Congratulations to Our Course Attendees

ISA has concluded onsite courses for 2012.  The final onsite offerings of the 15 Hour Personal Property USPAP, Advanced Report Writing and Requalification courses were held in Naperville, IL and offerings of the 7 Hour Personal Property USPAP and Oriental Rugs courses were held in Dallas, TX. More than 120 individuals attended these five course offerings.

Please join ISA in congratulating our recent course attendees:

Congratulations on taking important steps to further your appraisal industry knowledge, by taking courses through ISA!

Check back next month, for the 2013 course calendar!

Registration Referral Contest Winner

During the registration period for ISA’s fall courses, a Referral Contest took place.  Each time anyone registered for an ISA course, there was an opportunity to include a member name in the “Referred by” field.  All members of ISA were eligible to participate. The contest ended on November 1st and we are pleased to announce the results.

Congratulations to Dennis Adomaitis, ISA! You have won a free registration to Assets 2013, taking place April 12-15 in Chicago, IL at the JW Marriott.

Value in Education

ISA held the final onsite Core Course in Appraisal Studies offering, earlier this month: October 8-14, in Naperville, IL.  We would like to acknowledge those who attended; for taking this important step in not only toward becoming a member of ISA, but for furthering their appraisal industry knowledge:

The updated Appraisal of Fine Art course was held October 15-20 and had the highest attendance, in more than three years.  The following individuals participated in this course offering:

Please join ISA in congratulating our recent course attendees.  Check back with ISA NOW later this week, as we announce the winner of the registration referral contents!

Fall Education and Course Attendees

October is a busy month of educational opportunities for ISA, with six courses being held in Naperville, IL.  We are pleased to announce and congratulate the attendees of two of these courses, the Antiques and Residential Contents (ARC) course as well as the Core Course in Appraisal Studies.

The newly revised Antiques & Residential Contents course was held October 1-6 and had record attendance.  Course participants included the following, with many earning their ISA AM designation with their completion of this course:

Following the ARC course was the Core Course in Appraisal Studies from October 8-14.  Attendees of this course have taken a very important initial step toward furthering their appraisal careers.  These individuals include:

Please join ISA in congratulating our recent course attendees.  Check back with ISA NOW later this month for more on our remaining courses and their attendees.

How to win a free registration for Assets 2013

ISA is currently holding a contest for members.  How do you win? Encourage your fellow colleagues and friends to sign up for any of the upcoming fall courses.Then have them include your name in the “Referred by” field, when they complete an online registration.  The ISA member with the most referrals will receive a free registration to Assets 2013: April 12-15 in Chicago, IL.

Disclaimer:

No limit to referrals.  Registrant must attend the course for the member referral to count. Only one conference registration will be awarded to the ISA member with the highest number of referrals.  In the event of a tie the award will be decided by a drawing.  Winner announced by December 1, 2012. All members of ISA are eligible to participate.

Win a Free 2013 Conference Registration!

ISA is happy to announce a new contest for members! The winner will receive a free registration to Assets 2013, being held in Chicago, IL April 12-15, 2013 at the JW Marriott Chicago.

How It Works
Encourage fellow colleagues and friends to sign up for any of the upcoming on site fall classes, being held in October or November, and have the individual registering include your name on their online registration.

Upcoming Fall courses include:
Antiques & Residential Contents:  Oct. 1-6 (All New Revised Course)
Fine Art:  Oct. 15-20
Core Course:  Oct. 8-14
Advanced Report Writing:  Oct. 24-25
Requalification:  Sept 28-20 (To be held in Toronto, ON), Oct. 26-27
USPAP 15 Hour:  Oct. 22-23
USPAP 7 Hour: Oct. 8 (To be held in Dallas, TX)
Oriental Rugs:  Nov. 9-10 (Brand New Class to be Held in Dallas, TX)

Disclaimer: 
No limit to referrals.  Registrant must attend the course for the member referral to count. Only one conference registration will be awarded to the ISA member with the highest number of referrals.  In the event of a tie the award will be decided by a drawing.  Winner announced by December 1, 2012. All members of ISA are eligible to participate.

ISA Announces June Core Course Attendees

ISA held the Core Course Appraisal Studies in Naperville, IL: June 18-24 and we are pleased to recognize the following course attendees.

