Welcome everyone, thank you for joining us for today's Appraisal Buzzcast.I'm Jim Morrison and with me as always is our host Hal Humphreys.Hey Hal, how are you doing?
I'm doing fantastic.Jim, how are you today?
I'm doing great.Well, Hal, we got a little bit of a different episode today.We don't have a guest.We're announcing our Buzzy Award finalists for 2025.So we tabulated all the results, all the nominations.
We appreciate all the appraisers and industry professionals writing in and nominating people in the industry. You know, it's great to recognize those people.
So we're going to be going through our finalists for each category, introducing them, and then we'll also be announcing our winners for a free pass to Valuation Expo that we'll draw live on air.Well, live for us, recorded for you.
So yeah, that's So we're going to give three passes to Vowel Expo to folks that submitted nominations here.
Yes, absolutely.If you submit a nomination, even if we didn't use your nominations, if it weren't one of the finalists, you still, by submitting, you got into the entry.
Okay, good, good, good.This is going to be great.I'm kind of glad it's just the two of us today.Don't have to interview someone.It's just us talking about our things.
And I'm really, Jim, I got to tell you, I'm really proud of you for kind of developing this Buzzy Awards idea.I think it's a great idea.I'm really excited for the nominees.
And I'm really excited to find out, you know, what the final tally is going to be at the end of the day.
Yeah, and we really appreciate the audience embracing it.And in fact, we got a lot of nominations for us for the Appraisal Buzzcast for how you as an instructor, we did take those out because we can't really have a contest and win it ourselves.
So I know.So we took those ones out.We appreciate it.It's nice to see all that feedback.It makes us feel good, but we're not putting ourself up.And, you know, I still think we have a lot of great candidates for some of these categories.
Absolutely, absolutely.So yes, thank you to all the folks that submitted nominations.I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of people that chipped in with their ideas.Whittling it down to the finalists took Jim some time.
So Jim, let's just cut to the chase.Who are our nominees for appraiser of the year?
Yeah, so this episode will probably be a lot of me trying to pretend I can read, so bear with us on that.So our nominations for Appraiser of the Year, and I'm going to give the nomination what they said about them.
I had to cut a lot of them down, because some of these nominations Things were about a page long, so we cut them down to like a sentence or two.But here we go.Kathy Gilbert Harper is our first nominee.
Kathy is deeply involved in educating agents and the public about the appraisal process.She contributes to the NAR, is pursuing her real estate license, and moderates the Real Estate Appraiser Forum.
Kathy is active in her community and running a fundraiser called Bikers for Books, supporting mammograms. Maybe it's not bikers for books.I don't know.
You know, here's the thing.I've known Kathy for a long time.She is a really super kind woman.She does good work.She's crazy involved in the appraisal communities.I'm really happy to see you're nominated.So that's awesome.
All right.Next, we have Paul Rayburn.He's a Canadian appraiser who's passionate about integrating data science into the field.Paul builds tools, lifts up his peers, and fosters innovation and kindness within the appraisal community.
Yeah, I've spent some time talking to Paul.He is a fine human being, and yeah, it's always nice to see some... We're an international podcast, right?Absolutely, yeah.We go all the way up into Canada, so yeah, that's awesome.
And finally, for the Appraiser of the Year nomination, we have Cody Bunch.
With six and a half years of dedication to the appraisal industry, Cody co-founded a firm, leads community service initiatives, and serves on multiple boards, including the Coastal Carolinas, MLS, and Myrtle Beach Chambers DEI Council.
His commitment extends beyond his career with a deep focus on improving his community.
All right, Cody Bunch.So our list for Appraiser of the Year is Kathy Gilbert Harper, Paul Rayburn and Cody Bunch.Is that right?
That's right.So at the end of this, we're going to have a link or we'll put the link in the description for everybody to go and vote on these.But we're just going to read through our nominations now.
Next, we're going to jump into the AMC or Appraisal Firm of the Year.So we actually added Appraisal Firm.It was just an AMC, but we added Appraisal Firm so people could vote on multiple.And we got a ton of nominations in along those lines.
Go ahead, Jim.I'll let you do this.
All right.So I'm going to read through them.So first nomination we have is Axis Appraisal Management led by Michael Simmons.Axis is built on strong principles and ethics serving as a model for the AMC industry.
I'm going to say real quick. I'm surprised that we don't see Michael Simmons name in the mentor of the year.He is a He's always happy to spend time talking to people and sharing his thoughts and insights.
So yeah, that's that's great C axis Nominated next we have Valkyrie Valkyrie stands out for its cutting-edge technology around-the-clock technical support Making it a top choice in the appraisal field All right, go Valkyrie And finally, we have RSDS.
