As 2017 draws to a close, the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapter of the Appraisal Institute will install a new president, Albert (Bud) Clarke, MAI. I have enjoyed leading the organization over the past year but I owe a strong debt of gratitude our executive director, Lianne Andreucci, to my fellow officers and to the chapter’s board of directors. We are fortunate to have an executive director with strong institutional memory and a keen knowledge of Appraisal Institute regulations and procedures with which she tirelessly trains our leaders every year. Our officers and board of directors are composed of appraisers who truly care about the profession. They ask the tough questions to keep our organization fiscally sound and responsive to the membership. Perhaps our most unsung heroes are our education chairs; Ed Bowler, MAI and John Drew, MAI. In addition to their full time practice, they year after year have produced a portfolio of cutting edge educational offerings that carefully balance appraiser demand and cost feasibility. 

The chapter has enjoyed success in several areas this year. We awarded 2 SRA designations and 4 MAI designations and welcomed 5 new candidates for designation and 12 new affiliates. Our September meeting featured a candidate for designation night, with networking opportunities for candidates and a program highlighting designation tracks and strategies. The chapter offered 9 qualifying education courses, 2 professional development programs, 3 continuing education seminars and 6 USPAP courses in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Branch Chapter developed a timely offering on Real Estate and Economic Risks of Climate Change in Coastal Communities featuring Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse as the keynote speaker. The annual Summer Social was held in Newport with sailors aboard the Schooner Madeleine and golfers at the Newport Country Club joining at the end of the day for an evening of networking and camaraderie. The annual Jay Zeiger Service Day at the Greater Boston Food Bank had a waiting list of appraisers ready to inspect, sort and pack food in the afternoon with fellow colleagues. 

Now for the change part. I think perhaps every chapter president takes the helm hoping to simply keep the ship on its steady course. After all, the Appraisal Institute has been around since 1932. The organization now has over 30,000 members in the U.S. and around the world. Our organizational structure was last modified in 1991 when the old AIREA merged with the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. Since that time though, our economy has gone through tremendous change, and the way real estate appraisers do business has been completely transformed by technology. Our next generation of appraisers, raised on this technology, is fluent in it. 

The Appraisal Institute is going to change. The question is not when? But rather, it is how? Given the changes in our membership, technology and economy, change is inevitable. We saw two major initiatives this year from national; the Financial Management Policy and the proposed Governance Structure Program Team (GSPT) recommendations. The Appraisal Institute National board of directors is open to discussion and is still soliciting comments on the proposed Governance Structure changes. 

The chapter structure has served us well for many years but it depends on dedicated volunteers to deliver services to its members. Our chapter responded in what we believe is our members’ interests, but each member should make her/his voice heard because it is critical that the best ideas come to the surface. The chapter leadership must ultimately implement these policy and governance changes that will serve current and future members. Please help us get it right by sending GSPT feedback comments to: https://www.myappraisalinstitute.org/strategic_initiatives/governance_structure.aspx

Best wishes to our new 2018 chapter president, Bud Clarke, MAI, and to the dedicated officers and board of directors of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapter. 

Karen Friel, MAI, MRA, is the 2017 president of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and principal at Friel Valuation Advisors, Carlisle, Mass.