Commercial Broker Quarterly: Fall 2000 - GWCAR, Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS(R)

CBQ >> Fall 2000 Issue

Remarks from the President

Since this is my final column as President, I have many people to thank. I also want to take this opportunity to reflect on our achievements and opportunities for the future.

First, I would like to thank everyone for all of your support this past year - I really appreciate how many of you stepped up to help when I asked - and even better, before I asked! I especially want to thank each of my fellow board members for their hard work throughout the year. But most of all, I would like to thank the staff of GWCAR who worked tirelessly to make every event go smoothly. Most of you have no idea how lucky we are to have such a great staff!

I think you will all agree that GWCAR has once again made great strides in this millennium year - I only hope that I have contributed to its success in some small way.

Second, I would like to congratulate Scott Johnston on his Presidency for 2001. Scott has been a tremendous help to me and will be a great asset in 2001. Please give Scott your full support. Congratulations also to all of the incoming board members!

There were many highlights in 2000: our stellar state-of-the-market seminar, awards dinner, golf tournament and RealTour. But, did you know that 82 people attended the D.C. region's September breakfast meeting? All three regions had a record number of monthly networking/education meetings. Watch your emails for topics and dates in 2001. The best highlight, however, is ending the year with a surplus of $50,000 - our best financial gain ever! It is important for GWCAR to maintain its savings, and this is a great start!

A new initiative to watch for in 2001, which should be of interest to all of us, is our push for increased lobbying efforts on commercial real estate issues. Phillip Thomas and our new staff lobbyist, Damian O'Doherty, will be leading a new committee which will be sponsoring roundtables with public officials and our members promoting GWCAR's position on issues such as the permitting process, the re-opening of Pennsylvania Avenue and raising GWCAR's visibility in the community. The first effort of this committee will be a follow-up roundtable forum on the new zoning regulations and review process for high-tech hotels.

Thanks again - it has been a very rewarding year for me!

Susan Thomas