The International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate
History 1999-2002
History
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1999-2002
A new host company was employed for the Association website to add a new section available to members only by password. By the end of the year the entire program was substantially complete, providing members with a powerful new communication and networking tool. Capping off an exciting year, AECRE's 8th Annual Conference was held at the world-class La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California on April 22-24, l999, with l25 people participating in the conference. It was AECRE's first conference held on the West Coast.
Hershel J. Richman automatically took over as the new Chairman of the Association at the close of the 8th Annual Conference, and Nancy K. Felcher was elected to the position of Vice Chairman of AECRE.
The second Board meeting of the fiscal year was convened prior to the start of AECRE's second Fall Forum on November 5th in Chicago. The title of the Forum was "Corporate Real Estate Issues for 2000." Again, a unique networking luncheon highlighted the start of the Forum and a dinner party was held, this time at a local microbrewery.
A membership promotion meeting in the Atlanta, Georgia area, organized by AECRE members and hosted by Johnson Controls, Inc. at their headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, took place on February 15, 2000, helping to create an awareness of the Association in that area. Executives from Home Depot and Heery International, Inc. participated as speakers.
A new listserv function was set up on the members-only bulletin board section of the website, so that messages placed on the board would automatically go to every member who has an email address on file.
AECRE's 9th Annual Conference, titled "Real Estate Trends of Tomorrow," was held at the renowned Colonial Williamsburg Resort and Conference Center in Williamsburg, Virginia on April 13-15, 2000.
The Association had 242 members at of the close of the Conference. Nancy K. Felcher automatically became the new Chairman of the Association at the end of the 9th Annual Conference, and Paul S. Rutter was elected to the position of Vice Chairman of AECRE.
Fall Forum 2000 on Sept. 15-16 in Chicago, was a highly successful meeting with two excellent cutting-edge educational panels covering "Global Real Estate" and "e-commerce and the Corporate Real Estate Industry."
Other Board meetings were held during the year to review plans for our milestone 10th Anniversary Annual Conference; plan a "think-tank" session at the 10th Annual Conference in order for AECRE to stay on track with our mission and to keep our focus sharp; plan a new "in-house counsel" networking session for the San Francisco meeting; and discuss membership promotion.
AECRE's 10th Anniversary Annual Conference "A Real Estate Odyssey," on April 26-28, 2001 was a smashing success highlighted by a truly razor-sharp educational program, a lovely Friday evening anniversary dinner party rich in fellowship, and followed by a memorable walk through AECRE's past with introductions and comments from the Founder and all of the Past Chairmen of the Association.
Lisa Carreras was elevated to the position of Executive Vice President & Director of the Association, replacing John Vogt, who had served in this capacity since the formation of AECRE, and John's position was changed to Founder and Sr. Management Advisor. Paul S. Rutter automatically became the new Chairman of AECRE at the end of the San Francisco conference and Richard H. Levy was elected to the position of Vice Chairman of the Association.
Little did we know what lay ahead of the United States and the world during the next year of the Association's history.
First were the tragic, heinous terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC-and the declaration of war on terrorism, followed by the U.S. attack on the Al 'Qaeda network in Afghanistan. A major economic downturn that had already manifested itself in early 2001 turned into a full-scale recession following 9/11, accompanied by massive downsizings, bankruptcies and layoffs by many large corporations throughout the country.
Through it all, and to the great credit of the Association, our membership remained strong with 39 new members joining AECRE over the year, and highly successful meetings at our Fall Forum in New York City and 11th Annual Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona in the spring of 2002. During the business session of the conference, the membership voted to elect R. Bryce Shirley to the position of Vice Chairman of the Association for the coming year. The Convention adjourned on Saturday at noon, with the passing of the gavel to our new Chairman Richard Levy.
The Board spent considerable time reviewing the status of a proposal for AECRE to develop a book on leasing in collaboration with the American Law Institute of the American Bar Association (ALI-ABA), developed and edited by member Ed Chupack. The book would approach leasing from the perspective of all parties involved in a lease; not only looking at the landlord or tenant's view but from the perspective of business people, lenders, etc. The preliminary outline was 21 chapters, which would basically mirror the articles in a lease. The Board approved the project. Since that Board meeting, AECRE members and their colleagues were approached to develop and write the chapters. A contract was worked out between ALI-ABA and AECRE, with ALI-ABA assuming the financial responsibility, printing of the book, etc.
Another significant project that AECRE became involved in during the winter of 2001-2002, was an invitation by the new CoreNet Global Association for our organization to plan and conduct a panel session at the first conference of the new Association in Salt Lake City in May of 2002. A panel discussion titled "Reacting and Planning after 9/11: The Legal, Financial, and Practical Needs, Alternatives, and Opportunities" was proposed and coordinated by Past Chairman James Gray and presented, with much success, at the CoreNet conference.
A very successful one-day seminar titled "International Investors in Georgia Real Estate" was held in Atlanta, Georgia on October 4, 2002, under the co-sponsorship of AECRE, and the State Bar of Georgia, Real Property Section, and the International Law Section. Co-chairs of the seminar were two Board members of AECRE, Bruce Cohen and Phil Engle, who also presided over the meeting.
AECRE's Fall Forum was held at the Chicago School of Real Estate, Roosevelt University, on Michigan Avenue in Chicago on November 8, 2002. Over 60 attorneys and corporate real estate executives attended the Fall Forum and between 5 & 6 CLE hours were approved for the meeting by 18 states.
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