I cannot believe that my 2nd term as Chapter 16 President is almost half over.  If I thought the first year went by fast, this one has nothing on it!  Only five months in and we hope that we have delivered some meaningful member experiences to our current members and perhaps even to some prospective members.

I want to take a moment during these troubled economic times to remind our members of how IREM is helping you on a national and a local level.  The first is simply by being a member of this great association.  Do you know that IREM was founded during the Great Depression as a result of the economic times of the 1930's?  A need was discovered for trained real estate professionals to bring value back to our industry.  They did this by banding together and sharing best practices and offering training for real estate professionals.  Those individuals could then take what they learned and turn it into value for their clients.  Today your involvement in IREM is so much more than those three letters after your name.  You have access to a wealth of knowledge and opportunities to volunteer in leadership positions on both the local and national levels. 

Your access to this vast wealth of knowledge can be found at IREMFIRST.org.  If you haven’t registered on this site, I HIGHLY recommend you do so.  Why, you might ask?  By registering, you have access to information that would force most professionals in the field to weed through web site after web site, and periodical after periodical, and make phone call after phone call to arrive at an answer to a question, or a better way of doing something.  With IREMFIRST you can log in and be able to find any form you could think of to operate your business.  You can post a question in one of the many forums and await several responses from other Property Managers as to the best way to resolve your issue.  As a result, you can be the first person in your organization to come back to your supervisor or owner with a novel way of approaching an operational or financial issue.  You have access to Job Information.  Not only jobs that are available, but information on resume writing, interview skills, and other issues of your own personal marketability.  

Now, you might be asking how volunteering in a leadership position enhances your career.  Volunteering in IREM has many benefits.  First and foremost, it allows you to connect on a one-on-one basis with other professionals.  Opportunities are born out of networking.  Without networking you are waiting for opportunities to come to you.  When you are talking with others in the field, you bring yourself to the opportunity.  Being in a leadership position also enhances your marketability both on the job and in a job search.  I can personally attest to having lost out on an opportunity because the interviewer wasn't completely impressed with my designation.  What he told me was that he would have been more impressed if I had demonstrated involvement in the field outside of work.  If you don't think getting involved does anything for you, guess again. On a personal level, when you are leading an organization of your peers, it enhances your self confidence in a way you wouldn't have imagined.  If you don't think you can get up in front of a room of professionals and lead them in a meaningful way, I will say it is because you haven't tried.  I thought the same thing.  Instead, I have gained the ability to do this not only as a leader in IREM, but as a leader in my organization. 

I feel so passionately about this, that last month, Amy Borgerging, CPM, President-Elect, Leanne Laub, CPM, Executive Council Member and I manned a booth at the BOMA Vendor Showcase at the Hyatt in Downtown Baltimore.  That's the three of us in the photo at the top of the article.  IREM headquarters provided us with a great tabletop display and lots of literature and applications.  We spoke with a number of individuals that either didn't know us, or only had fleeting information about our association.  During this time we met folks that are excited about getting involved and who will undoubtedly be signing up as CPM Candidates and Associate Members.  We hope to see some of them at our Annual Candidates Luncheon on June 17th.  If you know of anyone in your organization that is interested in attending this complimentary event, please let Mertie know so she can send out an invitation.

Once again, it is my honor and pleasure to serve as the 2009 President.  I look forward to the rest of this year, and continuing to bring each and every one of you many meaningful and memorable experiences.  Talk to you in a couple months!

Steve Antonsen, CPM^®   president@irem16.org