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Real Estate Appraisers

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Joan Trice Passes the Torch
Sells Val Expo and Appraisal Buzz to AEL

Two longtime institutions within the real estate appraisal industry – Valuation Expo and the Appraisal Buzz newsletter/podcast – have a new owner, effective today.

Joan Trice, who created the two entities and has been a leader in this industry for the better part of three decades, has sold the two businesses to Appraiser eLearning (AEL), an education media publisher with its own growing presence in the industry. AEL is a subsidiary of StoryBoard EMP, whose CEO Jim McLeod negotiated the purchase, in collaboration with AEL officers Hal Humphreys and Bryan Reynolds.

Under the new management team, the staff of both Val Expo and Appraisal Buzz will remain in place and no changes are planned to either entity. The next Val Expo is scheduled for August 7-9 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

“Joan Trice is one of the most well-known leaders in the real estate appraisal industry, and it will be our honor – and our challenge – to continue these two important resources for the industry,” said McLeod. “Joan has done an incredible job of making both extremely successful, and our team at AEL is uniquely qualified to maintain and build upon that success.”

Trice will continue to be active in the industry. She is the President of the Collateral Risk Network (CRN), a non-profit group that will continue to hold its annual meeting in conjunction with Val Expo. Trice is also CEO of Clearbox, a software database company.

“I love this industry,” Trice said, “And even though I’m a conference junkie and love everything about this business, I have reached the point where I need to scale back, so I have hand-picked my successor. The team at Appraiser eLearning has really impressed me, not only with their continuing education products and communication skills, but also their conference management skills. They bring real energy and a love of this business, and I am confident they will build on the success of these two companies.”

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Trice started Val Expo two decades ago, in 2003, and has grown it into one of the most well-attended and highly anticipated education and networking gatherings in the industry. As the industry grew, Trice identified a similar need for a regular – in fact weekly – communication resource that could keep appraisers, lenders, regulators and others up-to-date on this fast-changing business.

Trice noted that AEL’s technological expertise and education focus promise to “raise the bar” for both the conference and the newsletter. “With this change, I will have more time to focus on CRN, and I can tell you I plan to rely on Appraisal Buzz to get the word out, whenever I have news to share,” Trice said. “I am very proud of what we have created and very glad that the new management team plans to keep our team in place. They are rock stars.”

Trice has worked with a four-member team to manage Val Expo and Appraisal Buzz – Jim Morrison, Karen Connolly, Irimar Waters and Navi Johnson – who all will remain with the organization.

AEL will also continue to partner with the National Association of Appraisers (NAA)’s as co-host of two annual appraisal conferences, the ACTS Conference held in Sacramento in April 2023, and the Appraisal Summit Conference held in Las Vegas in September, 2023. In addition, AEL offers monthly webinars, podcasts, a YouTube Channel and regular continuing education seminars.

“We are committed to building practical, business value into the appraisal industry’s continuing education model, and we are very excited to grow our presence in the industry with the Appraisal Buzz newsletter and podcast,” said Humphreys, COO of AEL.

Both Val Expo and Appraisal Buzz will continue their strong relationships with the industry’s key stakeholders.