The Lake County Chapter holds regular meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Our meetings are typically held at Lambs Farm (corner of Rt.176 and Rt.94 in Libertyville) at 12:00 PM.
Visitors are encouraged to attend with a charge of $15.00 to cover the cost of lunch. Please feel free to join us and bring your ideas! Contact Tami Bellisario at tami@bellisariopropertyconsultants.com to reserve a seat.
Please see our Education Page for updates as to class offerings in the area.
2008 Upcoming:
May 14 will be an open meeting to discuss upcoming offerings and speakers. Professionalism and promotion of our services is always on the docket, and continuing USPAP issues continue to provide interesting subjects.
June 11 will provide all appraisers with an opportunity to listen to Mary Beth Magee from the new consolidated multiple listing service, MRED. Changes to the system include an elimination of some of the old formats and we expect to hear a detailed description of the most efficient and thorough ways to navigate our research tools. This promises to be a very informative event.
2008 Most Recent:
In April we hosted Tom Kneesel, a local well respected appraiser with years of experience. Discussion ranged from what review appraisers look for to how appraisers deal with management companies. It was determined that the best way to handle low fee companies is to remain professional and keep smiling.
March found our discussion turning to spring and upcoming educational offerings. We talked about the benefits of ICAP membership and their annual sessions coming this summer. We are checking further into the NAIFA Appraisal Review course and will determine an exact date. Watch for details.
February featured an open meeting where we discussed all of the Chapter benefits we initiated at the end of 2007, including a scholarship for membership to ICAP, reduced fees for our members attending Chapter sponsored educational events, and more extensive promotion of our individual chapter members' businesses. Our meetings this year will consist of open discussions with a speaker event planned for later in the year.
January 10 found several members of the Chapter attending the Lake County Chamber of Commerce Economic Forecast event at Independence Grove in Libertyville. Several well known speakers enlivened the crowd, including County Board President Suzi Schmidt and Congresswoman Melissa Bean. The Chapter sponsored a "Gold Table" at the event which drew close to 250 people and we were well represented with our individual company names printed in the brochure given to all attendees. Not only was the lunch fantastic, but the program enlightened us as to the expected economic and infrastructure development within the county. Additionally, the opportunity to network with several bankers in attendance drew positive attention to our Chapter and the professionalism of our members.
2007 Most Recent:
In lieu of our December meeting, we held our annual holiday party, this year at Oregano's in Mundelein. A good turnout found us socializing over great food, drinks, and terrific company. A big Thank You to those who organized the event and to all in attendance for helping the Chapter have a great year. We're looking forward to an even better 2008.
For November, we finalized the voting for the Board of Directors which consists of the incumbents from the 2007 Board with one exception: the secretary position has now been filled by Beth Kneesel, a longtime Chapter member and experienced appraiser who will continue the tradition of accurate and professional recording of our activities. Thanks to Beth for filling the vacancy!
October's meeting found us discussing the slate for Board of Directors and additional benefits for dues paying Chapter members. The final vote will be due in November and we have requested any interested parties to become involved in helping us run-- and promote-- the Chapter and our members.
Thanks to T.J. McCarthy for entertaining us at our meeting of September 12. His presentation was well attended and he provided tremendous insight as to how to deal with today's unusual market. We look forward to working with ICAP to keep us up to date with current trends.
July 11 brought Mary Ellen Vanderventer to our meeting. Many people have heard of the Recorder of Deeds. She provided valuable insight into public documents and how to enhance our ability to research properties throughout the county.
On June 13, Martin Buehler of the Lake County Division of Transportation discussed numerous projects in the County. He explained how the department is funded and the many hurdles that are necessary to overcome to complete projects. He is part of the group handling feasibility studies for the Rt.120 bypass and he described the new "Passage" system of road monitoring to try to ease congestion as much as possible. His staff was complimented for technology advancements and putting Lake County in the lead of many transportation departments.
On May 9, we had a great meeting with Philip J. Rovang who is Director of Planning, Building and Development for the County of Lake. He answered questions regarding the County's interaction with various municipalities and provided insight as to future development in the county.
On April 19 and 20 we offered our continuing education classes in lieu of our regular monthly meeting. The classes were terrific and our thanks go out to all who attended. Additionally, a big Thank You to Betty Glynn who taught the classes and to Joe Herchenbach who had the responsibility of organizing the classes and saw that everything ran smoothly.
On March 14, we hosted Peter E. Kolb, the Director of Public Works for Lake County. Peter presented an overview of Water and Sewer services available in the county and handed out maps outlining service areas. The extent of the services provided and the overview of which communities were serviced by public water vs. community wells, as well as how waste is treated, was tremendously informative. The appraisers at this meeting now have a leg up on understanding water distribution issues as they pertain to our profession.
