GREAT LAKES CHAPTER FIELD NOTES

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G R E A T L A K E S C H A P T E R

F I E L D N O T E S

2004 Officers and Directors President Douglas K. Hodge, MAI Vice President

Kenneth A. Blondell, MAI

Treasurer Lesley J. Linder, MAI Secretary Susan P. Shipman

Directors

At Large James Hartman, MAI

David Borak, MAI

Doris Hellenbart, MAI Keith Darin, MAI Bruce Closser, MAI, SRA Timothy Cronan, MAI

Calvin VanNoord

Marshall Brulez, MAI Past

President Michael Rende, MAI I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Calendar of Events 2

Public Relations 2

Member Spotlight 4

Directory 7

Comments from the President By: Douglas K. Hodge, MAI Greetings to everyone!

I trust that everyone is busy at this time of year with many family and work commitments and looking forward to a busy and hopefully profit-able summer. I would like to take a few minutes of your time to discuss a vital ingredient in the success of your Great Lakes Chapter. In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to teach several courses in a number of locations throughout the country and am continually amazed at the different levels of training received by appraisers. There are many providers of ap-praisal education out there, but few, if any, that offer the same level of competent appraisal edu-cation as the Appraisal Institute. I would like to encourage everyone in the Chapter to commit to obtaining both your prelicensure education and your continuing education from The Great Lakes Chapter. Our Education Chair, David Rice, along with Joan, work hard to provide a selection of seminars and classes for our membership, how-ever, sometimes our membership looks only at the cost of the course rather than the quality of the education they are receiving from other pro-viders.

The national office has compiled an education report for the chapter and the report indicates that we are not reaching as many of the potential par-ticipants that we could and I believe that this stems from the fact that many of us are not avail-ing ourselves of the opportunity that is beavail-ing of-fered by the chapter. Many of us are committed to providing top quality appraisal products to our clients and we owe it to them, as well as to our-selves, to obtain the best possible education. So, as you look towards recertification or need-ing some continuneed-ing education this summer and fall, commit to yourself, your Chapter and your profession that you will settle only for the best – a course from the Appraisal Institute, the leader in appraisal education.

Meanwhile, the status of the Chapter remains sound and I would ask that if anyone has any comments or questions regarding the Great Lakes Chapter please do not hesitate to call or write. Douglas K. Hodge, MAI

(810) 664-4182

[email protected]

President of the Great Lakes Chapter, Doug Hodge

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C A L E N D A R

O F

E V E N T S

E D U C A T I O N A L O F F E R I N G S A N D M E E T I N G S

Did you know that you can register for a chapter sponsored course/seminar online at our website, www.glcai.com?

September 16, 2004 “Evaluating Residential Construction” Traverse City Instructor: James Canestaro, 8 hrs. CEC

September 17, 2004 Chapter Meeting Traverse City

Guest Speaker: TBA

October 4-9, 2004 Course 510 – Advance Income Capitalization Holiday Inn Express Instructors: Terrell Oetzel, MAI & TBA Okemos

36 hours (40 with exam) CEC

October 2004 Course 400 – National USPAP Update Gaylord Instructor: TBA, 7 hrs CEC

December 2, 2004 Appraisers & Real Estate Lending: TBA What Every Banker Should Know

Instructor: TBA, 7 hours CEC

December 3, 2004 Chapter Meeting TBA

PubLIC RELATIONS CHRONICles

Update on National Public Relations for the Appraisal Institute

By: Paul K. Bidwell, MAI, SRA

Member, Appraisal Institute Public Relations Committee

The purpose of this article is to bring you up-to-date on the progress of the Appraisal Institute Public Relations Committee’s activities and plans for this calendar year. I have just recently returned from two meetings in Chicago. The first was for the Na-tional Meetings in which the Public Relations Committee had its first of two naNa-tional meetings. The second meeting was for the biannual assemblage of Region III officers and representatives. As a member of the PR committee I am greatly excited about how proactive your Appraisal Institute has been recently in the public relations area.

First, let me share with you some of the direct benefits created by the PR Committee.

Benefit to Members

• Direct promotion by their local Chapters within their own communities.

• Indirect promotion by their local Chapters, by being identified as a member of the local Chapter.

• The benefit of customizable, professionally-designed advertising and other promotional tools, available from National.

