Quarterly: Summer 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Summer 2004 Issue

President's Perspective

It is with great pleasure that I report that RealTOUR 2004 was a huge success. The event, held June 16 at Gallery Place and the MCI Center, attracted about 325 attendees. This year's audience was a little more diverse than year's past. More residential agents came this year to hear our speakers and get a glimpse of the residential and mixed-use projects popping up all around the 7th Street corridor. I would like to thank Mayor Anthony A. Williams, John E. "Chip" Akridge III, Andrew Altman, Brian Coulter and Douglas Jemal for coming and sharing their future visions of downtown DC.

We have had a couple of recent victories in Virginia as well. GWCAR is one local association of only six to have surpassed its annual REALTORS^® Political Action Committee (RPAC) fundraising goal as of May 31. Well done! DC looks to be the next in line to accomplish this feat. RPAC contributions are given to candidates who support commercial development and related commercial real estate issues. RPAC strengthens the REALTORS^® political advocacy program through grassroots activities and federal, state & local lobbying efforts. There's only one way to protect your investment in commercial real estate-and that's by investing in RPAC!

Congratulations are also in order for our Northern Virginia Regional Chairwoman Marty Almquist (Grubb & Ellis). The first Northern Virginia Regional Breakfast Meeting of the year was held June 9 at Stella's Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. "A Tour of the New Patent & Trademark Office" was the topic. LCOR's DC area Vice President Bill Hard and a group from his development team gave a presentation to a standing room-only crowd of 50+ brokers. Attendees then took a brief tour of the massive buildings still under construction. This was one of the largest lease transactions in Northern Virginia in the past year coming in at about 2 million square feet.

Stay tuned for details on the next breakfast meeting coming soon.

We also have two annual crowd pleasers coming soon: The 2004 Annual Golf Outing and the Suburban Maryland Office & Industrial Expo. Both great events are returning to the same venues as last year. Mark your calendars-the Golf Outing is September 14 at Whiskey Creek Golf Course in Ijamsville, Md.; the Expo is October 8 at the University of Maryland Shady Grove Campus. Representatives and developers from Montgomery, Frederick and Prince George's counties will again be in attendance at the Expo. While the Golf Outing is already SOLD OUT, there is still time to get in on the festivities for Expo. But hurry, there are a limited number of slots available for sponsorship and registration.

Also, I invite you to take advantage of new benefits that come along with being a GWCAR member. Not only do we have the new information exchange listserv, TransACT, making its debut shortly after Labor Day, but a host of new discount member benefit programs will be introduced over the next few months. These are tools that will guarantee more money in your pocket with less hassle-either by saving you money or helping you get more deals closed in less time.

This is a great time to be a GWCAR member. I hope you take advantage of all we have to offer. We are the voice of greater Washington's commercial broker. With your participation, our combined voice will be heard increasingly more throughout the region as the true leader in the commercial real estate industry.

Brendan Cassidy
2004 President