June 17th was a great night for the appraisal profession. The MBREA celebrated 75 years as an association by introducing the Appraisal Hall of Fame. It was fitting that an association dedicated to serving appraisal professionals gathered to honor individuals with similar purpose.
Entering the dining room of Lombardo's guests quickly noted the ongoing slide show presentation. Familiar faces from the past were depicted on the screen from the MBREA photo archives. One of the favorites was a photo shot in the early 1970s of a group of appraisers and their wives as they embarked on a road trip to a conference in upstate New York. The group included Charles Akerson, John Hewitt, Steve Byrnes, and Steve Elliott. They sure looked young in the photo, especially Steve Elliott who was sporting a Fu Manchu and the longer hair style of the day.

Prior to dinner, guests enjoyed cocktails, friendly conversation, and soothing music provided by jazz quartet. Executive vice-president Stephen Sousa then introduced state representative Thomas Stanley who praised the MBREA for effectively representing appraisers on Beacon Hill. Representative Stanley honored the association with a proclamation from the speaker of the House of Representatives.
The keynote speaker for the evening was David Bunton, president of The Appraisal Foundation. Bunton spoke on pending legislation that will have a favorable impact on appraisers, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) which he described as a "placeholder" that will be more temporary than lasting and will likely lead to more effective legislation. He went on to thank the MBREA for being an active and effective sponsor of The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) and The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (TAFAC). Bunton noted that Hall of Fame Inductee Tony Trodella was a pioneer for the MBREA and instrumental in leading the association to a sponsorship position in The Foundation, the only state board to hold the distinction. Bunton wrapped up his remarks with a call for uniformity in terms of regulations and disciplinary actions. He noted that new national guidelines were designed to develop a more consistent model for the states pointing out that there are fifty five individual appraisal boards.

After Bunton's remarks the guests were entertained by the wit of Steve Elliott who, as chair of the Hall of Fame committee, introduced the inductees by presenting a brief biography of each as slides of the individual inductee were shown. The honorees included eleven men and one woman who have made substantial contributions to the appraisal profession. They are:
*Charles Akerson, who literally wrote the book on income capitalization,
*Leon Boudreau, MRA, mentor, advisor, and policy writer for the MBREA,
*Abigail Burns, MRA, first woman president of the MBREA,
*Steven Byrnes, long time TAFAC representative for the MBREA,
*Richard Dennis, Sr., MRA, past president, mentor, advisor, and senior member MBREA,
*John Hewitt, MRA, mentor and leader,
*Paul Kinsella, MRA, memorialized by the Kinsella Scholarship,
*John Quincy, Jr., author and first president of the Board of Registration of Real Estate Appraisers,
*Richard Simmons, Sr. MRA, past president and long time leader,
*William Stewart, MRA namesake of the prestigious Stewart Award, and
*Timothy Warren, Jr. chief executive officer of The Warren Group, a company that pioneered the development of an extensive database of real estate sales and ownership records.
It was a momentous occasion and a wonderful evening which took a great deal of planning. Stephen Sousa our executive vice-president, organized the event with help from efficient administrative assistant Nicole Rodriquez and a helping hand from Deb Sousa. Wayne Valliere was chair of the 75th anniversary committee and Steve Elliott was chair of the Hall of Fame Committee which was comprised of the five past presidents of the MBREA.

Peter Vadala, MRA, is the 2009 president of MBREA, Dedham, Mass.