Phone: 404-310-5627

Sam Friedman founded AFCO Realty, LLC in 1971 to provide commercial real estate services to the business community. Since that time, AFCO has represented clients with office and industrial requirements as well as handling numerous investment property and land transactions. The total value of these transactions is in the billions of dollars.

Sam has held the four prestigious professional designations of CCIM, CRE, SIOR, and CPM. He was awarded the Alvin Cates Award by The Atlanta Board of Realtors for the outstanding transaction of the year from a group of at least 9,000 transactions.

He has been active in the community and has served as Founding Chairman of The PATH Foundation and has served on its board for over 25 years. The PATH Foundation has built over 250 miles of greenways since its creation. He has also served as Chairman of the Buckhead Coalition Board, the Atlanta Housing Authority, the Atlanta Union Mission, and served on the board of the Atlanta History Center and the National Infantry Foundation and Soldier Center in Columbus, Georgia.  He was recently awarded The Order of Saint Maurice by the National Infantry Association for his support and service to the Infantry and sharing of Infantry values. Sam is a long term and active member of the Atlanta Kiwanis Club and serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kiwanis Foundation.

Sam and his wife Susan have five children and eight grandchildren. He is an Eagle Scout and was awarded the Silver Beaver by his home Council in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His uncle, a WW2 veteran, was the 1st Eagle Scout in PR and Sam was the 50th.

Phone: 404-832-4013

AFCO Vice Chairman Jerry Mendel specializes in tenant and landlord representation in office, industrial, and land sales.

His marketing success has earned him the respect of a long list of clients, and among industry experts, he’s considered one of the best. The Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS tapped him as a Top 20 Overall Producer, and for achieving membership in the Million Dollar Club ten consecutive years, he received the Phoenix Award.

In 1993, he received the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS’ prestigious Alvin B. Cates Award for the Most Outstanding Real Estate Transaction of the year. He co-brokered the purchase of a city block of land of seven acres and a 90,000 square-foot building for Grady Memorial Hospital's North Campus along with AFCO Founder and Chairman Sam Friedman.

Jerry joined AFCO in 1984 as a sales associate representing clients in various commercial leasing and sales transactions.  In 1990, he became an associate broker and executive sales consultant.  He was promoted to senior vice president in 1993 and in 2003 was named vice chairman. He’s a member of both the Georgia and National Association of REALTORS and a life member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS.

Before joining AFCO, he co-founded and served as president of Mendel Distributing Co., an Atlanta wholesale distributor of floor covering, and was president of H. Mendel & Co., an Atlanta wholesale distributor of textiles and apparel. He served as president of the Atlanta Manufacturers and Distributors Association, director of the National Association of Floor Covering Distributors, and vice president of the National Association of Textile and Apparel Wholesalers.

The Atlanta native attended Boys High and earned a degree in business administration from the University of Georgia.

Jerry and his wife Joanne have four children, eleven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

Phone: 404-832-4018

Active in commercial real estate brokerage for over 30 years.

Successfully completed over 5,000,000 square feet of sales and lease transactions in excess of $100,000,000.

Concentration and specialization in industrial properties.

Recipient of the Phoenix Award for Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors for over 10 years of membership in the Million Dollar Club.

Active in service to the Atlanta community, including volunteer and member of Board of Directors of Crossroads Community Ministries, an organization which attempts to move clients from homelessness to economic self sufficiency.

Married to Meg, Clinical Director of St. Luke's Counseling Center. Father of three grown children, grandfather of five.

Graduated from University of Notre Dame with B.A. in Economics. Received M.B.A. from University of North Carolina.

Phone: 404-832-4030

Joining AFCO Realty, LLC in 2014, Richard Tyler brings his experience in real estate, land, management and planning to enhance the legacy in the commercial real estate and entrepreneurial pursuits of AFCO founder, Sam Friedman.

Richard is a licensed real estate agent and a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors. He has focused on land / land-related transactions as well as management services and office leasing.

Richard also leads Richard Tyler Management LLC, providing land, real estate, and management consulting.  Richard served as the Director of Land Management, U.S., for Lafarge North America, a global construction materials company, responsible for building and directing the land management function involving all aspects of real estate including due diligence evaluation, acquisition, leasing, planning and zoning, real property taxes, divestment and land data and document management.  This experience was applied to vacant land, corporate office sites, industrial operations and transportation and distribution sites.

Prior to Lafarge, Richard served as real estate development director for Salt Lake Neighborworks, a community redevelopment organization, guiding its efforts to evaluate property for investment and handling sale and leasing of a variety of property and constituents.  For 11 years, Richard led multifunctional and complex efforts in the planning, leadership, operation and management of Olympic Villages for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games, including serving as investor’s representative in the development of new campus housing and amenities.

Lending his real estate and management experience, Richards serves as Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the St James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, GA and as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Seven Oaks Homeowners Association in Johns Creek, GA.

After earning a Bachelor’s of Industrial & Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Richard earned his Master’s of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Richard was raised in Atlanta, attending Woodward Academy and enjoys family, travel, and serving with the youth ministry at his church. His wife D’Lorah is the head of interior decorating company Decorating Cents, in Johns Creek GA.

Ruthie joined AFCO in May 1999 as a senior staff accountant. She continues to serve in that capacity and has been so involved in all facets of company activities that she now has assumed responsibility as senior marketing administrator.

Ruthie's work ethics, cheerful attitude and loving personality have endeared her to all of AFCO's clients and friends.