Benefit to Chapters

• Increased public exposure within their local communities. Their members will see a direct benefit from their membership in the Chapter, and will recommend membership to other colleagues.

• Increased participation by members and non-members at regular meetings, educational courses, and special events. • Increased visibility and stature within the business community

• Higher event and course revenues, and increased membership recruitment. Benefit to National

• Increased recognition of the profession of real estate appraisal. • Additional total membership.

• Increased organizational visibility through press mentions.

• Greater revenue through increased education texts and courses sales. • Increased recognition and visibility as a national professional resource.

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With the benefits mentioned above, here are some of the more important activities that have been occurring with regard to Public Relations.

1. Directory Data Expansion

Programming for the new on-line “member profile” will allow members to provide information on areas of practice and special expertise, client references, geographic coverage areas, and even a photograph. All designated members will be asked to complete the survey electronically, and each member can choose how much (or how little) informa-tion is displayed. Once that work is completed and we feel we have received a satisfactory response from members, we plan to create a new CD, to be issued as a 2004 Directory around mid-year.

2. Visibility Campaign Report - Ogilvy PR

As part of the Appraisal Institute’s efforts to enhance the imageof designated appraisers and communicate the value they provide to different market segments, two local pilot programs are being conducted in the first half of 2004. The target audience in Houston is attorneys; for Tampa, its financial planners. The Tampa promotion is currently taking place with radio spots being played on a Tampa AM radio station. The messages, materials and approaches developed for these two initiatives will be evaluated and successful elements will be communicated to all Institute Chapters and may form the foundation for a national visibility effort in 2005. We are using a combination of spon-sorship, direct mail, radio advertising and print ads for this visibility campaign.

3. PR Made Simple - new in 2003

PR Made Simple, first issued in the mid 1990s, has been revised and is now posted on our Web site. It offers a vari-ety of downloadable press releases, public service announcements and other tips of the trade for chapter use. This self-help guide is designed to simplify chapter public relations and promotion efforts. Also, individual members can download this material in the “Member’s Only” section of the AI’s web site for their own personal use.

4. Web Site

New, Improved Site Search – new in 2003

We have implemented a new improved search function on our web site to provide a faster, more comprehensive search of our site.

Search Engine Optimization – new in 2003

In May we hired SEO, Inc. to help AI improve its visibility for various keywords across the most widely used search engines, resulting in a rise in several keywords in the rankings of different search engines.

New Home Page

The Appraisal Institute unveiled a new look for its Web site’s home page on February 6th_{. The new front page}

di-vides information into three key audience groups: clients, appraisers and members. By using drop-down naviga-tional elements users are one click away from most of the content on the Appraisal Institute's Web site.

Chapter Web Site Templates

Based on feedback from a chapter leadership survey in December, we are in the process of developing a requirements document for web site template companies. We hope to have the templates available by spring. In conclusion, as a PR committee member I remain dedicated to encouraging individual Chapters to become more active in pro-moting themselves, their members, and the profession of real estate appraisal in general. To achieve this goal, our committee is continuing to work on providing you and the members of this chapter with the appropriate marketing communications tools and support.

I am here to listen to your needs and concerns regarding increased Appraisal Institute visibility at the local level. The PR Com-mittee genuinely cares about what the Regions and the Chapters have to say. If you have any questions or comments you may contact me at [email protected] or call me at 517-403-9854.

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Jumana Judeh: From Accidental Appraiser to Ambassador

Jumana Judeh, proprietor of Judeh & As-sociates in Dearborn, Mich., is an acciden-tal appraiser. After getting a masters de-gree in industrial relations and practicing in the field until her 30s, she opted out. She embarked on an appraisal career since the flexibility of working for herself al-lowed her to raise her two children. Ten years later, on the cusp of earning her MAI, she also finds herself as the Ap-praisal Institute’s ambassador to the Mid-dle East, having been appointed in July 2003.

“We are still trying to figure out what that means”, Judeh, who was born in Jerusa-lem, modestly jokes. “What we are trying to do is bring the concept of appraisal pro-fessionalism to a part of the world that I feel passionate about. It is my roots.” Judeh does have contacts in the Middle East and recently traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “There are a lot of prospects,” she notes. “I met with several bankers and businesspeople. When real estate prob-lems occur in the Middle East, there is no system to deal with it. The concept of ap-praising is there, but not sophisticated and they want to advance that. Everyone that I’ve spoken to wants to take the appraisal business further.”