RSDS has made remarkable strides in 2024, championing diversity and inclusion in the appraisal industry.They celebrated their 75th certified trainee this year and expanded their team by over 70 employees.
RSDS is committed to supporting veterans through the SkillBridge partnership and continues to exceed industry standards to bring new appraisers into the industry.
I find RSDS to be an incredibly interesting company to watch.I've been really impressed with how Randy Flowers has kind of built that into what appears to be a very substantial appraisal firm.So yeah, that's awesome to see them get the recognition.
All right, well onto the next category, Lender of the Year.Now this is an interesting one.Like when we set it up, we were thinking more national lenders, but the responses that we got from the appraisers were more they're local, which is very cool.
So we appreciate all that feedback.So, you know, we don't know a lot about these, but maybe you'll tell us with your votes, which the best of them are. All right, so first we have DHI Mortgage.
Known for its strong emphasis on accuracy and quality, DHI aligns perfectly with the values of residential appraisers.The lender fosters a collaborative and supportive working environment, ensuring appraisers' concerns are addressed with their work.
DHI's market presence provides appraisers with a steady stream of assignments and offering financial stability and career growth opportunities.
Oak Tree Funding.I love working with Oak Tree.They're helpful and understanding.They're responsive and diligent.And finally, Timeless Mortgage.Nathan and his team understand the importance of home ownership for everyone.
He goes above and beyond to save all loans and he understands what clients are going through during the buying and selling process.
I love it.So it's it's interesting.You can you can tell when some somebody really loves a company and they say things like I love working with oak tree, they're helpful and understanding.That's always good to hear that someone's actually like taken.
I don't know interest in a thing.Look for the lender. of the year award next year.I think probably, Jim, what we ought to do is break it down into nationwide lenders and then regional lenders or local lenders.
I think what we're going to find is the local lenders will have very passionate submissions on their behalf.
Yeah, absolutely. All right, well we are to our first commercial break, but before we do that, we're gonna draw one of our winners, and I'm using this Wallet Solutions Appraisal Summit bag to pull out our winner.
All right, our first winner is Rhonda Brooks.So we'll be notifying our winners and giving them a pass to Valuation Expo.
We actually haven't even opened up the registration for Valuation Expo, so these will be the first three people registered for Valuation Expo.So congratulations to Rhonda, and we'll read the other ones after this commercial break.
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Welcome back, everybody.You're listening to the Appraisal Buzz.I'm Hal Humphreys, your host, and we don't have a guest today.It's just Jim Morrison and me, and we're talking about the Buzzy Awards.Jim, let's pick up where we left off.
All right.We're going to get into our Instructor of the Year.We got a lot of nominations for this, and we appreciate it.Like I said, we had some nominations for Hal.We appreciate it, but Hal, I'm not going to let you win this one.
I've taken you out of the running.But here's our rundown.We have Maureen Sweeney, SRA.Maureen is a fun and quirky instructor, always making classes exciting with her vast knowledge.Joel Baker.
Joel does one of the best jobs I've ever seen with explaining complex technical issues in an understandable way.And then we have Peter Christensen.Peter's expertise makes his classes captivating.
His sessions leave students wanting more due to his engaging and insightful instruction.
I will say this, those are three really, really good options to pick from.And if I'm voting, I'm gonna have a hard time picking.Maureen is, quirky is a really good way to describe her.She does an interesting job of getting points across.
I've seen her produce a music video about USPAP.I've seen her, you know, use dollhouses to describe things.Joel Baker, I have to say,
Joel has this knack for explaining tech in a very understandable way and walking people through steps And even when they get frustrated because they're not used to it.It's new to them He's able to walk them through and teach him how to use tech.
I'm thinking specifically like scan to sketch with a la mode He is with a la mode So he he's he's a fountain knowledge and Peter Christensen.I mean you there's not really much to say about Peter other than
Incredibly nice man, incredibly smart man, and one of the most thoughtful instructors you'll ever take a class from.
All right.Well, next we have, speaking of Scan2Sketch, the best software of the year.So we're going to jump right into that.So we have Alamode.I love their Scan2Sketch tool.SFRAP, their tech department is amazing 24-7.
The office crew is awesome, always courteous and friendly. The Aloft Appraisal Toolkit has some really amazing tools for me.And Salomon Adjustment Calculator is a great tool, helps me with adjustments on all my appraisals.
Yeah, I think that's a really strong list.And I'm, you know, we've got two software providers that provide form filling or report building.And then the other two are tools that appraisers can use to support adjustments.
So I think it's a good, that's a good start.I would love to see next year Um, maybe we even fine tune it to like best innovative software of the year.Like somebody come up with something brand new.
Cause I think next year is going to be a really exciting year for software.
