President’s Letter – Spring 2018

Creating Value

There is a new adage in real estate these days, particularly within the retail environment, that local is the new global.

Perhaps it could be a catchy bumper-sticker slogan as well, but without being too cliché, to me at least, it’s a good reminder that value is driven by local efforts first.  Those who know the market and offer something unique have an important role to play in moving forward in a positive direction.  While some may view this philosophy as a rally cry to anti-globalization or some anti-corporate sentiments, what it really comes back to is creating an environment of sustainable value and enhancing local communities.  To that end, the North Star Chapter continues to make great strides to enhance our professional community and add value to the Appraisal Institute’s Designations and membership.

Most recently, our 20th Annual ‘home-grown’ Trends Seminar at the University of Minnesota went off with great success according to the feedback we received.  Thanks to all the dynamic speakers, the event’s sponsors, as well as Josh Folland, MAI, CCIM, and the Trends Committee for putting together a great line-up with some interesting topics!

The first half of 2018 has also been “firing on all cylinders” within the education front.  Brett Hall, MAI, our Education Chair, has been hard at work with more course offerings to meet the needs of membership.  Please be sure to visit the North Star Chapter website frequently so you remain current on what is next!  In June, the Chapter’s 2019 Education Survey was distributed and is now being tabulated so we can better align future course offerings with member needs.

Of equal importance, back in March, the Government Relations Committee (GRC) hosted a ‘mini-LDAC’, otherwise known as the first annual Capitol Day.  The entire GRC Team, including GRC Chair Byron Miller, SRA, AI-RRS, did a fantastic job organizing this event.  The Appraisal Institute’s D.C. State Liaison, Scott Dibiasio, was in attendance and even remarked how our event had one of the largest turnouts in the country outside of Texas!  Congratulations to all on this local win that eventually led to new legislation getting passed with the MN Department of Commerce.  If you somehow missed this event, I’m sure there will be an opportunity to attend next year!

As we move full-stride into the Summer of 2018, the Chapter’s systems, service to membership, and agenda for the second half of the year remain as strong as ever.  Thank you for all the support and involvement thus far in 2018!

Sincerely,

Justin Reed, MAI
2018 North Star Chapter President