Resources

Conference Description – Participant Testimonials-CHAM Sponsors -Conference Sponsors – Conference Goals - Presentation Summaries – Presentations/Materials

The Conference
December 7-9, 2006, more than 150 CHAM Conference participants gathered in New Orleans at the historic Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street.Enthusiastic housing professionals from 17 states and the District ofColumbia, including 15 from the Gulf Region – CDC asset managers and finance directors, alongwith some of their board members and executive directors, state housing authority/agencyrepresentatives, LISC, Enterprise and NWA staff, funders, and other industry experts – joined CHAM Board members David Fromm (Enterprise) and Harold Nassau (NeighborWorks America) for two days of sessions and the best networking opportunitiesin the industry.

Because we were in New Orleans, the Conference showcased what has and has not happened since Katrina. We kicked off with a tour of the lower 9th Ward, arranged by Dr. Walter Strong, COO of Dillard University, one of the schools hit hard by the storm. More than 70 attendees came early to spend an hour and a half touring the streets, with terrific historical commentary from the drivers and the hosts, as well as plenty of their personal experiences during and after Katrina. The most difficult part of the message is what has not been done, well over a year later.

The annual NHMS Dinner to celebrate graduates of that 5-day course took place that evening at Tujagues, one of the oldest restaurants in New Orleans. Presenters who arrived early enough had dinner together at Desire, a down-home Cajun restaurant.

On Friday morning, after CHAM Board President David Fromm welcomed everyone and thanked Citigroup, the Conference Sponsor, he was joined on stage by fellowCHAM Board member Harold Nassau, to present a special award to Maria Gutierrez, a former CHAM Board Member and a CHAM driving force from the beginning. Maria recently left LISC to pursue consulting, so fortunately, Maria will still be there for all of us in the field. She and son Luke took the stage together!

Then we swung right into the opening plenary, Asset Management Lessons Learned the Hard Way, moderated by CHAM Board member Harold Nassau. A powerful video recording the flood at Dillard University, the evacuation of the students, the damage, and ending with the restored University as of last September, set the tone. Walter Strong, Lauren Anderson, Walter Moreau and Marina Peed shared their and preparing to move on, and Walter Moreau and Marina Peed helping to house hundreds of displaced families in Texas and Georgia.

Walter Strong talked about the importance of a purposeful life, driven home by what they’d gone through since Katrina. Lauren Anderson described the almost impossible bureaucratic barriers to making forward progress. Walter Moreau described an important lesson he learned: there are basically two types of people in a crisis, those who try to plan and those who act. The planners need to get out of the way so the actors can act! They took a leap of faith, and everything worked out quite well, though not with the
partners or in the way they expected. Marina Peed told story after story, all riveting, about how the displaced families her CDC welcomed have been building their new lives.

 

This year we unveiled of our new CHAMpion Hall of Fame!, a gallery of all nine CHAMpions, soon to include the 2006 Six. We’ve put your names up in lights, right where they belong, and you’ll be able to see them all on this website.

Craig Saxon

Judi Patrick

June Woodward

Kathy Bryan

Alex Meacham

Linda Craig

Mary Martin

Rey Sison

Ricardo Castillo

We also displayed four posters showing a fabulous award winning affordable housing project designed especially for rebuilding New Orleans! Global Green sponsored the contest, and guess who was the head of the selection committee? Brad Pitt! We had his photo also.

Exhibitors TCG Technologies, presented by Sharon and Boyd Jackman, and perennial favorite, HUD’s Division of Neighborhood Networks, set up shop in the hallway outside the meeting rooms and enjoyed a constant stream of visitors and inquiries. Thewell-stocked Book Store ran throughout the Conference, with a number of offerings about New Orleans and Katrina. We love to
see those sales, because there’s no need for every CDC to re-invent the wheel. We can learn from what others have done by building our CDC resource libraries!

The Award Lunch on Friday featured a keynote speech by Oliver Thomas, President of the New Orleans City Council. A riveting speaker, he offered plenty of his own opinions about what
bottlenecks have hindered many rebuilding efforts so far. He believes progress is about to become more obvious.

 

Then Evelyn Brown, LISC Senior Vice President, Gulf Rebuilding Fund, talked about what the three CHAM partnersare doing in the Gulf region and what more they can do together going forward. And then the best: the CHAM Board and Evelyn welcomed 6 new CHAMpions to their elite ranks.

 

Haleema Ahmed, Susan Eliason, Stacey Hunter, Theresa McCauley, Judith Rose, and Debbie Spooner completed the rigorous program of study and prepared the challenging Asset Management Plans for theirorganizations.We expect to hear about how those plans panned out at the 8th CHAM Conference next year. Haleema, Susan, Stacey, Theresa and Judith, along with Debbie in absentia, received their pins
and framed certificates, all to enthusiastic applause. It’s time for those hundreds of other committed asset managers who are already in the program-of-study pipeline to get serious – we want to applaud you as you receive your CHAMpion pins and certificates!

The day ended with a gala reception, sponsored by Capital One Bank, represented by Nicole Mackie, Corporate Citizenship, Capital One. Everybody enjoyed food, drink, good talk, and the fabulous jazz sounds of the Sharon Martin Trio, before heading off to dinner in a city renowned for its unique cuisine. A highlight of the reception was the drawing for what we hope will be the traditional TCG Technologies gift certificates.
Vice President Sharon Jackman presented them, one for $50, and the other for $100.

 

Conference 2006 Continued