[lead]The 59th Annual AAOM Professional Development Symposium was held May 13 and 14, 2015 at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel.[/lead]
The theme of the Symposium was Linking People with Knowledge. The Speakers and Presenters at the 2015 Conference included:
James Battershill, General Manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers, highlighted Agriculture as a Backbone to Manitoba’s Economy.
James enlightened the audience on agriculture driving forces in Manitoba which included a closer look at both the crop and livestock sectors.
Monique Rosszell, Managing Director, Hotel Valuation Services, Toronto. Monique presented an Overview of the Hotel Appraisal.
Monique’s presentation broke down the elements to consider in a hotel valuation and how to draw it all together to produce a final value.
Jeremy Sewell & Adrian Werner of the Manitoba GIS User Group presented Urban Deserts.
Using GIS, this presentation compared changes occurring in the grocery market with changes occurring in the downtown population.
John Sauder, CBC Meteorologist, spoke over the lunch hour about forecasting the weather.
Snow, wind chill, rain forecasting along with John’s stories held the audience’s attention.
Marie Antaya & Kari Hasselris of Eclectic Communications facilitated a workshop titled The Plain Language Approach to Writing.
This session focused on using plain language to create a personal connection with your reader.
Topics included: determining the content your reader will need and want to know; avoiding bulk and jargon; giving the reader specific details; and creating effective structure and formatting.
Gord Daman, the Partner/President Red River Group, spoke on the Variables of Farm Appraisals.
Michael Lomax, Director of Assessment for Environmental Systems Research Institute Canada, GIS and Assessment Analysis GeoSketch, focused on the technology advancements in geo sketching and imagery.
The importance of accurate data, pictometry, and GIS coding was linked to valuation.
Mark Boreskie, PMA discussed Significant Case Law over the years.
Lori Lavoie, Vice Chair, Rose Gibbons, Secretary and William Barlow, Chair of the Municipal Board along with Mike Colatruglio, City of Winnipeg, Lloyd Funk, Province of Manitoba and Dutchin Ramsewak City of Winnipeg.
In this session, the board and participants provided commentary on aspects of Manitoba Municipal Board hearing, and provided situational examples in the form of a mock hearing. Michael Cortvriendt moderated discussion between the panel members.
The Best Western Plus Airport Hotel’s staff was very accommodating and the delegates enjoyed the two days. The end of conference prize for those in attendance went to Kem Wong.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Doolan AAM
Jan Trochim AAM
Co-chairs, Conference Committee
