Professional organizations need good speakers, but there are no local resources to fill that need. The only local web site with a list of “real estate speakers” includes Colin Powell and Alan Greenspan at fees exceeding $100k, providing little help for the Seattle Bar Association’s monthly dinner. Architects, attorneys, bankers, RE managers, and realtor groups rely on personal rolodexes to fill their meeting calendar. Educators resort to the same proven presenters quarter after quarter.

The Seattle Chapter plans to cure this education blight. Goaded by Allen Safer, we are building a speaker panel and promoting it to professional groups. The initial panel is a mix of single family and commercial members armed with presentations previously prepared for clients or local groups. Speakers will briefly mention chapter affiliation in a way that enhances their credibility while increasing awareness of the Appraisal Institute and its designations. Future resources will include best practices and guidance for improving presentation skills.

We want more speakers. Are you interested in expanding your public exposure? If you don’t want to prepare a speech, how about participating on a discussion panel? Expressing interest indicates a desire to be informed when opportunities arrive, but creates no obligation. You can remove your name at any time. If you want to participate, send an email to Chris Monger (chrismonger@comcast.net) and you will be contacted to clarify your interest.

The list of initial speakers and potential topics are provided below; although other topics can be substituted.

Speakers:
Allen Safer, MAI
Graham Albertini, SRA
Marc Campos, MAI, SRA
Chris Monger, MAI

Possible Topics:
- Mortgage fraud (or related topic)
- How to effectively read and critique an appraisal
- How to hire an appraiser
- Evaluating the income from real estate
- Real estate investment
- An overview of appraisal methods and measuring value
- What do investors look for in a property
- Current income and value trends in (fill in type) property
- The impact of construction trends on real estate values
- The impact of demographic trends on real estate values