A letter from IREM President Barry Blanton, CPM

Integrity. It’s one of IREM’s core values, foundational to the Institute, our businesses, and our careers. It’s also the theme of this edition of JPM. The property management profession has perhaps never been more valuable to our stakeholders than it is today, and all that value we create relies on building strong and lasting relationships based on trust. And building trust requires each of us to conduct ourselves with integrity in everything we do, especially in our relationships with owners, employees, vendors, and all those we depend on for success.

IREM was founded on the shared value of integrity and ethical business practices. Having served on the Ethics Inquiry Board, Ethics Hearing and Discipline Board, and Ethics Committee, as well as in his current role as a member of the IREM Board of Directors, Tim Kramer, CPM, ARM, has a thing or two of his own to share about integrity. Read about what he sees as the most common ethics issues and how to manage with integrity.

Throughout our history, many IREM members have served honorably in our military and later transitioned to civilian life and thriving careers in property management. In this feature, we highlight several members who lean into their military training and have successfully applied their experience to becoming real estate managers who do what’s right, protecting the interests of their clients, owners, and tenants.

Closely linked with integrity is inclusion, another core IREM value. In this edition of our DE&I column, we celebrate Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community. You’ll hear from several members of the IREM family who openly share their experiences as members of the LGBTQ+ community working in property management.

The IREM Certified Sustainable Property (CSP) program had its best year ever in 2021, and property managers are increasingly called upon to support ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives. In this column, IREM’s Sustainability Advisory Board Chair Julia Paluka, CPM, highlights the work the board is doing to guide the Institute’s programs around ESG to help ensure we have the needed tools and resources to best manage this growing priority.

We all know one big reason why our IREM membership and certifications add so much value: We are bound to adhere to the IREM Code of Professional Ethics in performing our management duties. This gives tremendous reassurance to owners and tenants, who know they can put their trust in us. That trust is extremely valuable to them, as well as to our entire profession, whether we manage industrial properties, shopping centers, affordable housing, or any other property type. Read more as IREM Federal Housing Advisory Board member Gwen Volk, CPM, shares her thoughts about how CPMs can add value to managing federally assisted housing.

I’m proud to lead IREM and serve all of you who show up each and every day to face challenges, find solutions, and always do what’s right for your teams, property owners, and, of course, your tenants and residents. With our chapters around the world, we’re excited to keep spreading IREM’s core values—integrity chief among them. So, whatever exciting projects you’re working on, take a moment to reflect on integrity and what it means to you, your business, and your relationships. I guarantee that when we focus on what’s right, we can truly manage to make a difference!