Archive of 2003-2004 Events

Current events and past events for 2004-2005 are on the current Calendar.

When and Where
The San Francisco Chapter meets on the second Thursday of the month at the L'Olivier Restaurant at 465 Davis Ct, San Francisco, CA 94111-2465 (Telephone: 415-981-7824). Conveniently located in San Francisco's northern Financial District, the restaurant is in the Golden Gateway Center near the intersection of Clay St. Valet, street and public parking is available.
(Click on the photo of the Golden Gateway Center above to open a new window containing a customizable map centered on the L'Olivier Restaurant.)

The Northern California and Nevada Chapters, serving the populous San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Reno, and Tahoe areas are among the most active in the nation! Check in often to catch up on our full calendar of educational, recreational, and social events. Here you'll find the latest news about seminars, meetings, lectures, speeches, parties, functions, and more. If it's happening in Northern California or Nevada, you'll get the scoop on it here!

For additional information or to submit a news item for consideration, please contact our website coordinator, Chapter President René Hlousek, ASA by , by calling 415-357-1227 or faxing 415-357-1701.

For National and Regional ASA News, visit the News and Events page of the national organization website.

Past Events:  (For reference only.)

Real Estate Appraisal Course
Santa Rosa Jr. College instructor Dave Lewis, ASA, will teach RP202: Introduction To The Income Approach To Valuation on four consecutive Fridays (June 25, 2004 and July 2, 9, 16, 2004) in Santa Rosa. The course, which qualifies for both ASA and California Office of Real Estate Appraisers credit, covers income property classification; introductory income capitalization; residual analysis techniques; compound interest functions; discounting and annuities; financial statements and ratio analysis; and reconstruction of income streams. Course prerequisite: successful completion of RP201. Contact Dave Lewis by phone (707-565-3590) or by for fees and directions.

June Meeting, San Francisco Chapter:
Installation Dinner with Speaker on Global Energy Challenges
The June chapter meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 10, 2004 at Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar (Telephone: 510-444-3456) at Jack London Square in Oakland, CA. ASA members are invited to attend the Board of Directors meeting at 4:00 p.m. The Chapter meeting will get underway with a networking mixer at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. (Note the early start times.)

The after-dinner speaker will be Severin Borenstein, Ph.D., who will talk about Energy Challenges in the U.S. and Beyond, a timely topic in the light of world events. Dr. Borenstein is the E.T. Grether Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy in the Economic Analysis and Policy Group of the Haas School of Business at the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, where he also serves as Director of the UC Energy Institute. An educator and theorist with many publications and honors, he is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

All ASA members are invited. Dinner is $35 per person payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (salmon a la bella, chicken picatta, or vegetarian), to Chapter President James Brown.

California NAIFA Education Conference
The California Chapter of the National Association of Fee Appraisers will hold its annual 2004 So Cal Education Conference on Friday-Sunday, June 4-6, 2004 at the DoubleTree Hotel Anaheim, 100 The City Drive, Orange, CA 92868. The conference features a 3-hour open Q&A session with industry leaders on June 4 (free Ethics class for the first 175 registrants), and 52 hours of OREA-approved continuing education. For more details, costs and to register, visit the California NAIFA website.

Personal Property Committee Conference:  Paris on the Prarie
The ASA Personal Property Committee is sponsoring Paris on the Prarie in Chicago, IL on May 4-8, 2004. Starting with a John Hancock building dinner overlooking Chicago and five prarie states, you'll visit private collections, dine at private clubs, and attend expos and exhibitions on art, antiques, and decorative arts. Space is limited, so early registration is suggested. Full details of the conference are available on the national ASA website. (Can't make the Conference? Click on the panorama above to sample the Hancock tower view.)

Blackhawk Museum Outing
Join us on Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 3:00 p.m for a special two-hour tour of the Blackhawk-Ken Behring Automobile Museum located at 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville, CA 94506 (Telephone: 925-736-2280). See antique autos and the personalized cars of yesteryear's movie stars with lively commentary by Blackhawk docents. The cost is $35.00, including dinner at the nearby (3540 Blackhawk Plaza Circle) Blackhawk Grill (Telephone: 925-736-4295), renowned for excellent meals. (Click on the car for a map and driving directions.) Check back here for additional details, or subscribe to this page to be notified by email when it changes.

May Board Meeting, San Francisco Chapter.
The May Board Meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, May 13, 2004 at at 5:30 p.m. at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend. Please reserve early.

April Meeting, San Francisco Chapter:
Candidate's Night (All Disciplines).
The April meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, April 8, 2004 (rescheduled from December 11, 2003) at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend the Board of Directors meeting at 5:30 p.m. The Chapter meeting will get underway with a networking mixer at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m.

Talk.  Accredited Senior Appraisers (ASAs) from each discipline will speak about Moving Valuation Reports Through the Advancement Process. This is a great opportunity for candidates to ask questions and get help preparing reports in the form expected by examiners.

Drawing.  Candidates at the meeting will draw for a $300 gift certificate good toward the purchase of an ASA-sponsored valuation class or valuation textbook(s).

