2006 IAAO Conference

Country Bumpkins go to the Big City 

Joyce & I thank SDAAO for sending us to the IAAO Conference in Milwaukee in October. If you have a chance to go to the conference some day I encourage you to go.

We arrived in the big city on Saturday evening. We shared a van ride with a group of assessors from LA County. They were veterans at the IAAO conference. We found it amusing that they have 1500 people working in their county and we have less than that in our whole state!

Harvey was one of the first people we saw upon arriving at the Hilton. We had supper with Harvey that evening. He told us everything we needed to know for the week. We also tried to talk him into staying for the awards breakfast on Tuesday.

First thing on Sunday we registered for the conference where they gave all the first time attendee a nice florescent pink ribbon on our name badges. The rookies were easy to pick out with the bright ribbons. We went on a bus tour of Milwaukee City with a bunch of fun people.  Cindy (Wakefield) & her husband Wayne were on the tour with us. The tour included sights via the bus in the morning including a drive through the high end neighborhoods. Lunch was at a wonderful little place along the water. We dined with the “reen” sisters from Minnesota and a gentleman from Hawaii. We compared notes on our different counties. The afternoon was spent touring the Pabst Mansion. The mansion was completed in 1892. It has awesome woodwork. The mansion was almost torn down at one time but was saved and most of it has been restored. 

The Welcome Reception was held at the Pier Wisconsin. It was a new museum on the lake. They served wonderful hors d’oeuvres and beverages. The entertainment was a special performance by the Cashe Dennehy Irish Dancers. I wish I had some of their energy! The organization was established to promote Irish heritage and also competes in international sports competitions.

Monday we attended some interesting educational sessions. There were many choices. One of the classes I attended had a presenter from South Africa. It is just Geography many of the same problem just a different country. Although I do not have any grass huts in Spink County. During the breaks we participated in vendor bingo for a chance to win cash and prizes. I did not know there were so many CAMA & GIS systems. We even found some vendors we knew already. Randy & Arun from Marshall & Swift were there and recognized the fun South Dakota people right away. The Local Host Membership Appreciation event was held at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The museum had wonderful cultural and natural exhibits. As we wondered around viewing the many exhibits they served a variety of different foods (German, Mexican, and Italian).

Tuesday morning, Joyce & I attended the Awards Breakfast & Presentation. We had breakfast with some gentlemen from British Columbia. The whole affair was very formal. It was the most formal breakfast I have ever attended! I had the pleasure of accepting the Instructor of the Year Award for Harvey Kistler. Joyce & I were the most excited people there, just ask the people who were having breakfast near us. We attended more educational sessions, including leadership, management, new construction & technology.

We attended the silent auction, where we ran into Garth Thimgan and his family. Vendors entertained us Tuesday evening at the Rock Bottom Brewery, which is located along the beautiful river walk.

Wednesday’s educational sessions included project management, public relations & the appeal process. We enjoyed the Installation banquet with Cindy (Wakefield), Wayne and four gentlemen from Hawaii. One of the men from Hawaii had just received a call from his son attending college in Grand Forks. He was very excited because it had snowed in Grand Forks that morning. There are many educational and networking opportunities at the annual conference. Thanks again for sending us. 

Kim

.

 

---

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the pictures of Joyce & Kim's IAAO Conference trip!

IAAO  71^st Annual International Conference on Assessment Administration

September 17 – 22, 2005

Anchorage, Alaska

Attending the IAAO Conference in Alaska this year was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The fact that it was the first one I have had the privilege to attend and that it was held in the beautiful state of Alaska makes it a very special event in my assessor career. I especially would like to thank the SDAAO for sending me. It is a great gift for serving as the President for one year. I only regret that I was the only South Dakota assessor in attendance.

I will not bore you with all the program details because you saw from the schedule on the IAAO web site that there were three full days of excellent educational sessions as well as other planned activities that were very special. The host committee went way out of their way to provide wonderful Alaskan experiences and enormous amounts of food for us.

The Wednesday evening banquet which officially closed the conference was quite an event. Of course, the new officers are sworn in. But what I found very interesting was when Pres. Wayne Llewellyn recognized a few people for longevity. There was one lady from one of the southern states who came forward who looked like a middle aged Dolly Parton, big hair and all, and had been in her office since 1949. Can you just imagine the change she has witnessed in the assessment field!

A few things I was not aware of only because I didn’t take the time to look into the facts and figures associated with IAAO. There are 8,000 plus members of IAAO. There were 980 registrants for this conference which included spouses and guests. Much of the work involved in such a large organization is done on a volunteer basis because they believe that IAAO can make a difference and leave a thumbprint in history. This past year was a year of change for IAAO. What a project to move an entire office from Chicago to Kansas City! You, as members, should be very proud of the job that executive director Lisa Daniels and the staff is doing.

IAAO is a very professional organization that has much to offer it’s members. Membership is a privilege that all of you who are not members should take advantage of and become members. Put Milwaukee Oct. 8 – 11, 2006, on your calendar and make the trip. I know you will never be disappointed in an IAAO Conference.

If you take the time to watch the power point presentation put together by Alaskan assessors, be sure to at least watch until you see what it takes to be an assessor up there. This presentation was compiled by members of the host committee and a percentage of the profits from the CD was sent to IAAO members in the hurricane Katrina areas.

Submitted by:  Shirley Mackey