Dallas, Texas hosted the 2022 National Property Management Association (NPMA) National Education Seminar (NES). This event was a couple of years overdue as NPMA planned to have NES in Dallas (the location of the first NES) for the 50th anniversary in 2020, but unfortunately COVID dashed those hopes. The organizing committee selected the Hyatt Regency to host the event (a wonderful venue!).
The conference site had the iconic Reunion Tower as its beacon and the historical book depository that JFK’s convertible passed by on the fateful day of November 22, 1963 was just a few blocks away.
As we do every year, eQuip proudly supported NES 2022 as vendors, presenters, attendees and, most importantly, partners. Many clients took advantage of the opportunity to meet the Director of Support Jeremiah Orlando, Implementation Specialists Leslie McNeely and Duane Howell, and Director of Compliance Solutions, Richard Wilson.
Despite the torrential downpour that occurred on Monday and flooded many parts of Dallas, the NES opening ceremony went off without a hitch. It included the great speaker Will Bowen who inspired the audience to “turn complainers into collaborators.” It was the perfect way to kickoff the first day!
The opening keynote was then followed by immensely educational workshops. Everyone’s notepads were filling up as Iris Thompson lead a discussion on Contract Self-Assessment (standing room only!). Monday also included presentations from Executive Board members Bill Franklin and Rick Schultz on ASTM E53 standards, Pam McFarland’s take on Self Assessments, Loril Stephens Leadership in Asset Management presentation, and the not-to-be-missed Back to Basics for Property Management conducted by the insightful Kim Saeger. Their sessions and many others will be worth downloading from the NPMA NES archives once they become available (material is accessible to NPMA members only).
Tuesday was kicked off by a series of keynotes that included our own solutions director Richard Wilson. Nearly 600 property professionals were in attendance as Richard introduced the concept of the “Compliance Technology Stack.”
>> DOWNLOAD PDF on identifying and optimizing your organization’s compliance tech stack <<
Following the keynote, Richard Wilson also gave a presentation on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and how it impacts government property professionals. He demonstrated how basic tools like spreadsheets, access databases, and other non-DoD specific systems are unable to meet the compliance requirements to maintain Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Since a large amount of government property data is considered CUI, government contractors need to implement purpose-built systems like eQuip before the assigned rule making committee updates the DFARs to include the CMMC mandate. This update us expected to commence in 2022 or 2023. Property professionals should engage their IT/Infosec team now to discuss how they plan to ensure government property systems are CMMC compliant. To prepare for this discussion we recommend accessing the CMMC toolkit available here.
>> Download eQuip’s CMMC Toolkit <<
Tuesday included other notable discussions like Carolynn Bundy’s directions on how to develop new property professionals, Scott Peterson’s session on managing work relationships, and Ivonne Bachar’s important training on diversity and inclusion. Too many great educational opportunities continued into Wednesday and Thursday to list, but we encourage you to view the NPMA NES agenda to help plan out which presentation decks you will download when they become available!
There were a few important announces shared at NPMA NES 2022:
- The NPMA executive board added new positions and, after a contested election, Tara Miller was selected to retain her position as Executive Vice President.
- 2022 NPMA Presidential Award recipients include the relentless team that successfully obtained ANSI independent accreditation for the NPMA professional certifications; Beth Green, Marcia Whitson, Felechia Clark, Rick Horne, Jen Sanford, Lisa Williams, Rebecca Clusserath, and Cathy Seltzer. Congratulations all!!
- We celebrated a watershed moment for NPMA: employers have now internationally recognize 3rd party evidence that investing in NPMA certifications for their staff develops expertise and a competitive advantage for their operation.
To conclude a wonderful week, NPMA hosted a closing dinner and entertainment at Gilley’s Dallas. Guests dined like cowboys and cowgirls and tested their grit by riding a mechanical bull (!!).
Thank you to everyone at NPMA NES, especially the intrepid organizers and the wonderful team from Meeting Expectations, for hosting another successful NPMA NES!
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