I’m very excited and honored to serve as your President for 2010. I will rely on my past experience as an active member as well as the Board and Past Presidents of the chapter to help carry our great organization forward through these difficult economic times.

During 2009, we had our fair share of challenges given the local economy; we had some members lose their jobs, close their operations or start careers in a different industry. Regardless, everyone has provided encouragement to pull another member along; and this too shall pass. With everyone’s continued support I’m confident that we will persevere and achieve another successful year.

This is an economic downturn like none that we have experienced. We are finding new ways to deal with the issues we face as an organization and industry on a daily basis. We have revamped several committees and added a new Member Advancement committee all in an effort to encourage growth of the chapter and members. We want to remain relevant and provide assistance that is of value to our members.

This is a time for all our members to contribute. A contribution is more than paying your annual membership dues – it’s leading by example, especially those of us who have been around for awhile. We need to encourage the new members by showing our enthusiasm of the organization so they want to get involved. In order to do this we must remain committed and united. We need this to endure and grow.

Speaking of remaining united, once a calendar quarter I will be meeting with other Presidents of local real estate organizations (CCIM, IREM, ICBR, etc.) collaborating our efforts on continuing to bring value and relevancy to our members from every aspect of this industry. Together, we will seek continuing education credit programs, notify the members of legislative changes that affect us in our daily jobs and hopefully at the end of 2010, recognize some of our members publicly (in front of the other real estate organizations) for their leadership contributions.

I have identified some goals for 2010. They are:

• Implementation of a new website for our chapter. Under the leadership of our past president and the task force committee formed to revamp the website, by early 2010 we will have a more informative website for our members. They have worked tirelessly to roll out a product that will make us proud.
• Growth of the chapter – during a recent survey by CREW Network a key to surviving this economic crisis is building and growing your group of professional contacts who can provide business leads, employment opportunities and professional advice
• Ensuring that the new committee structures are effective

CREW Network works to advance the success of women in commercial real estate. We have created professional opportunities for our members, been mentors to a younger generation of women in commercial real estate and served as a catalyst to both our members and the industry. This is largely attributable to the efforts of our Network CEO, Gail Ayers, and for our local chapter, Marsha Gray, our Immediate Past President. We owe them both our appreciation.

Many thanks to the board and those members who agreed to generously chair our committees and those who have already volunteered to be on those committees. Without the involvement of our members we would cease to exist.

I thank you for this opportunity and look forward to everyone’s participation. Best wishes for a productive New Year.

Esther Carter-Day
2010 Indy CREW President
M&I Bank

 

Esther Carter-Day
2010 Indy CREW President
M&I Bank