For additional details and how to donate to the Tricky Trade, click here!
Holiday Party Recap
IFMA Holiday Party
By Sallyann M. Ferullo, MBA, CFM
The IFMA Holiday Party kicked off the ‘celebratory season’ by setting a high bar. The evening of November 30th was relatively mild compared to the weather that would follow. Greeted by a wall of already poured glasses of Prosecco, handed to you by warm and attentive staff, the night was off to a great start! South Jersey Blues Company filled the room with sounds of the season.
The venue, The Waterworks, an architecturally significant building, provided beautiful views of the river and Boat House Row. The food, caterer by the Cescaphe Group, provided every possible iteration of offerings that ran the gamut; Italian, Asian, Sushi, carving stations and an impressive array of desserts.
All of this provided a wonderful backdrop for the focus of the evening which was a commitment to support the efforts of Habitat for Humanity. A room filled with people that earn their living in the real estate and related services sector watched as the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of IFMA presented Deidra Duncan with financial support to support their mission. Our president, Barbara Celia, also committed to continue our support with additional financial support and IFMA membership labor to participate on an upcoming build day. The generous of the evening was infectious as Joe Coddington of Revo Industries, Inc., the winner of the 50/50 elected to donate his winnings to Habitat for Humanity as well totaling $925.
None of this would have been possible without the gracious generosity of our sponsors. The following companies support us in our efforts to perform and service our internal client / organization as well as provide support to those who need assistance in our local community. Please join me in thanking them
Dinner: ServiceMaster
Bar: NELSON, Vertical Systems Analysis, Schnoll Painting & Fooda
Dessert: Millicare, Stanczak and Associates, SHS Realty and Office Environments, Inc.
Entertainment: Revo Industries and SHS Realty
IFMA Philly Hosting our First FMP Credential Class!
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of IFMA is excited to announce that we will be hosting our first IFMA FMP Credential Class. If your New Year’s resolution is to invest in your professional development here is your opportunity!!
Click here for additional details and to register!
Welcome IFMA Philly’s Newest Members
| First Name | Last Name | Company |
| Gordon | Bolig | Unlimited Restoration, Inc. |
| Shannon | Broco | |
| Ted | Colberg | Fooda |
| Mark | Fitch, FMP | Carlisle Interconnect Technologies |
| Taggart | Foulke, FMP | American Heritage Federal Credit Union |
| David | Hargest | Elliott-Lewis Corporation |
| Romona | Kemraj | |
| Domonique | Martin | SEPTA |
| Michael | McColgan | |
| Michael | McGill | Corporate Facilities Inc. |
| Alena | Mialanich | |
| Tim | Mounsey | LLR Partners |
| Matthew | Naroznowski | CBRE |
| Mike | Parker | eMoney Advisor |
| Robert | Parrett Jr | Boothwyn Pharmacy |
| Jay | Ruhnke | Elliott- Lewis Corporation |
| Kurt | Simon | Kurt Simon |
| Robert | Spiotta | Janney Montgomery Scott |
| Jeff | Wagenmann | C3i solutions |
| David | Yanoff | Tozour Energy Systems |
| Gregory | Young, AIA | NELSON |
Economic Forecast for 2018
By Sallyann M. Ferullo, MBA, CFM
Maybe the sunny and relative mild weather on Jan 17th was an indication of what the Economic Forecast indicators would reveal for this year. At the annual multi-organizational event, that included IFMA Philly, BOMA, IREM and PAA East, Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) presented his extensive findings in a clear and straight forward presentation. Essentially, the improved economy we have been enjoying will continue throughout 2018 and 2019.
Some of the indicators that contribute to the positive economic environment include the rising stock market and improved consumer confidence that has contributed to more recent spending. The recent enacted Tax Reform is intended to contribute positively however some aspects such as the $10,000 tax write-off cap may negatively affect residential property in New Jersey. Both commercial and residential Real Estate values have continued to increase over the past seven years but at different rates; 87% and 42% respectively.
As for international trade, there is a ‘wait and see’ attitude as we import more than we export. Should President Trump enact trade tariffs on imports from both Mexico and China, this will eventually have a negative effect on the US economy. However, on a regional level, job creation has continued to grow although we are lower than that national average.
There are a few ‘wild cards’ yet to be revealed, such as Amazon’s decision on where to build their new HQ which will provide an incredible boost to the real estate (both residential and commercial) market, job creation and overall expanded micro economy to that designated area. Similarly, to previous presentations the residential building market has not rebounded to the levels before the recession mostly because of a shortage of skilled labor. Dr. Yun believes that the opioid crisis may be a contributing factor.
