Day Two Hundred Eighty...

Today's post should come as no surprise, it will almost entirely be about the Realty Round-Up event hosted by the Austin Board of REALTORS. It was a long day, but a day of great satisfaction to see all the hard work the staff of the Board and the volunteers of the Realty Round-Up committee come to fruition. It was a day full of learning, of new thoughts and ideas, and a day to see how all the pieces of the puzzle come together.

I got to the Convention Center shortly after 8 o'clock, and got right to work. There was lots of details to attend to, and the Convention Center (and the exhibit hall specifically) cover a lot of territory. This is an exaggeration (perhaps) but I think I walked about thirty (okay maybe six or seven) miles today. The first event was at 9:30, with a Broker's coffee with Dr. Jim Gaines from A & M. He stated that Texas (and more specifically Austin) is on the cusp of an economic surge that should last upwards of 25 years or more. Again (although he did not use this term) the 'Texaplex' (draw a line from San Antonio to Austin to Dallas over to Houston and then back to San Antonio, that's the 'Texaplex') is where it is all going to happen, and we are ready for it.

After Dr. Gaines's talk, I headed back to the ABoR registration booth, and was talking with the two Texas Rangers (these to guys are great, and they are at Realty Round-Up every year (as long as I have been attending, anyway). I took advantage of the photo-op, but they would not let me borrow their hand cuffs. I should have brought my own! Anyway, they are great guys, and they stayed busy patrolling the trade show floor. There were a few crashers to the trade show (there was another couple of functions taking place simultaneously), but they kept everything under control.

At noon-30 I went to a presentation about Alternative Homes and Home Owners, and there was a panel presentation by three local home owners who own 'alternative' types of properties; the first was a couple that built a 'concrete insulated foam' home, the second built a 'straw bale' home and the third built (building is on-going) an 'earth ship' home. If you notice, many of the classes I take (or sit in on) have to do with topics that I also instruct. I always like to get new or different ideas about a topic, and that is a great way to do it. If you have any questions about any of these alternative homes, just drop me a note, and we can talk. For my part, I found the discussions of the straw bale and earth ship construction to be really interesting, and I picked up lots of tips to make my classes more interesting. I am hoping that I may even be able to have these owners come in and speak to different classes, sort of a 'real world' round table discussion. I think that would be great.

At 3 o'clock, I moderated a panel discussion with two representatives of our local and State governments; Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Martinez and State Representative Eddie Rodriguez. We were supposed to host a third representative, an aide to one of our elected county officials, but he was ill. I wonder if he has the H1N1? Anyway, the topic of the panel was 'Issues Affecting Growing a Greener Austin', and to be perfectly honest, it was a great discussion. The attendees knew what they wanted to know, they asked good questions, they were respectful of the panelists time and knowledge about the subject, and there was no shouting. No town-hall 'shouting down the speakers' crap for us! We were serious and it was a great showing for the members of the Austin Board. This is a photo of me and Mayor Pro-Tem Martinez.

And then I left the Convention Center. Traffic was only bad up until I got to about the Rundberg exit, and then it was smooth sailing. No issues.

All-in-all, I am really happy with the day...especially happy with the knowledge I took away from the day, and ready to put all of that to good use. I was lucky enough to see LOTS of people I don't get to see that often, even if it was only briefly (Hi Deb!).

And now for a brief closing (because I am tired and it is time for dinner). Good deeds, kind acts, small changes, Have Fun!