I want to add to the praise for the first AppraiserFest held last week in San Antonio. Kudos to Phil Crawford, Lori Noble, and Mark Skapinetz for a great first event! I’m very glad I made the decision to attend.
I was struck by how positive everyone was at the event. Even though the residential appraisal business is under threat from changing client needs and reduced loan volumes, AppraiserFest speakers gave us many ideas for how to grow our business.
I greatly appreciate that this was an appraiser-centered event with a distinct lack of client presence.
Attendees were younger than typical for industry events, a refreshing change. Also, a larger percentage of attendees were women.
I spent much of my time at AppraiserFest with George Dell and Steve Smith at the Valuemetrics booth discussing data analysis with attendees. Hanging out with George and Steve for several days was like a master’s seminar in appraisal. I’m so fortunate to have mentors so willing to share their experience like these two.
Tom, Ryan, Jamie, and Bill with yours truly at AppraiserFest
Meeting online friends in real life was the best part of AppraiserFest. I was fortunate to break bread with some of the best appraisal bloggers in the country including Tom Horn, Jamie Owen, and Bill Cobb. And Ryan Lundquist, a long-time friend in real life (!), was kind enough to put up with my snoring. Thanks for sharing the room Ryan.
This was my first trip to San Antonio so I had to visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk.
It was great catching up with Diane, John, and Teresa from the Excel class I gave in Portland two years ago. Can’t wait to see you again.
Takeaways:
- Positive vibe throughout
- Great networking with people I actually wanted to meet
- Very professional event with great speakers and topics relevant to my day-to-day business
I will be back next year!
Great recap Joe. I agree with your insights too. Glad to have had so much time to hang at the event. I was tempted to mention your snoring on my blog this week, but I didn’t want to surprise you with that. 🙂
At least tell me Ryan taped Joe snoring. Priceless. Glad you had a good event.
Missed opportunity….. Let’s just say Joe is very gifted when it comes to snoring though.
The best part of the fest was spending time with friends. We need to do a better job finding good places to eat and drink next year.
Great article Joe! I totally agree with your thoughts. It really was a great event. I also really enjoyed meeting you in person and getting to know you along with the other awesome appraisers you mentioned. I’m looking forward to seeing you again in person. I’m all in for AppraiserFest 2019.
Thanks Jamie. I’m inspired by you, Bill, Tom, and Ryan to start posting more frequently. You guys are amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing! I so wanted to be there as I knew it would be great. Looking forward to next year!
Looking forward to seeing you next year.
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Thanks Dan. Did we meet at AppraiserFest?
Thank you, Joe. It was great to see you again and to spend a little time with Ryan. You are both extraordinary appraisers and inspiring people. The Fest was the Best!
Thanks Teresa. Great to catch up with you and Diane. Hope to see you soon.
Great recap, Joe! This was so much fun because of the people involved, and maybe lack of clients like you said. It felt like a reunion of sorts where you can’t wait to see old friends. There was a lot to learn and a lot of takeaways that we can helpfully use to strengthen our businesses. Can’t wait to see you again at the next Appraiserfest.
Great points Tom. The people running it and attending were one and all positive and inspiring.
Love it. Cant wait for 2019
Great post and pics!
Thanks Abdur. Hope to see you at AppraiserFest next year.