2017 CATA Conference Summary

The 2017 CATA Conference was another great success for our membership. We moved our conference back up the hill to Beaver Run Resort, where we have always enjoyed their great facilities and easy access from the rooms to the Conference Center. Our Conference attendees came from all over the State of Colorado, representing 41 different counties. We had 23 Assessors attend as well. Click here for a Map of the Attending Counties.

We presented 4 days of classes, some new and others old stand-bys. The DPT presented 16 different classes, all well attended by 377 attendees over the 4 days. We also offered 6 classes from national appraisal education providers ASFMRA, Brightwood Real Estate Education powered by Kaplan, IAAO and Mckissock, that included two 2-day Qualifying Education classes for members looking to upgrade their licenses. And of course we had our good friends and great instructors: Jim Felt, who presented two Colorado Water Law classes; and Harry Fuller and Steve Kane of Wildrose Appraisal presented classes, with Harry teaching two sessions of the USPAP 7-hr Updates course, and Steve Kane presented a new class – Writing a Narrative Report using Mass Appraisal Results. Dick Gilmore with ASFMRA returned and presented Intro to Commercial Greenhouse Valuation, a very timely course with all the new greenhouse operations showing up around the state.

Last but not least, Deane Wilson, from the American Society of Appraisers, presented his Applied Multi-Family Appraising 5+ Units class. Deane also put together a new addition to our conference, an “Ask the Experts” Seminar, which included three of the brightest experts in the appraisal industry: Peter Korpazc, President of Korpacz Realty Advisors and Editor of Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey, Don M. Millis, Reinhart’s Tax Practice, and Thomas Jaconetty, Deputy Assessor, Valuation and Appeals Cook County, IL (Chicago). These gentlemen provided discussion and insight into a wide range of topics facing commercial appraisers throughout the country.

In addition to all the great classes, we presented the first ever “Commercial Appraiser Forum”, an opportunity for commercial appraisers to discuss and share the ad valorem appraisal issues all of us face throughout Colorado. Facilitated by Felice Entratter from Douglas County, she provides the following summary:

The commercial forum was an outgrowth of our desire to have sessions that are specifically oriented to the issues faced by commercial ad valorem appraisers spanning subject matter from modeling to the state level appeals process. The forum volunteer staff consisted of Felice Entratter, Terryl Tillman, Mark Kane, Gary Peterson, Ken Brownlee and Mike Earley. Prior to the forum a survey of potential subjects was delivered to participants and those topics with the greatest interest were selected for presentation. The four topics included: Dark Store Theory, Smaller national chain users such as banks, pharmacies, and fast food, Profit and Loss Statement tips and sinkholes, and a session we lovingly described as BAA Triage.

In addition to general discussion, the forum included a list of resources on the subjects discussed and a follow-up report that synthesized the issues. One outcome of the session was a desire to develop an online presence for further discussion. This effort is currently being researched. The session was attended by about 35 participants representing urban, rural, and mountain county commercial appraisal professionals.

With the efforts from the DPT and all of these great outside provider instructors, our 249 attendees amassed a fantastic number of 4,501 education hours in 4 days, averaging 18 credit hours per attendee. Due to the diligence of the CATA Board of Directors and the generous donation from the Colorado Assessor’s Association, we were able to keep our class prices down, to an average of $68.71 per class. Click here to review the 2013-2017 Conference Statistics.

Of course we did get some fun activities in as well. Harry Fuller and Wildrose Appraisal sponsored a fun Monday night welcome reception at Napper Tandy’s. Our good friend John Zimmerman with Value West came through again on Tuesday evening donating a keg of beer for everyone to enjoy during the dinner meeting.

We distributed a bunch of great door prizes during dinner and the elections of the new 2018 Board of Directors. Many thanks to this year’s prize donators: Marshall Mungle with OneOK, Paul Beacom with KE Andrews, Jo Ann Apostle with Kaplan (Brightwood College) and Beaver Run Resort. Click here for the 2017 CATA Photo Highlights.

 

Your newly Elected 2018 Board of Directors are:

President – Karen Hart (Arapahoe County)
1st Vice President – Jackie Headley (Adams County)
2nd Vice President – April Myco (Boulder County)
Secretary – Lisa Schober (Eagle County)
Treasurer – Mike Peterson (Summit County)
Board Member – Brook Moyer (Montrose County)
Board Member – Stephen Castellani (Teller County)
Board Member – Stacey Gould (Rio Blanco County)