A Message from the President:

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction"
-Winston Churchill

The New Year brought with it, not only a sense of gradual recovery in the markets, but a degree of introspection by the Officers and Board of Governors of the MBA of NY on how we can change to better serve our members in these times of change.

While continuing our networking events, educational breakfasts, annual holiday parties and golf outings, we have been moving forward with a number of initiatives designed to benefit our membership:

1. Ruth Agnese of Appraisers and Planners and Fred McDonald of Israel Discount Bank joined our Board of Governors.
2. John Rubinacci of Loandoc, LLC will chair our membership committee.
3. Josh Simon of IVI International, Inc. has joined our Sponsorship Committee headed by Doug Rutley.
4. Drew Melchionni of Prestige Title and Charlie Tallinger of Partner Engineering and Science joined our Golf Committee headed by Mike Hurley.
5. In recognition that fewer companies reimburse for memberships, we have lowered our dues for individual memberships.
6. Anu Joseph and Marc Epstein of JPMorgan Chase will co-chair our Developing Leaders Committee focusing their attention to current and prospective members with less than five years experience in our industry.
7. In conjunction with the Developing Leaders Committee, we will now offer student membership rates and institute a Mentoring Program designed to facilitate informal out-of-office or classroom conversations with mentees looking for advice on entering or advancing within the real estate community and mentors willing to share their knowledge and exchange insights.
8. Partner Sponsorships will be offered to give firms that sign up maximum exposure for minimal cost. Basically, for one low annual fee, our Partner Sponsor will be prominently advertised on our website in addition to any event held and/or material published or distributed by MBA of NY for an entire year.
9. Committees are hard at work planning for membership renewal and our annual Golf Outing to be held on June 13, 2011.

The value of belonging to the MBA of NY is never more evident than during times of uncertainty. Our membership is diverse and provides you networking opportunities with various debt and equity providers, professionals representing all real estate related service disciplines such as finance, legal, brokerage, appraisal, engineering, environmental and title. Receive career or market insights from experts who can assist in your continued professional development. Many of our members have lived through all phases of real estate cycles and can provide valuable advice and historical perspective.

Membership renewal materials will be going out in the mail shortly. We look forward to your continued participation and will gladly welcome new members too. Come to our events; share your ideas, enthusiasm, vision and passion for our industry! Opportunities exist for volunteers on our various committees (programming, membership, education, special events and golf). For information on becoming a member of the MBA of NY, contact our Officers, Board Members or Committee Chairs, or if your organization would like to more information on becoming a Partner Sponsor or to sponsor an individual event, please contact Brenda Kenny, Executive Director at (516) 997-3707 or Doug Rutley, our Sponsorship Chairman at 212 323-3221.