The New England/Upstate NY CRE Chapter had a very active 2010 and in January, the chapter board met on January 24th to plan the 2011 year. In 2010, the CRE chapter board developed a mission with goals including 3 components.
1) Provide members-only, high level, added-value educational events;
2) Collaborate with other organizations on joint events to provide synergy and networking opportunities and;
3) Provide events for CRE prospective members that would expose the value of applying for the CRE accreditation.
With those goals, the chapter held the following 6 events.
1. January 21st, 2010 at 12 p.m.: Harold Brown "Back to the Future" Boston luncheon
2. March 2st, 2010: Ray Torto, Market Outlook, Boston luncheon
3. May 18th, 2010: Marti O'Mara, Corporate Real Estate Issues, McCormick Federal Building, Old P.O. Square, joint event with CoreNet Chapter.
4. September 21st, 2010 "Perfecting Your Counseling Skills: Getting to the Next Level," panel of CRE experts. The Algonquin Club luncheon.
5. November 9th, 2010, Federal Reserve Building, "Boston PILOT, The Next Boston Challenge" lunch program with the Appraisal Institute.
6. December 15th, 2010: Holiday Evening Reception, Algonquin Club, Boston.
The turn out from chapter members and its guests has been quite supportive. For those members that cannot attend an event, the Chapter Board initiated a written summary program in which a summary of the event is transcribed and emailed to all members. Chapter members are still receiving the benefits of the program as "added-value."
In preparation for 2011, a few new additions have been made to the board. In December, Peter Nichols was asked to serve as the 2011 chapter vice-chair. We are grateful for his past contributions and continued ideas on programming. Also asked to join the board was Marti O'Mara, Phd, CRE of Corporate Portfolio Analytics and Steven Kaye, MAI, CRE with CB Richard Ellis. With these two new board additions, the total chapter board numbers 8. The other board members include: Peter Nichols, Jill Hatton, Emmet Logue, Walter Pennell, Bob Costello and myself.
The chapter board met December 15th, 2010 and again January 24th to schedule the 2011 year. The first event of the year will be held in February in Boston with Ray Torto, CRE and Global Chief Economist, Global Research and Consulting Division of CBRE. Last year, Torto gave the chapter a review of 2009 with his thoughts on 2010 and beyond on the U.S. economy and the commercial real estate arena He has offered to present his thoughts and findings on 2010 and 2011.
The chapter has also been contacted by the New England Chapter of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for a commercial real estate market review. The event is being researched for a spring event. The chapter is also interested in holding another event with perhaps CoreNet or a separate chapter event on the Accounting changes from GAAP to IFRS and the impact on FASB 13. Last fall, the chapter had a successful joint with the Appraisal Institute Chapter and the chapter would like to pursue plans for another fall joint event. The 2011 Holiday Evening Reception is already scheduled for Thursday, December 15th at The Algonquin Club.
The chapter is also working on membership development. As of January, 2011, 10 CRE candidates have expressed interest and have been contacted by the chapter chair. One of these candidates recently submitted an application for membership. The chapter board is looking forward to another successful year for its members.
Tentative 2011 Calendar of Events:
* Feb. 2: Ray Torto, CRE "Market Review" CB Richard Ellis offices, Boston
* Spring Event with RICS, TBD
* May 1 - 4: CRE Spring Convention, San Diego
* Fall Event with The Appraisal Institute, TBD
* November 2 - 4: CRE National Fall Convention, Washington, DC
* December 15: Annual Holiday Reception, Algonquin Club, Boston
Robert Nahigian, FRICS, CRE, is the 2011 CRE chairman of CRE/NE and president of Auburndale Realty, Co., Newton, Mass.