Ninya Lee Greek – Boulder, CO
Kay Helker – Platteville, WI
Lyn Huck – Houston, TX
Gwyn Kaitis – Joliet, IL
Anne Kelly – Dallas, TX
Katherine Manning – Barrington, IL
Ashley Mays – Sacramento, CA
Patricia Meadows, ISA – Dallas, TX
Maureen Obannon – Las Vegas, NV
Megan Obannon – Las Vegas, NV
Susan Reutern-Prokuski – Santa Fe, NM
Elizabeth Ruffner – Signal Mt, TN


Please join ISA, in congratulating these course attendees; in the successful completion of the course and for taking an important step in further their education and industry knowledge!

 If you would like to learn more about upcoming ISA courses, click here.

ISA Announces Core Course Attendees

Last week, ISA held the Core Course Appraisal Studies in Toronto, Ontario and we are pleased to recognize these course attendees.

Linda Book – Toronto, ON
Tracey Capes Elliott – Toronto, ON
Elisabeth Edwards – Toronto, ON
Madeleine Forcier – Montreal, QC
Emilie Grandmount Berube – Montreal, QC
Anja Karisik – Toronto, ON
Merete Kristiansen – Vancouver, BC
Jeanette Langmann – Vancouver, BC
Duncan McLaren – St. Catharines, ON
Tannie Ng – Toronto, ON
Germaine Pataki-Theriault – Frederickton, NB
Ed Phillips – Toronto, ON
Melissa Poliah – Toronto, ON
Ian Rawlinson – Saskatoon, SK
Ann-Louise Seago – Toronto, ON
Krysta Telenko – Hamner, ON

Join ISA, in congratulating these course attendees; in the successful completion of the course and for taking an important step in further their education and industry knowledge!

 If you would like to learn more about upcoming ISA courses, click here.

ISA Announces Course Attendees

ISA concluded Assets 2012 with offerings of each the Requalification and 7 Hour USPAP courses, in Tempe, AZ.

ISA is pleased to announce these recent course attendees:

Requalification Course Attendees:

7 Hour Personal Property USPAP Course Attendees:

Join ISA, in congratulating these course attendees; in the successful completion of their respective course and for taking an important step in further their industry knowledge! If you would like to learn more about upcoming ISA courses, click here.

New ISA CAPPs and Membership Applicants

ISA would like to announce our newest ISA CAPP members for the first quarter of 2012:

Christine Guernsey – Colleyville, TX
Judy Nelson – Fort Worth, TX

Congratulations on all of your hard work and this outstanding achievement!

We would also like to introduce our 27 new membership applicants for this quarter.  Please join us in welcoming these applicants to the Society.

Greg Brown – Minneapolis, MN
Ronald Broyles – San Rafael, CA
Justina Burgett – Visalia, CA
Tracey Capes  Elliott – Toronto, ON
Philip Dexheimer – Ocala, FL
Elizabeth Edwards – Toronto, ON
Patricia English – Houston, TX
Jarrett Fairman – Monroe, LA
Katharine Fernstrom – Baltimore, MD
Erin Fossum – Seattle, WA
Kay Helker – Platteville, WI
Anja Karisik – Toronto, ON
Emilia Lanwher – Richmond, VA
Ducan McLaren – St. Catharines, ON
Henk Pardoel – Lansdowne, ON
Kamille Parkinson – Kingston, ON
Germaine Pataki-Theriault – Fredrickton, NB
Clemens Peschl – Pompano Beach, FL
Edward Phillips – Toronto, ON
Melissa Pineda – Santa Fe, NM
Ann-Louise Seago – Toronto, ON
Jon Slone – Ormond Beach, FL
Kurt Soucek – Tacomca, WA
James Tarpey – Bozeman, MT
Krysta Telenko – Hanmer, ON
William Tirpaeck – Little Compton, RI
Erik Yang – Dallas, TX

Congratulations on taking this important step in furthering your professional career and welcome to ISA!

If you would like to recommend someone for membership, please forward their contact information to Sara Porter: sporter@thesentergroup.com.

THE JOYS OF APPRAISING

As appraisers, we all experience a certain amount of drudgery in our practices - this is something to be endured; the dirty crowded storage buildings, the poor lighting, the poor condition of the items to be examined. Remember those times when you were upside down under tables with all the dust bunnies, trying vainly to uncover something about the age and manufacturer?  But, enough of that!  I want to remind you of the other reason we are in this business:  the joy of discovering treasures among the ordinary stuff!  Of course, we get paid for our efforts, otherwise we certainly wouldn't be out in all kinds of weather dragging our gear around to examine other people's possessions, but it really helps when something special pops up.  This is "war story" material, trophies to remember and remind us why we became appraisers in the first place.

