February President's Message
Thursday, February 6, 2014
by: Kristin Howell, RPA, Meissner Jacquet Investment Management Services

Section: President's Message




BOMA San Diego Takes Washington DC by Storm!

This past week, I had the pleasure of traveling to the BOMA International Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference in Washington DC. Traveling with me were your executive committee members Lynn Hulbert, Mike Nelson, Lisa Lasho and Government Affairs Vice Chair Tom Magnussen, and Craig Benedetto of California Strategies. We avoided the nasty weather that area had been experiencing and stayed warm for the most part.
 
I always enjoy BOMA International events because it gives us an opportunity to meet with other BOMA affiliates to see what they are doing and share ideas. It is also so neat to be in a room full of people who do what we do from all around the country, sharing viewpoints to help us each become better building operators.
 
We attended the Preparedness Committee Meeting where we heard from a representative from Homeland Security.  Did you know they have Active Shooter training and literature on their website? www.dhs.gov/activeshooter. There is useful information for your employees and tenants so they know what to expect if they ever have the misfortune to be involved in such an incident. Being prepared helps people survive.
 
Did you know that BOMA International gave $40,000 toward our current fight against the Jobs Tax, also known as the Linkage Fee?

The Government Affairs Committee was another informative meeting although long (3 1/2 hours!)  We discussed both local and national issues facing the commercial real estate industry. We learned about the Advanced Rooftop Unit campaign which is a public-private partnership that provides incentives for buildings with older model roofs to replace them with energy-efficient roofs.  More information on this program can be found at www.advancedrtu.org. We also discussed the BOMA International Political Action Committee (PAC). Did you know that BOMA International gave $40,000 toward our current fight against the Jobs Tax (Linkage Fee)?
 
Lynn and I discussed fundraising ideas for the International PAC and we have some great ideas. Look for Lynn at BOMA San Diego’s February luncheon; she will be selling 50/50 raffle tickets at $5 per ticket or $20 for five tickets. The winner will take home 50% of the proceeds and 50% will go to the BOMA International PAC. This PAC is such an important defense for our industry and funds have been used right here at BOMA San Diego.
 
The Experience Exchange Report (EER) is now open for data collection at www.eer.boma.org!  One of the key reasons people state for not participating is the amount of time it takes to fill out the information. I attended a short seminar on how to maneuver through the website and you can enter basic building information in about ten minutes. Of course, the more information you provide, the better the data reported by BOMA International will be. I encourage anyone with a qualifying building to report in the EER, as the more buildings that participate the better the overall information reported will be. Also, BOMA San Diego has challenged BOMA Orange County to see which chapter can increase participation more over last year. We have not yet decided what the "wager" will be but I will be sure to share the details as soon as we do. 
 
Our DC trip was capped off with visits to the Capitol meeting with Congressional representatives Juan Vargas, Susan Davis, Scott Peters, Duncan Hunter, and a staffer for Congressman Darrell Issa where we shared concerns about the commercial real estate industry and BOMA's impact on the economy. Ask Lisa Lasho to share the BOMA stats with you, you will be impressed!
 
I am so glad to be home but grateful to have been able to represent San Diego in our nation's Capitol.



A great group shot!



The group representing BOMA San Diego at a meeting with Juan Vargas.



The group at their meeting with Scott Peters.