Yeah, I completely agree.And we're going to see a lot of changes that coincide with the UAD.We're going to see a lot of new stuff.So.
The next category that we're going to be talking about, and I probably should excuse myself from the room and not be a part of this because it's Appraisal Content Creator of the Year.I can't win this, but who are our nominees?
We can't vote for ourselves.The Buzzcast was nominated, but we're not going to include ourselves on that. We got some great nominees and guys that we really like.Dustin Harris, the appraiser coach.
Dustin helps appraisers grow into business owners, offering practical advice and fostering positive, supportive community.Blaine Fine, Blaine's real value podcast is packed with excellent advice for running an appraisal business.
And Michael Hobbs, Michael's perusing podcast is a favorite for insightful discussions.
I like all three of them.Again, it's gonna be hard one to pick one of the winners out of that.But yeah, three really good options.Jim, I got an idea.
Let's draw the next winner from our submitters that have, you know, offered ideas for the best of and see if we can send someone else to ValExpo at our cost.
Next we have Arthur Schwartz.So congratulations Arthur.We're going to cut to our next commercial break and we'll be right back with you.
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Welcome back, everybody.You're listening to the Appraisal Buzzcast.I'm Hal Humphreys, your host, and I'm joined today by my good friend and co-host, Jim Morrison.Jim, let's pick up where we left off.We're talking about the Buzzy Awards next.
Next category is rising star of the year.What is that?What does it mean?
Yeah, so these next two categories kind of go hand in hand.So rising star of the year, it's a trainee that's shown promise, somebody who's just getting into the industry, somebody who's, you know, taking on the industry, which is really great.
And then mentor of the year, and that can be a business mentor or a appraisal mentor.However, they took it is how we handled it.
So let's start with the rising star of the year.First we have Megan Morford, a residential trainee with a background in real estate photography.
Megan understands property presentation, helping her identify value-added features like curb appeal and design. We have DeAndre Smith, a former US Air Force Aircraft Technician.
DeAndre is an RSDS Appraisal Diversity's first trainee through the Skill Bridge Program, balancing his appraisal trainee with earning a bachelor's degree.His dedication and leadership makes him an inspiration.And we have Christine Moline.
Christine persistently networked through the ATA meetings to find a supervisor, and now she's thriving in the profession, achieving great things with her mentor.
Yeah, and here's the thing for those of you out there that are in the trainee situation.You're going through the process of getting your education and looking for a mentor.
networking at a place like the ATA Association of Texas Appraisers, networking at the NAA, come to VAL Expo, get out there and meet appraisers.That's how you find your mentor.I'm really excited about this list.
So the next group is mentor of the year.And we didn't restrict this to just, you know, appraisal mentors who've signed up to bring somebody new into the business, did we?
No, no, this could be anybody.This could be a business mentor and you can take it however you like with that. So first we have Christopher Green, an outstanding mentor with years of residential appraisal experience.
Christopher excels in guiding trainees through the intricacies of appraisal process.He's known for his patience, clear communication, and supportive learning environment.He ensures his trainees develop the confidence and skills needed for success.
Next, we have Jeff Bradford, a name I know a lot of people know.He's a longtime leader in the appraisal industry, and Jeff's commitment to supporting appraisers and fostering professional growth has been a source of inspiration.
And finally, we have Greg Stephens.This person says, Greg has always been a proponent of bringing new people into the industry, and for as long as I've known him, he's always got a trainee he's bringing along into the industry.
He brings them to networking events to help them get their feet under them.I think that's a great nomination as well.
I think we, you know, look, we don't make the nominations.We just bring them in, tally them, and say, here are the ones that people want to vote on.So this is going to be fun.
Absolutely.Yeah.Like the elections that are coming up, we don't have anything to do.Like, you guys vote, and we're just tallying them.
Yep.So, hey, I think we're getting down to the end here.Let's pick one final winner to come to Vowel Expo next year.
All right.And our final winner is Cindy Collin.So thank you, Cindy.We're going to notify all these winners before this is published as well.Let them know that they're winners.So we really appreciate all the nominations that we've got.
And congratulations to all the finalists for being in the inaugural Buzzy Award finalists.It's a big accomplishment and we really appreciate you all.
Very much so.Jim, do we have anything else we need to cover today?We don't have an anonymous appraiser question for me?
No, I didn't bring up one of those today.So if anybody wants to vote, we are going to have the link to vote in the description below.We'll be putting it on social media as well.We want all of your votes.The voting will end at the end of November.
So we have time to tally it and announce it in the new year in 2025.These are 2025 awards. We're really thankful for everyone.
Awesome.If we have nothing else for Jim Morrison, I'm Hal Humphreys, and that is your appraisal buzzcast for this week.
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