This year's 12th Annual Conference; A great success!

The conference was held June 3rd-5th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, Verona, NY, hosted by the NYS Commercial Association of REALTORS, the NYS Chapters of CCIM and SIOR and the Society of Exchange Counselors. The planning committee for the 12th Annual Conference consisted of chairman John Lavelle (RJ Smith Realty), Brian DiNardo, Joseph Rowley, Jr., Nick DeMarte, Edward Smith, Jr., James Walker, Mike Johnson, Ted Welter, CCIM, CPM, Bob Giniecki, CCIM, SEC, Maureen Wilson, CCIM, SIOR, Edward Gallacher, CCIM and Carey Anderson, SIOR. A special CCIM "Negotiations" class was held on Monday, June 3rd, instructed by Joseph Larkin, CCIM, SIOR. The class was well received by the attendees. SEC also held their annual dinner on the evening of the 3rd which gave their group a chance to network and do some business. NYSCAR hosted an open house for attendees who arrived on Monday to give them a chance to get together and network as well. Tuesday, June 4th, was the annual marketing session which is always a popular event for networking and deal making. The morning kicked off with breakfast and roundtable discussions (topics/moderators: Tenant Representation: Eric Simonds, CCIM, First Time Attendees, James Walker, Office Leasing, Jerry Norton, CCIM, SIOR, Property Tax Reductions, Ted Welter, CCIM, CPM, Multifamily Investments, Bob Giniecki, CCIM, SEC and Investing in Real Estate with Your IRA, James Wilson, CCIM, SEC, EMS). James Wilson, CCIM, SEC, EMS and Joe Crowley, CCIM, SEC served as the lead moderators of the marketing session, with assistance from Nick DeMarte and James Walker. Bob Giniecki, CCIM, SEC was instrumental in organizing the session again this year. During lunch, attendees were given an update by Gary Vandenberg, SEC president, Wayne D'Amico, CCIM institute president and Richard Sleasman, NE regional director, SIOR. Michael Kelly, director of governmental affairs, NYSAR returned this year by popular demand and gave a legislative update to the attendees which was extremely informative. Billy Procida (Procida Funding and Advisors, NYC) was the keynote speaker on the evening of June 4th. Billy is always interesting and entertaining! He talked about the current market and views of the future. Wednesday, June 5th, featured fantastic commercial education and an update by NYSCAR president, Mike Johnson during lunch. Courses for the day included: "The Tenant's Universe and Four Worlds of Corporate Real Estate," Joe Larkin, CCIM, SIOR, "Environmental Issues in Due Diligence," Arlette Meader, "Charitable Gifting through Donations of Real Estate," Duncan Patterson, CCIM, "Lease Negotiation Strategies and their Economic Impact," Joe Larkin, CCIM, SIOR (sponsored by SIOR), and "Today's Tough Real Estate Market: There is More than Fishing and Catching," John Weaver. A CCIM Portfolio Writing Workshop moderated by Louise Giuliano, CCIM was held which included guidance from CCIM designees about preparing a portfolio for submission as well as idea sharing about their experiences and portfolios. Many thanks to our wonderful sponsors! DIAMOND SPONSOR: Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company ; PLATINUM SPONSOR: New York Real Estate Journal; GOLD SPONSOR: SIOR; SILVER SPONSORS: Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Brokers, Inc., CBRE/Upstate Offices, C2G Environmental, The CoStar Group, Chazen Companies, Dutchess Co. Econonic Development, Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., Exchange Authority, Key Bank, The City of Newburgh, NYS Association of REALTORS®, LaBella Associates, PC, and Orange Co. Partnership. We always appreciate your support! See you next year. Michael Johnson is the president of NYSCAR and is a licensed associate real estate broker at Realty USA, Lewiston, N.Y.