This past year in Texas BOMA could be best expressed as a year of transition as the Board and the Legislative Advocacy Committee ("LAC") hired Locke Liddell & Sapp ("LLS") to shape our state government affairs and push us to the next level of advocacy. The LAC, led by Jon Cogdill has been busy this session transitioning the new LLS team. The Texas BOMA PAC, in its inaugural year, proved to be effective in heightening the Texas Legislature leaders’ awareness of Texas BOMA. That was possible by your generous personal donations to our cause. Advocacy Day on February 23rd in Austin was the biggest visit to the State Capitol ever with 70 BOMA members from all over the state making 125 appointments with House Representatives and Senators. The committee led by Lisa Hensley and Karisa Johnson organized logistics, delivery material and had committed team leaders that assisted with making appointments and assignments. Legislators were introduced to Texas BOMA and our issues. Texas BOMA gave testimony in hearings on critical issues like telecom forced access by Kyle Gillman, sales tax on commercial rents by Paul Noetzel, and the International Building Code by Tomi Sue Beecham. A new tool, Cap Wiz, brought to us from BOMA International, will make it easy… with a couple of clicks of the mouse to send a letter to your Legislator on a hot issue. Their testimony and your emails reinforce that effective advocacy works with grassroots efforts from its members. The Board also endorsed Lower PowerBill, an energy consultant, to assist members with purchasing and meeting their electric utility needs. It took dedicated board volunteers like Al Hortsmann and Ray Mackey to prepare RFP’s, interview, make recommendations and negotiate agreements. Other notable achievements with honorable mention are: Jim Johnson being appointed to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation’s Architectural Barriers Advisory Committee, Paul Noetzel opened a conversation with the TDLR to create a permanent variance for an accessibility item that would recur on any future inspections. The Texas BOMA web site (www.texasboma.org) got a much needed facelift through the efforts of Lynn Forester, Jack Drummond, Joe Marchant and Ann Ahrens. A final thank you is deserved by Sheila Bessent for 8 years of service on the Texas Board. Thank you everyone for a great year. Please join me in welcoming Ray Mackey as our Texas BOMA President. I encourage all of you in your own way to step up and make a difference in your industry. Bill Carey, CPM® |
