National Association of Real Estate Editors Presents NAREE University Training Sessions plus Urban Economic Trend Forecasts at National Conference in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, TX, May 05, 2011

The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) 45th Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas June 15-18, 2011 will feature a top-notch, two-part class on mastering Excel to analyze public data to uncover real estate trends and yield award-winning news stories.

Award-winning journalist Mary Shanklin, a past NAREE board member and senior speciality writer at the Orlando Sentinel will lead the Excel training labs. Shanklin has taught computer-assisted reporting at conferences for Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Education Writers Association, among others.

Other professional development sessions will include: how to build a prolific social media presence in 30 minutes a day; how to "make it to the top" of news organizations today; transitioning to a second career as a publicist in either the business or non profit arena, and tips for launching a real-estate-news web site.

Dubbed "Redefining Urban Missions," the NAREE conference will provide the latest word on home prices, mortgages, foreclosure and economic trends with expert speakers from all real estate sectors -- financial, commercial, and residential. Don't miss NAREE's exclusive with Urban Land Institute CEO Patrick Phillips on "Real Estate's Next Great Frontier" on opening day, Wednesday, June 15. NAREE board member and San Antonio Express-News Business and Real Estate News Editor Emily Spicer is putting together a panel to look at "Historic Preservation - Profit and Non Profit Motives." Sessions on "The Growing Latino Market;" "The Multi Family Boom;" "Property Rights and Wrongs" and "Green Building Trends" will touch on factors affecting both the urban grind and suburban rings.

Shanklin's "Excel on Deadline" sessions scored high marks at journalist groups on the campuses at Harvard University and Southern California University. Here's her syllabus summary:
Whether its mining trend stories with fresh Census data or finding out which contractors have the most building-code violations, a few tricks of Microsoft Excel can help unearth stories buried under mounds of data.
Find out the fundamentals of:
• Creating percentage differential columns
• Building basic formulas to analyze data
• Ranking and isolating groups of data
• Building analytical pivot tables

We'll cover the basics and touch on some more advanced Excel tools that can be executed even as deadline approach.
To participate, you'll need to sign up in advance in order to receive an email attachment with the datasets we'll work on. And bring your a laptop with computer loaded with Excel, preferably the ' 07 version or newer. (We can work with older versions too.) Feel free to load your hard drive with any electronic spreadsheet that you would like to tame.

The "Excel on Deadline" class is part of a rich agenda of professional development programs to enable journalists, both freelance and staffers, to thrive in today's news environment. Session pre-registration is required. Please notify Mary Shanklin at MShanklin@orlandosentinel.comand cc to NAREE Executive Director Mary Doyle-Kimball at MADKimba@aol.com. The Excel on Deadline course is limited to 24 registrants - first come, first served. Upon successful completion of the "Excel on Deadline" course, registered class members will receive a NAREE Certificate of Achievement.

On Friday, The NAREE Conference in San Antonio will feature the 4th Annual Bruss Book Awards Luncheon and NAREE's 61st Real Estate Journalism Awards Presentation and Reception.

NAREE's own "Meet the Press," also on Friday, will offer freelancers, columnists, authors, and public relations professionals a series of short, one-on-one meetings -- in a speed dating like format -- with leading journalists from around the nation in every medium.

NAREE's "Redefining Urban Missions" will be headquartered at the historic Menger Hotel, which is directly across the street from the Alamo and one block from San Antonio's famous River Walk. The Menger Hotel will offer NAREE conferees single and double rooms for only $104 per night. Hotel reservations must be made directly with the Menger by calling: 800-345-9285 or 210-223-4361. Hurry room block expires soon.

Complete NAREE's San Antonio Conference registration on http://www.naree.org or download the printer friendly pdf to fax to the NAREE office.

The conference begins on Wednesday morning June 15 at 10 a.m. and ends Saturday morning June 18 at 11 a.m..

CONFERENCE AGENDA AS OF May 5, 2011 - weekly updates on http://www.naree.org

Wednesday, June 15
9:30 AM Conference Registration, NAREE's Meet the Press Signup and Cyber Cafe Open: Coffee and connect with colleagues
10:00 AM Coverage Trends - Expanding Influence in a Contracting Market - Emily Spicer, San Antonio Express-News, Business & Real Estate Editor
11:05 AM Prevailing Winds Powering the Real Estate Economy - Dr. Ted C. Jones, Chief Economist, Stewart Title
12:15 PM 29 Minutes a Day to Update Facebook, Twitter and a Blog - John Oldham, Inman News
1:00 PM Troubled Assets: The Dark Cloud Over Commercial Real Estate - John Leary, Chairman, Counselors of Real Estate; Douglas Wilson, president Douglas Wilson Cos.; and Silvia Gangel, Real Estate Council of San Antonio. Moderator: Suzann Silverman, Commercial Property Executive.
2:00 PM Home Prices: Are They Climbing Again? Bob Dorsey, FNC
2:35 PM Blossoming Trends in Green Building - John Friesenhahn, Imagine Homes/Beazer; et al.
3:30 PM Foreclosures Crisis: When Will It End? - Sean O'Toole, Foreclosure Radar, Shaun N. White, Re/Max et al. Moderator: Polyana da Costa, Bankrate.com
4:30 PM Opening Address: Real Estate's Next Great Frontier - Patrick Phillips, CEO, Urban Land Institute
5:05 PM Welcome Reception - Menger Hotel
6:15 PM A View from the Top - Penthouse Reception and Opening Remarks - Vidorra Developer, Drake Leddy - The Vidorra, 215 Center Street
9:00 PM - 10 PM NAREE Suite - Telling Back Stories - Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