Dinner is $30 for members payable in advance. (Members who paid for the cancelled December 11 meeting don't have to pay again.) Please RSVP, including dinner selection (Salmon, Medallion of Pork or New York Steak), to Chapter President James Brown.

Spring REAMUG Meeting.  The spring meeting of REAMUG, the computer users group for appraisers, will be held on Friday afternoon March 26, 2004, and all day Saturday, March 27, 2004 at the Holiday Inn Bayside. The hotel is located at 4875 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92106-2304 (Telephone: 619-224-3621). Continuing education credits (10.5 hours) for the meeting are pending approval from OREA. Credits require minimum 90% attendance.

Friday sessions
On Friday afternoon (1:00 p.m. start) George Gallagher of CoStar, will discuss The CoStar COMPS Sales Program and Where It Is Going after which John Wood of M & S Connect will tell us why M & S Connect Continues to Grow. After the break, Tony Correia, ARA (at left), of Correia-Xavier, Inc. in Fresno will talk about Preparing Quality Maps and Graphics, and Internet Sources

Saturday morning
Following an 8:00 a.m. business meeting (open to all but not required) on Saturday morning, Mary Dum of Thomas Dum Real Estate Appraisers, Inc. will provide a Software and Hardware Update: What Has Changed and What Has Not! After the break, David Hamilton, MAI of Hamilton Associates in Fresno will speak about Commercial Report Generators: The National Perspective.

Saturday afternoon
The REAMUG meeting will close with two lively sessions. In the first, Rick Betts, ASA, MAI, SRA, of Betts & Associates will team with Mary Dum to ask So, You Want To Switch To A New Computer?. In the second, Rick Betts will go solo, conducting a Lo-Tech Workshop: Have You Considered Doing This?

Registration
Seminar registration is $40 for members, $60 otherwise. Please make checks payable to REAMUG, and mail with the registration form (see below) to Tina Way (Telephone: 209-883-2796, ). Lunch is not provided. There will be a no-host dinner and gabfest on Friday starting at 6:15 p.m. (advanced signup required).

P.S.  The registration form and additional information about the meeting are contained in the meeting notice available as a PDF document which opens in Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Click on the button to get a free copy of the Reader.

Star of Denmark Viewing & Lecture:
Gems & Jewelry.
On Thursday, March 25, 2004 after networking and cocktails at 5:30 p.m., and dinner at 6:30 p.m., Mervyn L. Cohn, ASA will show the Star of Denmark Diamond and lecture on its origin at Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto, 1919 4th St Berkeley, CA 94710-1933 (Telephone: 510-845-7771). The Star of Denmark, a 34-carat diamond ring given to Hawaii's Queen Kapiolani in 1887, is part of the virtual nautical museum assembled at Spenger's by third-generation restaurateur Frank Spenger Jr., who died last year. Mr. Cohn (left), who owns Farber Brothers Jewelry in San Francisco, is a GIA Certificated Gemologist, and the principal of e-Praise.com, an online appraisal service. All ASA members are invited. Dinner is $40 per person payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (swordfish or steak), to Chapter President James Brown.

March Meeting, San Francisco Chapter:
Engagement Letters and Retainers.
The March meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend the Board of Directors meeting at 5:30 p.m. The Chapter meeting will get underway with a networking mixer at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. The speaker will be Sacramento Branch member Steve Schroeder, Esq., ASA of American Business Appraisers, LLP, who will discuss Engagement Letters and Retainers --What Every Appraiser Should Know. All ASA members are invited. Dinner is $30 per person payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (salmon, medallion of pork, or New York steak), to Chapter President James Brown.

A teacher, author, and frequent guest speaker, Mr. Schroeder's insights are based on a unique combination of training in legal, appraisal, and financial analysis skills. He will discuss the elements of a well-written engagement letter, the pitfalls of not using one, and the use of retainers to protect your fee. This is a unique opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience which led to Mr. Schroeder's selection as an instructor in the five-day "Expert Witness Skills Workshop" offered by ASA's Center for Advanced Valuation Studies.

February Meeting, San Francisco Chapter:
Business Valuation.
The February meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2004 at the L'Olivier Restaurant. The Chapter meeting will get underway with a networking mixer at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Chapter Vice President Rene Hlousek, who will talk on Intangible Asset Valuation: Patents, Trademarks, Brands, In-Process R & D. Mr. Hlousek is an independent appraiser, formerly with Arthur Andersen and American Appraisal Associates. The author of several articles and a frequent guest speaker, he specializes in intangible and intellectual property assets including technology. Dinner is $30 per person payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (sea bass, veal cutlet or lamb shank), to Chapter President James Brown. Space is limited, so reserve early.

February Meeting, Los Angeles Chapter:
Personal Property.
The February meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter will be held on Friday, February 20, 2004 at the The Smokehouse Restaurant located at 4420 W Lakeside Dr, Burbank, CA 91505-4016. The meeting opens at 12:30 p.m. with registration and a networking mixer followed by lunch at 1:00 p.m. The guest speaker is John Griswold of Griswold Conservation Associates, LLC who will talk about the Conservation of Three-Dimensional Cultural Heritage Materials. He is a past President of the Western Association for Art Conservation, and was Chairman of the Objects Specialty Group of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works. Mr. Griswold has lectured widely and published articles on the conservation of sculpture and architectural materials. Dinner is $35 per person payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (steak or chicken), to Michelle D. Hayden.