On February 14, we hosted Suzi Schmidt, Chairperson of the Lake County Board. She presented her overview of the Lake County "landscape" and answered many questions about the direction of growth throughout the county. We talked about roads, zoning, the county budget, and several other topics of interest. If you missed this meeting, you missed a very engaging presentation by an articulate, informative county representative. The Lake County NAIFA Chapter Board is pictured below with Suzi Schmidt (front row L-R Tamara Bellisario, President; Suzi Schmidt; Audrey Clamage, Treasurer; back row L-R David Hartshorne, Past President; Jack Heeren, 2nd VP; Joe Herchenbach, VP; John Glenn, Secretary)
Previous Meetings 2006:
A regular monthly meeting was held on January 10 where we discussed in more detail issues for the upcoming year. We reviewed a tentative calendar of speakers and what course the Chapter will take in encouraging promotion of its members to professionals in need of appraisals. Additionally, we narrowed down the course offerings for this year and have an education plan already worked out. Please visit our Education Page.
In December, we discussed issues for the upcoming year. The new Board has been elected and are working on speakers, professional development opportunities, as well as social events for general relaxation and fun. The discussion also turned to education and what might be in store for 2007. We are encouraging all interested professionals to attend our monthly meetings
November 8 was our annual Business meeting where we will held our election for the Board of Directors for 2007. The Nomination Committee did a great job in finding excellent candidates for each position and the 2007 Board was unanimously elected. The new officers are as follows: President, Tami Bellisario; Vice President, Joe Herchenbach; 2nd VP, Jack Heeren, Treasurer, Audrey Clamage; Secretary, John Glenn; Immediate Past President, David Hartshorne. Thank you to all who submitted nominations. We're looking forward to another great year.
We held the USPAP Update class in October in Libertyville at Lambs Farm. There was no regular meeting this month. Our instructor was Betty Glynn who did a wonderful job of keeping us interested and amused. Thank you very much to Betty and to those who helped make the class a success, including Joe Herchenbach, Mary Wiesbrock, Lynn Zwiener, and Beth Kneesel.
Our September meeting featured accountant Linda Wegge, EA, ATA, ATP, FLTP, who provided us with an exciting and upbeat overview of the different types of business entities that may be appropriate for us. Linda owns the accounting and tax firm of ATC Wegge, Ltd. in Grayslake, IL. The firm specializes in accounting and taxation for small businesses and was established in 1960. The staff of ten people helps clients with monthly and quarterly accounting needs, payroll, estate and trust planning, sales tax, Quickbooks*, annual reports, tax returns, estate and trust planning, and other issues a client may have. Linda is a director for the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce, Community Trust Credit Union, and three private boards, as well as an instructor with the National Tax Practice Institute. Linda gave us handouts that we can use in decision making for our businesses and answered several questions from attendees. Thanks to Linda for her insight and enthusiasm!
As always, August was a month off for a summer break. We will resume our regular meetings in September and plan to offer the USPAP Update class in October of this year, which has recently been confirmed. Please stay tuned.
Our July meeting provided an overview of the successful year we've had so far. We also had an in-depth discussion of the upcoming education plans for an October class. We are considering the most viable date to hold the USPAP Update class and we're looking into available instructors. Thanks to all who attended for valuable input.
In June, we hosted Lee Lansford, former Illinois State Director of NAIFA and currently the NAIFA's Regional Governor for Region 5 which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan. With new USPAP rules in effect as of July 1, Lee provided handouts and insight into the changes and how it may affect our profession. These changes are considered substantial so it is a good idea to be acquainted with the new rules. Thanks to Lee for bringing a lot of information that we'll need going forward. Don't forget, we have tentatively planned to offer the USPAP Update course later in the year, so please continue to check our Education Page for information.
In May, we held our first Educational offering of the year. Course #16.2, The Appraisal of Foreclosure Properties was presented by Frank McAtee, IFA and we learned a lot about what to look for in appraising REO/foreclosed properties. Thanks to all who attended and to Frank for making the day informative and fun. And thanks to Lambs Farm for hosting us and providing a tasty lunch.
Our speaker in April was Thomas Majchrzak, the Illinois State Director of NAIFA, who provided us with information as to how we can work together to promote our chapter and NAIFA. Tom gave us some helpful websites and explained the national office's plans to promote membership and the IFA designation. More educational offerings are forthcoming as state approvals are attained. Thanks to Tom for his insight.