In closing, the economic forecast for 2018 is bright and the expansion is predicted to continue through 2019. This is good news for the real estate industry and those of us who participate in this industry. Happy 2018!
Mini World Workplace Recap
Mini World Workplace 2017
Our November Mini World Workplace provided our regional FM professionals with an opportunity to connect with other FMs and a wide variety of vendors. The vendors provided an array of FM products and services that strengthen our FM members professional networks. The venue was spacious and facilitated many new conversations and connections between our members and guests.
A round table discussion on Space Planning was facilitated by Christine Workman. Local FMs and visiting FMs from as far as DC and NYC were in attendance. The group productively brainstormed and shared experiences surrounding the topic at hand. Two Educational Sessions; Piloting Change, Presented by Alana Dunoff and Emergency Preparedness/Business Continuity Practical Steps, Presented by Greg Jakubowski, were extremely well attended by FMs of all generations!
A sumptuous gourmet selection of appetizers, carving stations, chef specialties, coffee/desserts and drinks were enjoyed by all. We would like to thank our Associate Member Event Sponsors for their generous support of this very successful and fun event.
June 2016
It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as your 2015-2016 Chapter President! I find it hard to believe the year has flown by so quickly but I was pleased with the successful outcome of the efforts of our fantastic board!
Early in the year, we were pleased to be able to present 2 scholarships to Temple Facility Management Students so that they could attend World Workplace in Denver. This effort was led by the continued support of Alana Dunoff, our Foundation Chair. It is critical to our sustained success that we encourage and guide the students who are learning about our profession and soon will be employed in the FM industry. In fact, one of my last efforts as President was to encourage a new Young Professional member committee to be formed and Chris Rios, a Temple FM alumni who is now working at Aramark, has agreed to take on the challenge of leading this effort. Our board is committed to growing our young professional membership and we encourage your support.
Some of the other accomplishments over the past year include fantastic programs lead by Tim Capone and Mike McIlhenny, such as the tour of Berkadia’s new office, The Future of the Navy Yard combined with an overview of the GSK facility, a tour of the fascinating Microsoft Technology Center and a behind the scenes tour of the Philadelphia Convention Center. We were also able to celebrate our chapters’ 30th anniversary which included recognition of many of our past presidents and heard encouraging words during a presentation from the current chair of IFMA International, Maureen Ehrenberg.
Our Communications committee, under the leadership of Barb Wojnowski and Sally Ferullo, were busy re-creating the Insight newsletter as well as growing our website and social media presence. Another great accomplishment was a member spotlight interview with Marc Liciardello of Aramark, the newest
Philadelphia Chapter IFMA Fellow.
Some of the behind the scenes accomplishments include updating the Mission and Vision of our chapter as well as updating the By Laws (which hadn’t been done in over 10 years).
This past year also saw our Education Committee grow under the leadership of another Temple graduate, Zahra Khaku. I would anticipate some great initiatives to come this year from this committee.
Our sponsorship committee saw a new co-chair added, Colleen Teears from Radian Group and along with Scott Binder of Health Partners Plans, we saw a significant increase in sponsorship commitments.
The Membership committee headed by Keith Hughes of Millicare and the Retention committee led by Barb Celia of Trinity Health, have had a tremendous impact on the sustained growth of our chapter.
Lastly, one of the most significant accomplishment this past year was the re-emergence of the Golf Outing focused on raising funds for our scholarships efforts. We had a very successful event and many thanks to Marcella Garwood from Comcast and the Golf Committee for their assistance.
The upcoming year promises to be another busy time for our chapter and I am encouraged by the leadership of the incoming President, Dave Scolari. In addition, thank you to Barb Celia for stepping up to the role of Vice President as well as continued appreciation needs to be offered to Jeff Thomas for his
tireless work to keep our finances in check as Treasurer.
We do have a couple other new board members, Kayla Paonessa of Schnoll Painting has agreed to cochair the Membership/Retention Committee and Christine Workman of Kone Elevators, has agreed to co-chair with Program Committee. I cannot stress the importance of volunteerism to the success of our chapter. So, one last time, let me plead with you to get involved-serve on one our committees and attend our programs.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Fall Programs! I will leave you with this quote from our founding father, Ben Franklin who said “Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember but Involve me and I learn”. Please get involved in the chapter-our future
success is directly tied to your involvement!
Steve Sable
Past President
Greater Philadelphia Chapter of IFMA