P.S.  The registration form and additional information about the meeting are contained in the meeting notice available as a PDF document which opens in Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Click on the button to get a free copy of the Reader.

February Board Meeting, San Francisco Chapter.  The February Board Meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2004 at at 5:30 p.m. at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend.

January Board Meeting, San Francisco Chapter.
The January Board Meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, January 8, 2004 at at 5:30 p.m. at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend. Please reserve early.

December Meeting, San Francisco Chapter:
Rescheduled
The Candidate's Night originally scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2003 is being rescheduled for early 2004. Advance payments have been refunded. Chapter President James Brown and all the members of the Board of Directors extend warm holiday greetings to all. Check back here for details of the rescheduled meeting, or subscribe to this page to be notified by email when it changes.

November Meeting, San Francisco Chapter: The IRS Perspective.
The November meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2003 at the L'Olivier Restaurant. ASA members are invited to attend the Board of Directors meeting at 5:30 p.m. The Chapter meeting will get underway with a networking mixer at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. The guest speaker is Bernard Crinigan, Group Manager, of the Internal Revenue Service's Engineering and Valuation Program in San Francisco. In a presentation applicable to all appraisal disciplines, Mr. Crinigan will talk about The Makings of a Strong Valuation Report -- The IRS Perspective. Dinner is $30 for members, $40 for guests payable in advance. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (halibut or chicken), to Chapter President James Brown.

UCIrvine Course: Computer Skills for Appraisers.
Master Gemologist Appraiser ^® Nancy Stacy, ASA of Jewels by Stacy Appraisals will be teaching Section 1 of a two-day, 20-seat course on computer skills at The University of California, Irvine on Monday and Tuesday, November 17 & 18, 2003 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. The $395 course, which will meet in Room 201 of the UCI Learning Center, will cover advanced features in MS Word. To enroll, call Kirwan Rockefeller of the UCI Extension Services at 949-824-5990.

Fall REAMUG Meeting.  The Fall meeting of REAMUG, the computer users group for appraisers, will be held on Friday afternoon October 3, 2003, and all day Saturday, October 4, 2003 at the Holiday Inn Oakland Airport. The hotel is located at 500 Hegenberger Road, Oakland, CA 94621 (Telephone: 510-562-5311).

Friday sessions
On Friday afternoon (1:00 p.m. start) Wayne Hu of Kensington Investments, will discuss The Tablet PC: Where Are They Going? The Issues in Successful Usage. Dan McQuilliams, Technical Support Manager at Bradford Technologies will follow after the break with Tablet PCs and Their Future in Appraising. Scott Jura of Jura Appraisals will talk last on The Disto Measuring Device: How Is It In Practice?

Saturday morning
Following an 8:00 a.m. business meeting (open to all but not required) on Saturday morning, Rick Betts, MAI, ASA, SRA, of Betts & Associates will host a Low-Tech Workshop: Problems and Problem Solving. After the break, Atom Levi, MAI, SRA and Dave Temple will discuss Narrative Report Generators: The Second Generation Arrives.

Saturday afternoon
The REAMUG meeting will close with two lively sessions. In the first, Mary Dum of Thomas Dum Real Estate Appraisers, Inc., who edited the Appraisal Institute's Quarterly Byte, will provide a Software and Hardware Update: What Works Best for Appraisers, and What Else Is Coming Up. Marv Downey of Market Value Systems will close the meeting with a Hardware Review: What Is The Best Buy Now, and What Issues Should We Be Watching?

Registration
Seminar registration is $35 for members, $50 otherwise. Please make checks payable to REAMUG, and mail with the registration form (see below) to Tina Way (Telephone: 209-883-2796, ). Lunch is not provided. There will be a no-host dinner and gabfest on Friday starting at 6:15 p.m. (advanced signup required).

P.S.  The registration form and additional information about the meeting are contained in the meeting notice available as a PDF document which opens in Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Click on the button to get a free copy of the Reader.

September Board Meeting, San Francisco Chapter
The September board meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2003 at 5:30 p.m. at the L'Olivier Restaurant. Please reserve early.

August Board Meeting, San Francisco Chapter
The August board meeting of the San Francisco Chapter will be held on Thursday, August 14, 2003 at 5:30 p.m. at the L'Olivier Restaurant. Discipline chairs should bring three program ideas for the 2003-2005 year to the meeting for discussion. Please RSVP, including dinner selection (salmon, veal or chicken), to Chapter President James Brown.

American Bar Association Annual Meeting
Members of the San Francisco Chapter will be manning a booth for ASA at the 2003 American Bar Association EXPO in the Moscone Center South, Exhibit Hall A, Booth 529. Situated in downtown San Francisco, The Center is located at 747 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103 (Telephone: 415-974-4000.) Chapter members will be there from Wednesday, August 6, 2003 through Monday, August 11. The ASA booth will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Come out and network for yourself and ASA.