Just a few examples:
The time I went to a small ordinary house in a pleasant middle-class neighborhood and found a room full of Roycroft furniture.  The owners had thought the marks were some kind of brand, and had no idea that the pieces were anything special.  They were so delighted with the news and the values, and I hope they ended up with their eyes open to checking out marks in the future.  I am always amazed at people who aren't curious enough to look anything up - but then, why would they need me if they did!  On one recent appraisal, I found 3 rooms full of mounted taxidermied wild animals - something new to my practice.  That gave me an opportunity to learn a lot about the values of animal mounts - why else would I have ever have done that?  I think that my favorite part of appraising is the variety of subjects.  Of course, I'm a generalist, but even specialists will see so many different items within their specialities they must never get bored.  How could you get bored looking at precious gems all day long?  Or wonderful works of art?  (Granted, not all works of art are wonderful, but we will assume the best here.)

My point is that sometimes we forget how much fun this business can be, and how lucky we are to have the variety we encounter.  I'm hoping you always have a lot of business, with many surprises, and clients with wonderful items to appraise!

Terri Ellis ISA CAPP

Earning Professional Development Credits

You may hear various people from ISA talking about professional development credits (PDCs) from time to time.  Mainly when you are attending an annual meeting, course, webinar or when it is time for your five year requalification.  And, you may be asking yourself, what are professional development credits and how do I earn them? Or are they are even important? The simple answer is, yes, they are very important.

WHAT ARE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS?
These are earned through participation in various educational activities.  How do you know how many PDCs you earn?  For each hour of instruction you earn one (1) professional development credit or PDC.  Why are these important? Members of ISA are required to requalify every five (5) years; one step in this process is to submit a certain number of these PDCs.  The number is dependent on your level of membership:

ISA: 50 PDCs
ISA AM: 75 PDCs
ISA CAPP: 100 PDCs

HOW TO EARN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS 
Each time that you participate in an ISA course, attend an annual conference, participate in a local ISA Chapter meeting/event, or attend a webinar, you earn PDCs. Do you attend courses or annual meetings presented by other appraisal groups?  These are also great ways to earn professional development credits.   One of the easiest ways to earn additional PDCs, without traveling and for very minimal cost, is by participating in ISA webinars.  For each educational webinar that you attend, you earn 1 PDC. It might not seem like much, but these points add up quickly. Have you created and presented a speech or seminar?  You can year PDCs for that as well, two (2) per presentation hour. There are many ways to earn professional development credits through ISA and non-ISA activities alike.

KEEPING TRACK OF PDCS
 After you participate in ISA activities (ex: course, webinar, annual meeting) you receive a “CE Form”. This document will state your name, the date and name of the activity as well as the number of PDCs that you earned.  It is important to keep these documents, even if they are emailed to you.  They serve as your “proof” of participation; which will be important to have when you submit your Requalification Packet.  It’s always easiest to start keeping track of these points early on.  How do you do that you might ask; my suggestion would be to create a log sheet or excel spreadsheet, where you can track these activities as you complete them.  It might also be a good idea to keep a hard copy file for those documents which you receive a physical copy versus an electronic copy.  For electronic copies, it is easy to create a folder on your computer desk top in which to save these items.

If you have any questions about tracking professional development credits or how many you might have earned for participation in an ISA course, please contact Michelle Stearns, Education & Credentialing Coordinator at: mstearns@thesentergroup.com.

ISA Announces Course Attendees

ISA kicked off the 2012 course calendar with offerings of the Requalification course: January 20-21 and the 15 Hour Personal Property USPAP course: January 23-24, in Naperville, IL at the Northern Illinois University- Naperville campus.

ISA is pleased to announce recent course attendees:

Requalification
Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg, ISA CAPP – Elkins Park, PA
Michael Conner, ISA AM – Champaign, IL
Dana Garvey, ISA AM – Seattle, WA
Darlene Hines, ISA CAPP – Bloomfield Hills, MI
Carey Ross, ISA AM – Seattle, WA

15 Hour Personal Property USPAP
Martha Arney, ISA AM – St. Joseph, MI
Jack Bacon – Reno, NV
Dana Garvey, ISA AM – Seattle, WA
Nigel Harrison – Vancouver, BC
Roberta Kramer, ISA AM – Chicago, IL
Judith Martin, ISA CAPP – Wheaton, IL
Kamille Parkinson – Kingston, ON
Carey Ross, ISA AM – Seattle, WA
Wendy Treacy – Aurora, ON
Elise Waters Olonia – El Prado, NM

We would like to congratulate these course attendees, in the successful completion of the course as well as for taking an important step in further their industry knowledge! If you would like to learn more about upcoming ISA courses, click here.