While Judeh has not yet traveled as an official Appraisal Institute ambassador, she is expected to return to Dubai in April on an unrelated matter. “I will also be wear-ing the hat of the Appraisal Institute. I’m planning on taking literature with me from the Institute to try to open doors. We will be meeting with businesspeople and gov-ernment officials, the ministries that deal with the local economy and I want to bring to them the Appraisal Institute.”

Working as an Appraisal Institute ambas-sador to the Middle East is an honorary position Judeh takes seriously. As she strongly notes, “I am a true believer that if you solve the economic issues in the Mid-dle East than everything else falls into place.”

To which she adds, “It would mean a lot to me on a personal level if I could contrib-ute something to that part of the world and make it a little bit better. I would feel I had done my job as a human being and a member of my profession.

PR Made Simple

Access the web site which offers a variety of downloadable press releases, public service announcements and other tips of the trade for chapter use. Individual members can download this material in the “Member’s Only” section of the AI’s web site for their own personal use.

http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/membersonly/restrict/PRMS/default.asp

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Save the date September 22, 2004 for

the next annual golf outing at

Lyon Oaks Golf Course

Wixom

All levels of skill welcome! Non-golfers welcome!

Great prizes and awards!

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Support the Promotion of Economic Development Through Real Estate Support leasehold depreciation legislation On April 1,2003 the Appraisal Institute Leadership Development and Advisory Council lobbied on behalf of H.R. 1634, sponsored by Rep. Clay Shaw, R-FL, and S. 576, sponsored by Dem. Kent Conrad, D-ND. These companion House and Sen-ate bills would promote economic develop-ment through the promotion of real estate development. We urge all members of the

Appraisal Institute to contact their members of Congress and support their cosponsor-ship of the House and Senate bills. To take action visit the following website. http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/

govtaffairs/default.asp

Click on the Action Alerts and Other Hot Issues tabs and use the link provided to write to your members of Congress.

35th Annual LDAC Stresses

Promotion of Associates,

Designation, Mentors and

Specialization

Every year the Appraisal Institute holds its Leadership Development and Advisory Council meeting in Washington, D.C., to facilitate the exchange of ideas among up-and coming leaders in the organization, as well as present the Appraisal Institute’s views on current hot topics to legislators on Capitol Hill. The 100 LDAC partici-pants are broken down into four discussion groups that each tackle four discussion topics chosen to represent timely and im-portant issues facing the membership of the Appraisal Institute. This year’s LDAC, held March 15-17, addressed: Specializa-tion as an Opportunity; Associate Mem-bers in Leadership Roles; The Next Gen-eration - Education and Training; and Promoting Designations—Let’s Get It Done! The recommendations, excerpted below, are presented to the national Board of Directors at their summer conference. Those in attendance spent a half day lob-bying their representatives on Capitol Hill regarding RESPA reform and the Federal Services Regulatory Relief Act. As a dem-onstration of what grassroots activism can achieve, shortly after LDAC concluded, there was action on both issues supporting the Appraisal Institute’s recommendations. For more information about LDAC, including how to become a candidate, visit www.appraisalinstitute.org/membership/ events/LDAC.asp

Specialization as an Opportunity

By Daniel R. Crawmer, CPM,

Discussion Leader

One of the goals of the Appraisal Insti-tute’s long range plan is to create opportu-nities, benefits and tools that members can use in adapting to change and diversifying their practices by identifying easy to im-prove connectivity with markets and cli-ents. This goal can be realized by helping Appraisal Institute members offer special-ized services to clients.

