Welcome to the New Year! I trust that everyone had a happy and safe holiday season spending time with family and friends. BOMA Southern Connecticut ended its year with an annual Holiday Social at Innis Arden Golf Club in Greenwich. Festive atmosphere, wonderful food, and lots of laughs amongst all who attended. A big thank you to Hoffmann Architects for sponsoring the entire event and for being an ongoing loyal professional member.
I also want to take this time to thank all of our annual and event sponsors that assist us through the year. They not only pledge dollars that help the organization host informative and educational events, but they dedicate their valuable time assisting our committees in moving forward.
If you're reading about BOMA for the first time, you may be wondering who we are. The Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA SoCT) represents commercial property owners and developers, commercial real estate professionals, and associate members through leadership, advocacy, research, outreach, and education. BOMA SoCT serves the commercial real estate industry from New Haven to the New York/Connecticut line. We are comprised of not only owners and managers but also of companies that provide so many services to the properties day in and day out. See more about us at www.soctboma.org and all members or non-member owners/managers can connect with us on LinkedIn. BOMA International is a federation of 93 BOMA U.S. associations, BOMA Canada and its 11 regional associations, and 13 BOMA international affiliates. Together, the 117 organizations form a worldwide, professional community dedicated to providing knowledge and solutions to commercial real estate practitioners. For more info go to www.boma.org.
BOMA SoCT is also part of a collective regional group known as the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). As the largest of the regions, with over 3,500 members in 11 states, boasting some of the country's most highly acclaimed real estate, we benefit from each other as our vast network reaches from Boston to Washington, D.C. BOMA SoCT is proud to be hosting the annual MAC this year locally at the Stamford Marriott from April 29 to May 1. While this is a member only event, we welcome all commercial property owners, managers, developers, and/or real estate professionals to inquire about and possibly attend. It is our chance to show off what our Southern CT area has to offer. Get more details about this event at http://www.soctboma.org/pdfs/BOMA-SoCT-MAC-Flyer.pdf.
How does an organization grow? It's a question that all groups ask themselves as they/we rethink our goals, how we operate, who we serve, and what our greater good is. In all honesty, it's difficult and getting the word out is one of the hardest tasks since our industry has become very busy these days. At BOMA SoCT, we strive to bring our members compelling educational and informative meetings that, in the end, help us become better at what we do. Good business growth, both personal and financial, is much about experience and relationships from which creative ideas nurture expansion.
In relation to membership growth, BOMA SoCT would love to hear from you as we are always looking for new members. We also have a newly formed emerging leaders committee. It focuses on reaching out to the new and next generation of leaders in the real estate industry, allowing for networking opportunities amongst each other and with those more experienced. So if you or someone you know is interested in real estate management and has less than five years' experience in the industry, connect with us and let's help each other. All our committees can be seen at http://www.soctboma.org/committees.
On January 16th, I will be attending the BOMA Winter Business Meeting. This meeting allows the organization's chapter leaders to gather and discuss advocacy, education, membership, leadership development, or other industry issues. nIt allows for networking and participant discussions on current trends and best practices in commercial real estate.
Finally, another must attend local BOMA SoCT meeting is our State of the Market luncheon to be held on Thursday, January 29th at the Stamford Marriott. This is our annual kick off meeting to start the year right. This panel discussion consists of well-known real estate professionals who debate on where the market was, where it is, and what their "crystal ball" predictions are for our near future. This informative event is typically interactive with attendee questions and comments. More event info can be seen at http://www.soctboma.org/events.
Victor DeCicco is the president of BOMA Southern Connecticut, and is with HB Nitkin Group, Greenwich, Conn.Victor DeCicco, The HB Nitkin Group