ISA is Headed West

Go west ISA, go west for an exciting, entertaining, educational and enriching experience to the Annual Conference: Turning Up the Heat! Assets 2012.   Start preparing and packing your saddle bags to board the coach and escape to our Arizona Western hospitality for a “rootin’ tootin’ highfalutin’ good time”!

As one of your hosts, we have planned a Friday tour schedule that will make it difficult for you to choose which tour experience to take --- either the Antiques and Residential Contents package tour with lunch taking you to the world famous Heard Museum followed by the Musical Instruments Museum housed in a fifty thousand square foot musical mecca, or The Fine Arts package tour including lunch with a special behind the scenes look at museum storage at the Arizona State University Art Museum followed by the Phoenix Art Museum that is presently highlighting Frank Lloyd Wright. We guarantee that either one will leave you “wide-eyed and open-mouthed” and saying “WOW”!

A brief synopsis for each of the venues are …

a.    The Heard Museum:   Since 1929, the museum has educated visitors from around the world about art, artifacts, and decorative arts with its 40,000 items and changing exhibitions such as Navajo Textile: 100 years of weaving and Bola ties: the Ultimate Neckwear, and Around the World Collections.

b. The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM):  As an introduction to the newest world famous two-year-old museum, it is like “a jewel rising from the desert, MIM is an inspiring venue for sharing the world’s music. Pass through the majestic courtyard into the bright and soaring atrium. Follow “El Río,” the flowing river form that creates the path linking the museum’s galleries. With an interior designed to convey the graceful lines common to musical instruments, MIM is bright, open, and dramatic in scale. It’s a magnificent destination befitting the discoveries inside.”

c. The Arizona State University Art Museum (with the adjacent Ceramics Research Center): The 57,000 square foot building houses a 12,000 piece collection that includes works from the 14th century to the present featuring paintings sculpture, prints drawings, ceramics and photography. Contemporary, Latino, Southwestern artists are well-represented.

d. The Phoenix Art Museum:  With over eleven galleries, you could spend two days and still not finish as you explore American, Western, Contemporary artists, fashion design, miniature rooms, photography, and special collections.

Of course, you will have an expert docent with a customized tour for each museum to help personalize your experience.  Sign up NOW as spaces are limited especially the “pre-conference bonus” offered below to the first 28 early arrivals.

Sincerely,
Tom Helms ISA-CAPP
Annual Meeting Chair

A PRE-CONFERENCE BONUS offered by your hosts from A-Z Appraisal and Estate Consultants would like to invite you to sign up for a $20.00 bus charge for an all day Thursday, April 19th  no-host “Behind the Scenes Exploration of Greater Phoenix”.
Get to know the area with some possible stops such as a quick visit to the rarely visited “Mystery Castle” or a visit to famous “Paolo Soleri Cosanti Bell Studio” or a stop at “Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West” or a look at “Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art”, or just to stop at one of Phoenix’s premier antique malls or shop the galleries in Scottsdale or just listen to me chat about the good, bad and the scandalous “Valley of the Sun”.  We will pick you up at the hotel at 9:00 and bring you home by 6:00.  Of course this no-host experience will stop at “MacAlpine’s1929 Soda Fountain” for lunch as we unravel the mysteries of the area as we continue to celebrate Arizona’s Centennial.

 Hopefully, you will be the first one of the 28 to email Tom Helms at the 123@cox.net to say, “count me in as I am coming in on Wednesday and will be raring and ready to hop aboard and explore.”  It will be a fun day leaving you exhausted for your next day’s event leading to a memorable 2012 Conference.

Explore!

As this week's previous post indicated, ISA has a brand new website! We would like to help you get to know our new website a little better with our version of a scavenger hunt. We have listed ten questions below, to get you started on your exploration.

By entering the bold word in any of the questions below into the “Search” field found on the ISA homepage, you will be presented with “Search Results”, which will assist you in answering the question. Click on any of the populated results; this action will take you to that source of content.

