The B.S.:

After the holiday lull, it’s time to get back to business

Bruce Spotleson

Bruce Spotleson

VEGAS INC Coverage

The most positive aspect of any new year is the optimism it brings. But it also seems to energize a business community — and just in time. After the annual business lull of December, things are starting to happen again.

Let us commence with NAIOP Southern Nevada, which always draws a good crowd to its breakfast meetings at the Orleans. This year’s first meeting is Jan. 19.

Billed as the “Commercial Real Estate Development Association,” NAIOP is designed for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed-use real estate. Networking, education and political action are emphasized.

NAIOP’s first program will have as its theme “Helping Businesses Grow in Nevada,” with a panel comprised of three chamber of commerce CEOs, each of whom has been on the job less than a year: Scott Muelrath of the Henderson chamber; Curtis Cummings of the North Las Vegas chamber and Kristin McMillan of the Las Vegas chamber. Panel moderator is yours truly.

It’s a pretty rare to see the CEOs from these three chambers together. Their fresh outlooks may make it even more interesting. Go to the NAIOP website for more info.

***

The Vegas Young Professionals, a business organization for those under 40, will be holding a “Business 101” session the morning of Jan. 24 at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce office in Town Square.

This event’s topic is “How to Rise Into Leadership,” and will have a few speakers who know the topic: Punam Mathur, vice president of employee and community engagement, NV Energy; Gordon Absher, vice president of public affairs, MGM Resorts International; John Wilcox, senior vice president and regional banking manager, City National Bank; and Kristin McMillan, president & CEO of the chamber.

VYP is a solid organization being led by Adam Kramer. More information on the event is available by going online to the Las Vegas Chamber.

***

After years of meeting at Lawry’s, the Southern Nevada chapter of CCIM also has moved to the Orleans for its monthly luncheon meetings. Its first session of the year will be Jan. 25 with guest speaker Jeff Rogers, who is, among many other things, a skilled public speaker, respected corporate mentor and popular seminar leader.

Rogers will talk about why a leader might want to focus more on vision than goals, and he vows to give attendees information to help with motivation and follow-up — a worthwhile program for the start of a year.

“CCIM” stands for Certified Commercial Investment Member, and signifies that a person has completed skills training in the commercial and investment real estate industry. Its roster now includes brokers, leasing professionals, investment counselors, asset managers, appraisers, corporate real estate executives, property managers, developers, institutional investors, commercial lenders, attorneys, bankers, and probably a few other professionals as well.

Networking starts at 11:30, with the lunch and meeting at noon. Go to the CCIM website for more information.

***

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Preview event at Cox Pavilion on Feb. 9, with the usual healthy slate of speakers and presenters scheduled.

Headlining the program is Richard Florida, a noted author whose newest book, “The Great Reset,” outlines how new ways of working and living will drive prosperity in the aftermath of the recession. He’s a regular contributor to a wide array of media, and a speaker in demand on the topics of global trends, economics, prosperity, competitiveness and growth.

Other speakers will be more familiar to locals, but just as appealing. Jeremy Aguero, one of the brightest guys in our community, is the principal analyst at Applied Analysis — the company so many public and private-sector leaders have turned to when they need information on virtually any topic in Nevada. Robert E. Lang is executive director of the Lincy Institute and of Brookings Mountain West at UNLV.

Rossi Ralenkotter is president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; he usually brings an entertaining presentation.

I needn’t explain who Oscar Goodman is. Our former mayor will be there to talk about the Host Committee he’s heading up, a great idea that helps galvanize and increase support for many events that come to Las Vegas. His wife Carolyn, now the Las Vegas mayor, will round out the list of speakers.

There are booth and sponsorship opportunities available, and of course there will be refreshments. Get there early for networking on the concourse. More information is available by calling or going online to the Las Vegas Chamber.

Business

Share