Thursday, June 16
7:30 AM NAREE Board Meeting, Chairman of the Board, Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times
8:00 AM Registration, Meet the Press Signup and Cyber Cafe Opens
8:00 AM Laptop Lab: Excel on Deadline - Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel - Preregistration required
9:00 AM Property Rights and Wrongs - James Burling, Pacific Legal Foundation; Bill Gunn, William Gunn & Partners; Jay Doegey, International Municipal Lawyers Association. Moderator: Kris Hudson, Wall Street Journal
10:00 AM The Growing Latino Housing Market - Oscar Gonzales, The Gonzales Group et al. Moderator: Purva Patel, Houston Chronicle
11:00 AM Preserving Historic Properties - Profit and Non-Profit Motives - Moderator Emily Spicer, San Antonio Express-News
Noon
1:15 PM Climbing to the Top of the Journalism Dog Pile, Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times, et al.
2:15 PM Mortgage Market Upheaval: GSE Reform, QRM and the arrival of the CFPB. Sue Stewart, Mortgage Match, et al. Moderator: Ken Harney, Washington Post Writers Group.
3:15 PM Redefining Urban and Suburban Missions - TBA
4:15 PM Overcoming Stumbling Blocks to a Second Career in PR - Lucien Salvant, National Association of Realtors; Laura Bennett, Bennett & Co.; Kyle Crews, Allie Beth Allman & Associates; Rick Matthews, Rubenstein Communications. Moderator: Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies.
5:30 PM Motor Coach Departs Menger Hotel for Pearl Brewery & River Walk Cruise
6:00 PM Pearl Brewery Reception
6:45 PM Pearl Brewery Walking Tour & Tasting at the Culinary Institute of America (The Pearl Brewery is converted mixed-use masterpiece of shops, restaurants, residential and office space 10 minutes from the Menger Hotel)
7:30 PM River Walk Barges depart from the Pearl Brewery
9:00 PM On Your Own in the Heart of the River Walk or return to hotel

Friday, June 17 - AWARDS DAY
8:00 AM Laptop Lab: Advanced Excel on Deadline - Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel - Preregistration Required
9:00 AM Mid-Year Economic Update - Chief Economists Stan Humphries, Zillow and Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors; Mark Doutzour, Texas A&M Real Estate Center.
10:00 AM Multi-Family Boom: What Makes It Sizzle When Other Sectors Simmer - Stacy Hunt, Greystar; Walter Moreau, Foundation Communities, Greg Willett, MPF Research. Moderator: Matt Valley, National Real Estate Investor magazine.
11:00 AM Launching Your Own News Outlet - Michael Gerrity, The World Property Channel; Candace Evans, SecondShelters.com; Steve Cook, RealEstateEconomyWatch.com; Jay Rickey, CityBizList.com. Moderator: Harold Bubil, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
12:05 PM NAREE Book Awards Luncheon - Awards Presentation - NAREE President Leigh Robinson, Express Publishing and Past President Brad Inman, Inman News*
1:30 PM Hard Hat Zone: When Will Construction Start Again? Mick Pattinson, Barratt Group; Todd LaRue, Robert Charles Lesser & Co., Jeff Webster, Sundt Construction Co.
2:30 PM Vacation Places: Second Homes, Timeshares and Hotels - John Scovell, Woodbine Development Corp; Steven Shane, SDS Real Estate et al.
3:30 PM America's Changing Real Estate Environment - *Pat Duncan, President, USAA Real Estate
4:15 PM NAREE's Meet the Press - NAREE's Own Mini Media Tour in a Speed Dating Format - Event Chair: Sue Doerfler, Arizona Republic
6:00 PM-7:30 PM NAREE's 61st Annual Real Estate Journalism Awards Presentation and Reception

Saturday, June 18
8:00 AM Video Lab - Giving It Your Best Shot - Cynthia Lee, HGTV
8:45 AM Living South of the Border: A Casualty of the Drug Wars? Christopher Hill, founder, Mexico Real Estate Coalition.
9:15 AM The Great Debate: Does For-Sale-By-Owner Still Work? Eddie Tyner, ForSaleByOwner.com; Michael Crowley, National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, et al. Moderator: Daniel Taub, Bloomberg News.
10:15 AM NAREE Membership Meeting - Led by NAREE President Leigh Robinson, Express Publishing
11:00 AM Conference Concludes, Cyber Cafe Closes

* Denotes Events open to invited guests only