1. What is the Mission of ISA?
2. Who currently sits on the ISA Board of Directors?
3. Where and when is the Annual Conference being held?
4. How can you be certain you have a good appraisal?
5. What is the ISA Code of Ethics?
6. What is ISA’s Credentialing Policy?
7. What courses are being offered in 2012?
8. What are the benefits of ISA Membership?
9. What are the four ways to search using: Find an Appraiser?
10. Where are current committees listed?

Whether you are an ISA Member familiarizing yourself with your Society’s website or a member of the public just trying to learn more about us and what we do; this is a great way to explore all that the new site and ISA has to offer.

ISA Launches NEW Website!

As many of our blog readers know, ISA has officially launched its brand new website!  This exciting project has been in the works for some time and we are proud of all of the hard work and effort that has gone into this incredible new site; it not only provides up to date information on ISA as a Society, but also promotes the individual appraiser as well.  

We would like to take you on a brief tour and introduce you to a few of the many exciting, newly refined aspects of our new website. 

The ISA homepage, the central hub of information at a glance.  Be sure to complete your member profile, upload an image and complete the spotlight section – our full members (ISA, AM, and CAPP) will be featured in the “Member Spotlight”, which rotates through completed member profiles. Utilize the new search function from the homepage to locate information within the website. 

The new and improved ISA Forum, available to ISA Members only, is accessible with the same user name and password that is used to sign into the member side of the website.  No more trying to remember two sets of user names and passwords for ISA.  The new platform is user friendly allowing members to post questions, photos and comments on a specific thread.
 

Access details on the upcoming ISA Annual Conference by clicking on “Annual Conference”; this brings you to a dedicated page, where you can not only register, but find information on the program, hotel, specialty tours and more. 

Are you curious about ISA Education? The Education page of the website allows you to learn more about the current education initiatives as well as register for upcoming courses. 

 Are you curious about the latest news from ISA?  Navigate to the News tab of the website and view recent ISA Now blog posts, view ISA’s calendar by month, week or day, catch up on Member News Feeds and see the latest member updates.

These are just a few of the exciting new pages on the brand new ISA website.  Visit our blog later this week for more tips and hints about discovering all the new and exciting features of the ISA website.  

Happy Holidays from ISA

Happy Holidays from ISA!

As 2011 comes to a close, we reflect back on what has been a very busy year for ISA, including record attendance at the annual meeting that took place in Nashville along with increased course attendance and continued partnerships with the Northern Illinois University.

ISA is also proud to have welcomed 64 new candidates for membership this year!

We look forward to the New Year and all of the excitement that it is sure to bring.  We are pleased to announce the launch of a brand new website for the Society during the first week of January 2012 – this has been an exciting and in-depth process and we are anxious to unveil the final results and culmination of member and task-force feedback.  Watch your email over the next two weeks for further details.

ISA is headed west for Assets 2012, which is taking place April 20-23 in Tempe, AZ at the Tempe Mission Palms. We’re also kicking off the educational courses early with offerings of both the Requalification and 15 Hour USPAP courses, taking place in January.

Due to the holidays, ISA Headquarters will be closed on the following dates:
Monday, December 26
Monday, January 2

We are looking forward to 2012 being another successful year for the Society as well as for our members! We wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season.

WANT TO BE A GUEST BLOGGER?

Would you like to be a guest blogger on ISA Now?  As a guest blogger you can share a story, experience or expertise with the ISA Now readers. Have you had an interesting experience with ISA that sticks out in your mind; your first course, conference, appraisal after becoming a member, etc., we would like to hear from you. We would like to hear how ISA has made a difference in your professional or personal life. If you are interested in being a guest blogger, contact Michelle Stearns, Education and Credentialing Coordinator at: mstearns@thesentergroup.com to learn more about the process or to submit a post.

2012 COURSE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

ISA is pleased to announce the opening of registration for the 2012 courses! ISA has expanded its course offerings and will host 15 different courses in a three different locations: Tempe, AZ, Naperville, IL and Dallas, TX.  To register for an upcoming 2012 course, please visit the ISA Store.

Registration for the Distance Education Core Course in Appraisal Studies as well as the Distance Education Requalification course is available at any time. Course descriptions may be viewed, here.

The 2012 course brochure will be hitting mail boxes very soon.  If you have any questions regarding the upcoming 2012 course offerings, please contact Michelle Stearns, Education & Credentialing Coordinator at: mstearns@thesentergroup.com.