NAA Today - June 21, 2014 by National Apartment Association

JUNE 21, 2014

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Y A D O T NAA

NAA TODAY

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Inside: 2 Scenes from Denver 3 Maintenance Mania Recap

The Value of a Promise For Keynote Speaker Alex Sheen — the headliner at today’s Awards Breakfast from 8:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. (Hall D, Level 2) — a promise is a promise. Sheen’s father died of small cell lung cancer on Sept. 4, 2012. He wasn’t an award-winning author and he never met the President, but he kept his promises. Sheen honored his father’s word by titling his eulogy “because I said I would” and created the promise card in his memory — given out for the first time at the funeral. In March 2013, Sheen resigned as Corporate Strategy Lead at Hyland Software in order to advance because I said I would’s mission. Today, he works to better humanity through the importance of promises made and kept, in what little ways he can. It started by waking up early before going to work and handwriting letters to people thanking them for requesting promise cards, which are intended to help people remember the importance of their word and motivate them to stick with their commitments. This dedication continued to develop as he began fulfilling charitable promises. These promises included getting 100 tickets to Disneyland for children with cancer to walking 245 miles across the entire state of Ohio in 10 days to raise awareness for the victims of sexual violence — a promise he made to Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

Sheen now speaks on behalf of because I said I would in order to fund the work of this nonprofit organization. He has presented a Ted Talk and was recently on the cover of Spirit Magazine. He encourages random acts of kindness and shares stories and experiences to motivate others to go after their SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER ALEX SHEEN FOUNDER OF BECAUSE I SAID I WO own life goals. ULD Born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Powell, Ohio, Sheen graduated from Olentangy High School in 2003. A proud Bobcat, he received his B.B.A. in Marketing in 2007 from Ohio University. Sheen now resides in Lakewood, Ohio, with his dog, Kimchi. Sponsored by:

TODAY’S SCHEDULE 8 a.m.–8 p.m. 8:30 a.m.–11 a.m.

EXHIBITOR MOVE-OUT Halls A-C, Level 2

REGISTRATION OPEN Lobby A, Level 1

8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. LUGGAGE CHECK Lobby F, Level 1

NAA AWARDS CELEBRATION BREAKFAST WITH ALEX SHEEN

Hall D, Level 2

8:45 a.m.–11:30 a.m.

*This Schedule is subject to change by NAA

Thank You to the more than 8,000

attendees who Reached New Heights in Denver and made this an EPIC, record-breaking year!

Lannon Quintana Wins Maintenance Mania® National Championship

ometown hero Lannon Quintana earned the title of National Champion yesterday, with a winning time of 1 minute, 17.485 seconds at the National Apartment Association’s (NAA) 2014 Maintenance Mania® competition. Quintana, a member of the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and employee of Holland Partner Group, was among 20 finalists who qualified from a pool of thousands to battle for this year’s title. Second and third place titles were awarded to Justin Heenan (1 minute, 19.453 seconds), Key Management, of the Apartment Association of Greater Wichita; and Jorge Blanco Martinez (1 minute, 23.675 seconds), Kettler Management, of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, respectively. “The championship wouldn’t have meant nearly as much if it wasn’t in front of my home crowd,” says Quintana, who also took first place in the Bradford White water heater installation and the Fluidmaster duo flush toilet conversion events. The First Coast Apartment Association won the Spirit Award.

NAA TODAY

R E V N E D M O R F SCENES

SATURDAY

Another year, another great conference! More than 8,000 attendees took over downtown Denver for the 2014 NAA Education Conference & Exposition. During a year in which NAA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, our members proved that our association and industry are stronger than ever. From the inspiring Michael J. Fox to the hilarious Barbara Corcoran and many other amazing Keynote Speakers, Thought Leaders and education session speakers, there was something for everyone. The Exposition also offered attendees a fun-filled, exciting and energetic tradeshow experience, and was home to the Maintenance Mania® National Championship yesterday. Thanks for rocking the Mile-High City for an unforgettable conference. We’ll see you in Vegas in 2015!

Jeff Lowry @1jefflowry “@NAAEduConf: What an incredible NAA Expo! #NAAEduConf”. NAA making history.

John Schroeder @JSchro7645 Thanks for a great time @NAAEduConf! @MichaelJFoxOrg @BarbaraCorcoran were fantastic speakers to top it all off!

Ryan Perez @redryanperez Invest in yourself! Training and education are invaluable development tools. #NAAEduConf

Friday’s Prize Winners PRIZE WINNER D N A R G 0 0 ,0 0 $1 ’S FRIDAY stment Manager Jessica Womack Sawbranch Apartments, Summerville, S.C.

James Faircloth Comcast Cable, Denver

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et’s all do a slow clap just for getting up this morning. We know long conference days plus some evening shenanigans — I see nothing, I say nothing — can make for a challenging Saturday, but today’s events are not to be missed. But first, a few notes about yesterday: 1. We have the first female President of the United States! NAA members chose Hillary Clinton over runner-up Jeb Bush for U.S. President in the NAA Government Affairs’ straw poll. Thanks to everyone who voted! 2. Thought Leader Susan Packard is “leaning in” so much, she may need a back brace. Seriously, the woman has got it going on. As Co-founder and former COO of HGTV, Packard shared her leadership lessons from businesses she has helped to build and discussed the importance of helping women, in particular, balance their careers and related life choices. Thank you, Susan, for making me feel even better about binge-watching “House Hunters.” I’m just supporting your business endeavors. 3. I still have a job at NAA, which is to say that I kept things professional with Bill Rancic.

4. I still have zero maintenance skills to speak of (cooking, either, while we’re discussing my faults), but the Maintenance Mania® National Championship proved that we have some crazy talented professionals in this industry. Congrats, Lannon Quintana. I have some DIY projects for you. Now back in the DeLorean and on to today’s line-up. It’s hard to believe the conference is nearly over, but not before our NAA Awards Celebration Breakfast with Alex Sheen. The young entrepreneur is the founder of ‘because I said I would,’ an organization that focuses on the importance of a promise. As such, I feel nervous promising you will love his presentation, but I’m just gonna risk it.

LAUREN BOSTON, APTly SPOKEN BLOG

Last, but not least, NAA will award this year’s PARAGON winners, including the big reveal: 2014 PARAGON Community of the Year. I don’t want to say this is like the Oscars of the apartment industry…but it is. Now whether Ellen DeGeneres will bring out breakfast pizza is yet to be seen. I’ve had a fantastic time in Denver and can’t wait for the 2015 NAA Education Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas. Or, perhaps more accurately, the 2015 Trip Where I Gamble Away My Hyundai Elantra.