A letter from IREM President Barry Blanton, CPM

Hello, IREM, and welcome to 2022! I’m Barry Blanton, CPM, your IREM president for this year. Working with 2021 IREM President Chip Watts, CPM, CCIM, C2EX, AHWD^®, and the rest of our leadership last year in my role as president-elect was a real joy and one of the highlights of my many years as an IREM member. As 2022 IREM president, I look forward to continuing the work of executing our strategic plan.

Real estate management isn’t just a job, it’s a career, and a great one at that. Even more so, it’s a calling for aspiring leaders to take on the never-ending challenges of our profession and shine in their hard-earned successes. In one feature, Kelly Avery, associate professor at Virginia Tech University, gives us an idea of what leadership really means within the real estate industry and how to best cultivate it by walking us through the university’s major in Property Management.

Like it or not, as professionals in our field, we’re being called on to adapt. With the paradigm shift toward a virtual work environment, it’s more important than ever that leaders take steps to create a bonded and cohesive team. Robin Stinson, CPM, shares expert advice to help keep your teams firing on all cylinders while avoiding the dreaded Zoom fatigue.

One thing that never changes is the need to manage our operations based on data-driven decisions. IREM industry partner AppFolio has some lessons to share on how single-source data management systems can help keep your organization on track, turning raw information into successful action.

Blockchain. Ever heard of it? Maybe not. Or maybe someone’s attempted to explain the basics, but you couldn’t make out how this could possibly be relevant to you or to real estate. IREM is delighted to present a user-friendly introduction from NAR Director of Emerging Technology Dave Conroy, as he helps us make sense of the amazing new world of blockchain technology and its impact on the real estate industry.

One of the central initiatives I’m looking forward to furthering as IREM president is our work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). A vital element of turning our vision and strategy into action is IREM’s DE&I Board (DEIB), which shares updates about its plans for 2022.

IREM’s global presence can help us all share best practices for real estate managers around the world. That’s exactly what one of our members from IREM Japan is doing right now in the U.S. Read a firsthand account from one CPM who relocated from Japan to Texas on a mission to increase his industry knowledge, and how he plans to leverage these new takeaways back in his home market. 

It’s safe to say I’m pretty thrilled about what’s ahead for IREM in 2022. Together with the rest of the leadership team, I’ll continue our work toward making the world a smaller place and increasing public awareness of IREM and our profession around the world. Real estate managers are essential to the happiness and success of so many people, our work adds value, and we are everywhere. I look forward to spreading that message throughout the year ahead.