President's message: 2010 NYSCAR officers approved

NYSCAR held its first board meeting of the New Year on January 30 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. The board approved chairs to serve for the year and installed the following officers: president, Joseph Rowley, Jr., (Rochester); first VP, Michael Johnson (Buffalo), second VP, John Lavelle (Pine Bush); treasurer, Brian DiNardo, (Rochester) and secretary Guy Blake, CCIM (Kingston). We also welcome the following governors with new terms: Kristin Badger-Bach, CCIM (Buffalo), David Dworkin (Rochester), Gordon Furlani (Albany), Robert Giniecki, CCIM, SEC (Albany) and Dennis Hennessy, SIOR, Syracuse. The 2010 chapter presidents are as follows: John Fletcher, president, WNY chapter; Kevin Bruckner, MAI, president, Rochester area chapter; Harvey Kolin, president, Metro Long Island chapter; Bob Giniecki, CCIM, SEC, president, Greater Capital; James Walker, president, Hudson Valley; and Doug Rein, president, Southern Tier. Patrick Reilly, NYSAR VP of board and member services, gave an update to the board as to the role of directors, the importance of bylaw compliance and 2010 updates to the NAR Code of Ethics. The board recognized Maureen Wilson, CCIM, SIOR (Pyramid Brokerage, Binghamton) who served as president of NYSCAR 2008-2009 with a president's plaque. Under Maureen's leadership the organization produced its first strategic plan, completed the organization's website and had numerous successful education programs. We are fortunate to have Maureen serve on the NYSCAR executive committee. I am pleased to announce that John Lavelle (RJ Smith Realty, Pine Bush) was awarded the 2009 Realtor of the Year Award! John is an invaluable member of the organization. He has served as treasurer of NYSCAR and is currently serving as the second VP. This past year he testified regarding proposed Wetlands legislation and also produced a membership questionnaire for the members. He will serve as chairman of the 9th Annual NYS Commercial Real Estate Conference being held at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, June 14-16. The board honored Donald Welch, SIOR, DEW Real Estate (Albany) who was awarded Realtor Emeritus from the National Association of Realtors! Don has been a Realtor for over 40 years! He is a founding member of NYSCAR and has served on the board of governors for many years. Joseph Rowley, Jr. is the 2010 president of NYSCAR and is a VP at CB Richard Ellis/Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.