An informal survey of LDAC participants determined that most appraisers are gen-eral practioners in their geographical area but usually develop a specialty to become competitive. Once an appraiser is per-ceived as an expert, he/she can offer cli-ents faster turnaround times, an extensive database and experience. Once an ap-praiser has achieved a high level of exper-tise in a specialized area, the challenge is to market that expertise. Two questions were posed; How can the Appraisal Insti-tute help a client find and appraiser with expertise in a specialized area? Once an appraiser is identified, how does the client know if the appraiser is really competent? The Appraisal Institute’s Member Profile Project Team has provided the answer to the first part of the problem. The Ap-praisal Institute is adding an “areas of practice” field to its newly expanded mem-bership directory that will include a list of each designated member’s business ser-vices, areas of professional concentration and an expanded profile. This directory will help clients identify and find apprais-ers with specific focuses. Of course, the information listed on each profile is only as good as that appraiser’s sense of integ-rity and honesty. However, the directory

will provide an excellent service to ap-praisal clients and will provide clients with and initial list of appraisers. Once an ini-tial list of appraisers in a specialized area is identified, each client must perform a certain level of due diligence before select-ing an appraiser for an assignment. It is LDAC’S recommendation that associate members should be extended the opportu-nity to have an abbreviated profile in the specialty directory.

The second half of the problem dealt with determining the competency of the identi-fied appraisal specialist. The discussion groups suggested that the Appraisal Insti-tute co-sponsor education coursed with other professional real estate organizations such as CLE International, International Right of Way Association and the Ameri-can Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

The idea of an educational certificate in specialized appraisal areas was considered by the majority of the LDAC participants to be unnecessary and costly. They also thought the adoption a hyphenated desig-nations, i.e. MAI-Litigation, SRA– Relo-cation would confuse clients and “muddy the designation waters”.

LDAC also suggests that the Appraisal Institute reevaluate a pilot competency or success model as recommended by the Appraisal Institute’s Competency Model Study Group in 2001. This model was never implemented because of the down-turn in the economy and lack of funding but was considered an effective tool espe-cially for individual appraisers or small appraisal shops. The cost of the program was questioned and thought to require further analysis.

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PRESIDENT

Douglas K. Hodge, MAI Phone (810) 664-4182 Fax (810_ 664-4805

[email protected]

CHAPTER VICE PRESIDENT

Kenneth A. Blondell, MAI Phone (248) 540-0040 Fax (248) 540-8239

[email protected]

TREASURER

Lesley Linder, MAI, CCIM Phone (248) 351-2009 Fax (248) 355-8134 [email protected] SECRETARY Susan P. Shipman Phone (734) 996-2646 Fax (734) 996-2690 [email protected] DIRECTORS AT LARGE

Doris B. Hellenbart, MAI Phone (810) 776-7260 Fax (810) 776-4550 [email protected] Keith E. Darin, MAI Phone (248) 208-8800 Fax (248) 208-8822 [email protected] Timothy Cronan, MAI Phone (248) 816-4322 Fax (248) 813-8785 David Borak, MAI Phone (616) 235-1468 Fax (269) 388-4728 Marshall A. Brulez, MAI Phone (248) 577-0084

Fax (248) 577-0684 [email protected] Bruce M. Closser, MAI, SRA

Phone (906) 228-9133 Fax (906) 228-9138 [email protected] James Hartman, MAI Phone (517) 336-0001 Fax (517) 336-0009 [email protected] Calvin G. Van Noord Phone (616) 396-6573 Fax (616) 396-4787 [email protected]

Ex Officio (Voting)

Michael Rende, MAI Phone (248) 649-3925 Fax (248) 649-6816 [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRS Finance

Lesley Linder, MAI, CCIM Phone (248) 351-2009 Fax (313) 353-8134 [email protected]

Government Relations

Terrell R. Oetzel, MAI Phone (517) 336-0001 Fax (517) 336-0009 [email protected]

External Relations

Jeffrey S. Grendysa, SRA Phone (734) 953-1050 x21 Fax (734) 953-2460 [email protected]

Sick & Goodwill

Lawrence R. Anderson, MAI, SRA Phone (313) 561-2300

Fax (313) 561-2302

Meeting Programs

Kenneth A. Blondell, MAI Phone (248) 540-0040 Fax (248) 540-8239

[email protected]

Bylaws

Kenneth A. Blondell, MAI Phone (248) 540-0040 Fax (248) 540-8239 [email protected] Public Relations Susan P. Shipman Phone (734) 996-2646 Fax (734) 996-2690 [email protected]

Membership Development: General

Marshall A. Brulez, MAI Phone (248) 577-0084 Fax (248) 577-0684 [email protected]

Membership Development: Residential

Position not yet filled

Education

David J. Rice, MAI Phone (616) 323-9484 Fax (616) 321-7918 [email protected]