Land Company, ID
- Stan Lierz, ALC, Hertz Farm Management, Inc., NE
- Troy Louwagie, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services, IA
- Rusty Lowe, ALC, Century 21 Harvey Properties Inc., TX
- Kasey Mock, Keller Williams, TX
- Dan Murphy, M4 Ranch Group A Division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC, CO
- Michael Murphy, M4 Ranch Group A Division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC, CO
- Justin Osborn, The Wells Group Real Estate Brokerage, CO
- Calvin Perryman, ALC, Great Southern Land, AL
- Clayton Pilgrim, Century 21 Harvey Properties, TX
- Billy Rollins, ALC, Land Solutions, Inc., FL
- Ryan Sampson, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company, FL
- Dean Saunders, ALC, Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate, FL
- Chris Smith, ALC, Hertz Farm Management, IA
- Danny Smith, ALC, Smith & Smith Realty, FL
- Travis Smock, Peoples Company, IA
- Bob Stalberger, ALC, Whitetail Properties Real Estate, LLC, MN
- Jeramy Stephens, ALC, National Land Realty, AR
- Winnie Stortzum, ALC, Farmers National Company, IL
- Tommy Stroud, ALC, National Land Realty, GA
- Kirk Swenson, 1 Stop Realty Inc., MN
- Minor Taylor, ALC, Taylor Land Investments, TX
- Derrick Volchoff, ALC, Trophy Class Real Estate/Sports Afield Trophy Properties, MI
- Kirk Weih, ALC, Hertz Farm Management, Inc., IA
- Jim Wirth, TRI Commercial, CA
- Luke Worrell, ALC, Worell Land Services, LLC, IL
- Jason Ziegler, Whitetail Properties, MN
- Andrew Zellmer, Peoples Company, IA
RLI APEX Awards: Recognizing the Best in Business

The Land Report and the REALTORS® Land Institute have partnered together to bring maximum exposure to the 2018 APEX Awards Winners to ensure they get the national industry recognition as a top-producing agent that they deserve for receiving one of these esteemed land real estate awards. APEX Award Winners are the cream of the crop when it comes to conducting land transactions and RLI’s partnership with The Land Report will take showcasing their prestige to the next level.
APEX Award Winners will be featured:
- as part of a two-page spread in The Land Report 2018 Spring Magazine;
- in a PRNewswire national press release with Times Square photo, shot of the magazine cover, and RLI APEX Awards Winners in a picture caption;
- on a full-page spread in The Land Report April Newsletter reaching 70,000 subscribers; and
- in exclusive social media posts on The Land Report social channels, each post reaching up to 50,000+ followers
The Land Report will also provide each APEX Award Winner with:
- 50 copies of The Land Report’s 2018 Spring Magazine; the edition featuring the 2018 APEX Awards Winners, and
- discounts on display ad space in all of The Land Report Magazine’s 2018 editions!
Award winners can take advantage of all these promotions to showcase their prestige and expertise to clients, colleagues, and the industry as whole!