One of the greatest rewards of being a CREW Network board member is the opportunity to network with chapters around the Network. In the past few months, I have visited with CREW San Francisco, CREW East Bay, CREW-LA, CREW Inland Empire, and most recently, CREW Orange County. While there were many memorable moments from each of these visits, one thing that stands out is how CREW members are at the forefront of CRE thought leadership in their regions. They are key to conversations, content and expertise. Some of the topics and trends explored through these CREW networking and formal events included:
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How climate change is being addressed by the City of San Francisco and waterfront developers, and new techniques that may be employed to provide long-term stability to the waterfront;
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How firms are using algorithms to enhance the customer journey by tracking activity and preferences to direct users to good opportunity matches;
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How CRE firms are using virtual tour technology to market properties and technology platforms to manage their assets;
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How to use LinkedIn to showcase not just press releases, but also a sense of company culture to engage the community in celebrating the company’s milestones;
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How inland warehouse markets are “beyond hot” right now due to the changes in e-commerce and distribution;
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And how markets like Los Angeles and the East Bay are blossoming with industrial sites being repurposed by creative developers who respect the historical attributes and leverage the power of a site’s unique story to attract tenants and users.
I have also experienced the power of our business network at events hosted outside of CREW. At PRISM 2017, speakers included Kenne Shepherd (CREW New York), Diane Danielson (CREW Boston) and Jessica Rossi (CREW Charlotte). Event organizer Dianne Crocker tapped into the expertise of CREW Network, and attendees benefited greatly from the knowledge these CREW members shared.
PRISM 2017 (l-r): Kenne Shepherd (CREW New York), Heather Ridgeway (CREW Atlanta), Julie Sorensen (CREW Chicago), Elizabeth Krol (CREW Boston), Dianne Crocker, Diane Danielson (CREW Boston) and Holly Neber (CREW East Bay).
I also have the great fortune to serve as the liaison to the CREW Network Member Education Committee, which is developing the programming for the 2018 CREW Network Convention and Marketplace in San Diego. In this role, I’ve reviewed not only the upcoming 2017 convention agenda (WOW!) but am also in tune to the brainstorming on 2018 topics. The CREW Network members influencing our convention agendas are the forefront of their industries and bringing the relevant topics and networking opportunities to convention participants. You won’t want to miss these events.
I’m so proud to be a part of this organization, and these business relationships and conversations are benefiting my company as I bring back contacts and intel to help craft our strategy and boost our business. This network works for each of us who take advantage of the content and conversations.
Holly
Holly Neber is the chief executive officer at AEI Consultants, an environmental and engineering due diligence firm.
Twitter: @HollyNeber
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