2016 IAAO Conference Review Tampa Bay Submitted by Mirek Frolek, AAM The 82nd Annual Association of Assessing Officers was held at the Tampa Bay Convention Centre starting on Sunday, August 28th to Wednesday, August 31, 2016. The theme of the conference was Charting New Waters and Building Bridges to Assessment Excellence. The conference had over 1200 delegates and Mike Taylor and I were given the opportunity to attend this event as representatives of the AAOM. There were a couple of sessions that I found most enjoyable. The first one titled “Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Cost Approach?” The presenter was William D. Shepherd from Hillsborough County, Florida. His presentationKeep Reading
2017 Annual AAOM Conference Report Submitted by Marc Connelly, Conference Committee Chair On Wednesday, May 10th Registration opened at 7:00 am and a full breakfast buffet was available to all delegates. The Opening Ceremonies began at 8:30 a.m. with Michael Cortvriendt, AAOM President, acting as MC. The AAOM was pleased to welcome Sister Association representatives Chandra Reilly– SAAA, Stephen Bannerman – AAA, Mario Vittiglio – IMA, And Tim Boncoskey – IAAO. The representatives brought greetings on behalf of their Associations — all except for Chandra Reilly whose flight into Winnipeg was delayed so Michael Cortvriendt presented greetings from SAAA on her behalf. Lloyd Funk, Provincial Municipal Assessor fromKeep Reading
The 2017 Architecture + Design Film Festival (a+dff) is now underway in Winnipeg, running from May 3 to 7. In its sixth year, the Winnipeg festival is the only festival in Canada devoted solely to architecture and design.
The five-day festival presents critically acclaimed films covering a range of design-oriented topics, focusing on the importance of architecture and urban design in everyday life.Keep Reading
The site of the 2017 Conference is an example of modernist architectural design. The Viscount Gort Hotel is located at 1670 Portage Avenue between Kintyre Street and Century Street in Winnipeg.. According to Winnipeg Architectural Foundation, the hotel was constructed in 1960, by Winnipeg architect Roy M. Lev (1930 to 2010). When approaching from the south or the west, the building has a distinctive cubist silhouette. Lev’s original scheme featured a modernist design of modular box-like forms staggered across its triangular site. Clad in brick, the building featured an exposed concrete structural grid and extensive glazing. The project was named for the Irish-English Seventh Viscount Gorth, Robert StandishKeep Reading
The snow has melted. And in Winnipeg, the month of May is book-ended by two popular events: Jane’s Walk and Doors Open Winnipeg. For 2017 Jane’s Walk runs May 5 to 7th. This year their walks include a trip to West Kildonan for” The Ghosts of Seven Oaks”. Or to Whittier Park in St Boniface for “The Wild Edibles of Whittier”. Or to East Kildonan for “Who’s Who in Elmwood Cemetary”. Jane’s Walks are free, locally organized walking tours where people can come together to explore and talk about their city neighbourhoods. The tours put together by organizers change constantly over the years. They are billed as “walking conversations”Keep Reading
Do you have a background or interest in real estate, agriculture, land survey systems, geographic information systems, building construction or municipal government and enjoy meeting and interacting with people? Are you looking for a position that provides excellent career advancement potential, and on the-job training? Indigenous and Municipal Relations is looking for motivated individuals to join our Property Assessment Team! If you're interested in a challenging career that combines office work, the
outdoors and travel within the service region, a career as an Assessment Officer could be for you!Keep Reading
It was before the crack of dawn on Tuesday, September 27th that Shirley Bomak and I headed down the highway to the big City of Regina for the Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association 14th Annual Workshop and AGM. Arriving just in time for lunch, we were greeted by the kind SAAA executive. The first afternoon session speakers were two detectives with the Regina Police Service. They educated the delegates on gang members and what to look out for on the streets and when inspecting. The afternoon presenters were Home Inspectors, who educated us as to what they look for when doing inspections and related it toKeep Reading
The 2017 Annual Professional Development Conference has been scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday May 10th and 11th, 2017...Keep Reading
The City of Medicine Hat has posted the position of Assessor III (Senior Assessor). This posting remains open until Wednesday December 7, 2016 at 4:30 pm.Keep Reading
Congratulations to the latest AAM Designates: Michael Boyle (AAM #232) – Provincial Assessment Services – Accredited June 23, 2016 Ariel Jentsch (AAM #233) – City of Winnipeg Assessment & Taxation Dept. – Accredited Sept. 14, 2016 New Member: Welcome to Clayton Diachun who joined the AAOM in October 2016. (City of Winnipeg Assessment & Taxation Department). Clayton’s dad (Dan) is currently working for Provincial Assessment Services and was on the Executive of the Association in various capacities for many years. Farewell to: Kevin Brite, A.A.M. a Director on the AAOM Executive has left the employ of the City of Winnipeg Assessment &Keep Reading
Red River College is again offering opportunities for anyone interested in getting into our valuation profession...Keep Reading
AAOM Annual Golf Event–CANCELLED Welcome, New Member Angel Melnychenko — from the Dauphin Assessment Office.Keep Reading
The 60th Annual AAOM Professional Development Conference was held May 4th and 5th, 2016 at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel (Greenwood Conference Centre) on Wellington Avenue.
The theme of the 2016 Conference was The Changing Landscape of Assessment 1956-2016. Seventy-five delegates registered for the two days.Keep Reading
A Reception to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the AAOM was held on Wednesday May 4th, 2016 from 4:30 to 7:00 at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel, with the AAOM Conference (May 4 & 5).Keep Reading
When yours truly was first hired by the Assessment Department in 1965 (called the Metro Corporation of Winnipeg back then), I was part of the clerical staff. There were no female assessors until 1977 when some of the ladies in the Department started to wonder why it was supposedly just a “man’s” job. After we protested, we were told if we took the required courses we could apply. We enrolled in blue print reading and a construction course at Red River, and the only other qualification back then was grade 12. Once we got the job, we joined the Association and were allowedKeep Reading
2016 marks the 13th annual Doors Open Winnipeg, a free event put on by Heritage Winnipeg that opens up buildings of historical and architectural interest to the public. Dozens of buildings and sites are available May 28 – 29. Volunteers offer a variety of tours. Many of the buildings remain “working” buildings rather than museums. This year’s offerings include the Burton Cummings Theatre, Mariaggi Hotel, Government House, Red Road Lodge (the former Occidental Hotel), and the ever-popular Vaughan Street Jail. The City of Winnipeg is getting into the act with Animal Services at 1057 Logan open for the weekend, offering a chance to visit the canine homeless. Special events includeKeep Reading
The world’s tallest wooden building is under construction on the UBC campus in Vancouver. Brock Commons Student Residence will be 18 storeys or 174 feet high. The $51.5 million project is slated to provide housing for 404 students. It will have a hybrid structural system with a one-storey concrete podium, two concrete cores and 17 storeys of mass timber. The timber structure carries the vertical loads and the two concrete cores give lateral stability. One of the mandates of the project is to demonstrate a cost effective structural system of wood and concrete that will compare to traditional concrete and steel construction. The building is actuallyKeep Reading
Do you know anyone interested in entering the property valuation profession? Red River College is offering two courses licensed from the Real Estate Division, Sauder School of Business at UBC.Keep Reading
Fifty years ago this month, AAOM published its April 1966 newsletter...Keep Reading
It was bacon and eggs and house prices on January 27.
Winnipeg Realtors rolled out their annual forecast for 2016 and looked back at the 2015 results.Peter Squire, Director of Public Affairs, said the rising number of listings in recent years has been a “game-changer.” Listings reached 24,603 in 2015.
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