The Holiday Season is upon us and we have much to be thankful for. It always begins with too much turkey, then too many lights to put on the tree, that is if you buy one (I hear that artificial trees with lights already attached are a growth industry). Favorite meals and recipes are cooked, and memberships at health clubs usually rise just about as fast as my scale does this time of the year.

Your chapter Board of Directors met Thursday, December 11 for an extended business meeting. We managed to talk through a lot of issues, and revisited some of the items we identified at our August retreat. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but on the whole, we are making progress. We very much need a part time administrative assistant, but we aren’t quite ready for that, yet.

One of the positives coming out of our meeting was appointing Steve Braitman chair of the chapter’s Membership Development and Retention committee. We’ve never had this committee before. Steve has great enthusiasm and interest for spreading the word about ASA and appraising as a career with young people, and bringing in new members. Steve’s specialty is appraising record collections, and was featured by the National Office in a newsletter earlier this year.

Which reminds me: Will Schnitzer, ASA, our membership director and ex officio President, reported four new applications for membership. Will is responsible for new member applications that come our way from the National Office. Steve will be doing more outreach.

Our next meeting on January 8^th will take on a different format. The board will meet from 3 to 4 pm. From 4:30 to 6:30, we will host a hands-on workshop on the works of Georg Jensen and 20^th Century Silver. It will be held at a silver gallery in Jackson Square , around the corner from our regular meeting place. The workshop will be followed by a reception with wine and hors d’ouevres. The gallery can only handle a maximum of 20 people, so get your RSVP in as soon as possible to Doug Baxter, our Vice President, who organized this event.

In February, we will host our annual economic forecast with San Francisco Federal Bank Senior Economist Gary Zimmerman. Gary is very entertaining, and this year he may even admit that the country is in recession.

Also in February, Bob Podwalny, FASA, will be teaching a one day seminar on report writing. Although developed for MTS, this seminar has application to all forms of private property—not only MTS. The date is Thursday, February 19, tentatively to be held at L’Olivier Restaurant, the location of our BOD meetings, at 465 Davis Court , San Francisco . They have a large back room that can handle 25 people. Lunch will be included. The fee is $195 for ASA members, as well as those of the Appraisal Institute, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers. For all other non-members, the fee is $225. The course will include lunch. The restaurant is quite good. Gil Martin ASA, and Jack Young AM, are coordinating this seminar. Again, get your RSVP in quickly to either Gil or Jack, because space is very limited. The food is great, the presenter is even better.

We also set a date for Dave Lewis’s, ASA, Zoning & Site Analysis seminar. The date is set for Thursday, May 19, with a tentative location at the Petaluma Sheraton Hotel. Watch for more details. The seminar price is $245, and includes Dave’s book on the subject – a $45 value - some triangles for case studies and, of course, an excellent lunch. The non-member fee is $275.

Finally, on behalf of the Northern California ASA chapter, I wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Robin J. Erdmann, ASA, MRICS, MAI

President, NorCal Chapter, American Society of Appraisers