Isaac Pesin

Friend - LNR Partners

Miami Beach Memorial Service

January 10, 2006

These words didn’t come easily to me. It’s hard to express how much Brandon meant to me personally and even harder to relay the importance he had to our company.

I had the pleasure of first meeting Brandon about two and half years ago. I wish I had met him earlier in life.

Over the short time that I knew him, he quickly became one of my closest friends and colleagues. We celebrated each other’s personal and professional successes and consoled one another when things weren’t going our way. Our offices were always close to each other, but you could measure the foot traffic we posted between them in miles. His passing leaves an immeasurable void for me both personally and professionally.

It’s strange- even though he was younger than me, I often looked to him as an older brother. I admired the way he lived his life. Everything he did was with tremendous energy, tireless detail, and overwhelming enthusiasm. Sometimes around 11 in the morning he would stroll into my office to get a good look at the flags on Lincoln Road. If the wind was right, I knew I wouldn’t be having lunch with him that day. At noon he’d race out of the office with a twinkle in his eye. We could usually see his trademark kite from the 7th floor around lunchtime on ‘good wind’ days. By 1 o’clock he’d be back @ his desk combing through volumes of due diligence or on the phone with an issuer vociferously debating the merits of a deal. If you were on the call with him, you would catch that same twinkle in his eye. He absolutely loved his life here in Miami- he loved his job, the beach, the kitesurfing, the weather, everything.

His latest passion was designing, outfitting, and ultimately entertaining at his recently purchased apartment at what he regularly dubbed quote, “the greatest building on the planet.” His self-installation of his window treatments transformed him into the ‘expert’ of all interior design and handyman duties. The next thing I knew, he was moving electrical outlets, installing light fixtures, and, most recently, reconfiguring his home entertainment system. He would shoot me emails with the latest in home design that he thought would work best in my house with a p.s. that he would do the installation himself for a nominal fee.

Of course, all of the preparation of his new place was for one thing- to entertain. Brandon was the consummate host. He absolutely loved having people over. How else can you explain that at least once a month, he would host a poker night with up to 15 people participating in 2 tournaments at once? In fact, recently the two of us attended Yom Kippur services together. Because of traffic and the location of my temple, I said that we should just grab a quick sandwich and high-tail it so that we get a good seat. He wouldn’t have any of it…how could we, he asked. We can’t have fast food before a high holy day—it was sacrilege. No, I insist, I’m preparing a home cooked meal for us. I said, Brandon services are @ 8, we need to leave @ 7. He said, be at my place @ 6:30. At 6:30, I arrived, Brandon had gone all out- salmon, vegetables, wine. The table was set, he brought out his best flatware and plates. It was a feast. As we wolfed down the food, I saw that same twinkle in his eye. You see this is the way he lived his life. If we were going to eat before Yom Kippur together, it had to be done the right way. That’s the way Brandon was. Watching him in action made my life richer and I will always be grateful to him for that.

This same attitude extended into his professional life. He approached every underwriting, every loan, every conference call with the same high level of preparation and near to perfect execution. Of course, for those of us who worked most closely with him, this could be best be seen in his approach to negotiation and debate- he was the master. There was rarely an argument he couldn’t poke a hold into and he never shied away from defending a bad loan, especially one in his home state of Ohio. He loved it. He loved the sport of it. I often wondered where this affinity for negotiation originated. There were two stories which he told me which gave me a window into the origins of this passion of his which I’d like to share with you. Both stories involved his father, Gary Garson. I never met Gary. From everything I heard, I wish I had. He died a year before I met Brandon, but I will say that the twinkle in Brandon’s eye was never as apparent as it was when remembering his dad.

I may not remember the details quite right, but I think you’ll get the gist.

The first story involves the tooth fairy. Brandon had just lost one of his largest teeth. When he went to show his dad, his dad exclaimed- Wow, that’s a big one, you should do pretty well. Brandon was pretty excited. He was thinking gee this thing could be really valuable. He could get a lot. He put it under his pillow and anxiously awaited his winnings. But the next morning he awoke to find a measly quarter under his pillow. He was flabbergasted. How could such a big tooth deliver such a slim payout. He approached his dad, What happened? I thought you said I would do well. He dad grinned and told Brandon, maybe he needed to ask for more. How? Brandon asked. Put the quarter under your pillow tonight and see what happens. Sure enough the next morning the quarter transformed into a dollar. Brandon was excited, but not satisfied. The tooth fairy was moving in the right direction, but there must be more. He left the dollar under his pillow and it doubled the next night. You get the idea. Apparently, this routine went on for a week. He was up to $10. He went to his dad again and said that $10 was great, but he was really hoping for $20. His dad said, well if you’re willing to risk the $10, keep trying. The next morning he awoke to find 2 teeth…

Now I’m not positive on the sequence of events, but I have a feeling the next story he told me came after the tooth fairy episode.

I guess there was a point where the Garsons were considering getting a puppy. Somehow they had come upon a situation where the seller of this particular puppy told them that they should keep it for a weekend and if it was a good fit, they would then talk about price. The weekend came and went and Brandon said that he had a pretty good time with the dog, but he wasn’t totally sold on it. He then watched as the seller came to pick up the puppy. I guess at his house, he could look down on the entry way so he watched as the seller came and started to talk to Gary about a price. His dad shrewdly approached the seller explaining that they enjoyed the dog, but it wasn’t really going to be worth the price the seller was looking for. I guess the negotiations went back and forth and Brandon’s dad was having some success getting the seller down to a more reasonable price, all while Brandon observed from his Bird’s Eye view. Just as they were about the seal the deal, Brandon opted to go downstairs where the two men and the dog were. The dog immediately bounded for Brandon and Brandon described how he embraced the puppy and cried, no dad, please don’t let him go, I love him; we can’t lose this puppy. Of course the seller, seeing the new leverage he had just acquired immediately raised his price back up to his original ask, and Gary succumbed. Brandon never linked the stories together, but somehow I figure that there was a certain amount of quid pro quo going on for the whole tooth fairy situation.

Brandon laughed hysterically when he told me that second story and actually his laughter turned to tears as he was obviously enjoying a bittersweet memory of his dad. I’ll always remember that day because it was that same day that we brought my son over to Brandon’s place where he was scheduled to get his first swimming lesson from Uncle Brandon.

From the moment my son, Barnett, was born, Brandon constantly hounded me. You’ve gotta get him in the water. You’ve got to let me teach him to swim. For the first few months, I explained that Barnett was too young for the chlorinated water, but Brandon shrugged it off. Bring him to the Continuum, I’ll teach him. Don’t worry. Well finally, once we got the green light from the pediatrician we went over there. I think Brandon was a little overwhelmed. Barnett could barely crawl, much less swim, but Brandon wouldn’t be intimidated. We spent an hour or so at the pool that day. Brandon patiently persevered finally getting Barnett comfortable with the water. The lesson culminated with me and Brandon pushing Barnett around the pool on a float. Barnett loved it and Brandon glowed at his success. It was a beautiful moment.

So now whenever I see a kitesurfer, I’ll think of Brandon. Whenever, the debate over a loan reaches its crescendo, I’ll think of Brandon. And whenever I see my son swim, I’ll think of Brandon. Of course, his memory will always be with me.

Brandon’s zeal for life, for always doing things to his fullest potential, was an inspiration for me and I’m sure for the many others with whom he connected over his life. I will always remember him and try to take as big a bit out of life as he did.