DLI Class #8, 9 & 10 Overview
DLI Class # 8 – Economic Development
This 8th class for DLI was held via Zoom meeting on June 29th, 2020. Covering all topics related to Economic Development, the class was presented with an array of knowledgeable speakers in the industry. Introducing the speakers and moderating this class was Sabrina Borghoff, Senior Director of Business Development for Martin Harris Construction.
Chris Zunis, Vice President of Economic Development for the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance was the first speaker up. Chris discussed the overall view of economic development, and its dedication and effort to create and retain jobs, grow the tax base, and increase the standard of living for our Las Vegas community. The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) is dedicated to developing the economies of Las Vegas, Clark County, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Mesquite through regional cooperation, global trade, and global connectivity. Since 2012, the LVGEA has helped create 26,000 jobs!
Chris also discussed lead generation and project pipelines, giving the class a full overview of the efforts and dedication that the LVGEA provides to our community.
Next up, Gina Gavan, the Chief Innovation Officer & Director of Economic Development for the City of North Las Vegas. Gina led the discussion with North Las Vegas’ demographics, parks, recreational areas and libraries, and schools in “North Town.” This information led to the answer of “why” North Town. With the speed of business and transportation and logistics, North Town is providing economic development and growth to its partners and communities.
Shani Coleman, Director Community & Economic Development for Clark County discussed the importance of strategic community partnerships and public private partnerships. Identifying and understanding community priorities, defining goals and preferred outcomes, considering the type of partnerships that fit the needs, creating consensus and buy-in with all participants and evaluating and rethinking are all steps that are to be looked at when considering strategic community partnerships. Shani further led the class into case studies of public private partnerships, and discussed the importance amongst all partnerships.
Discussing economic development from a redevelopment perspective was Thomas Welch, Economic Development Manager for the City of Henderson. Thomas discussed the five redevelopment areas located in Downtown, Cornerstone, Eastside, Lakemoor Canyon and Tuscany. From the governing documents and investment strategies related to the master planning, Thomas offered a lot of insight to the class. The class enjoyed the case studies that were provided, along with the before and after photos of projects in redevelopment areas, as well as learning about the overall vision for select locations.
Finally, Ryan Smith, Business Development Manager for the City of Las Vegas discussed the “why” behind economic development. From job creation and economic diversification to improved quality of life and increased tax revenue, the class learned all about the importance of what goes in to each of the roles mentioned above. Ryan shared information on how he proves to be successful in his position through outreach, trade shows and BRE visits. While economic development is important, Ryan stressed that is equally as important to do your due diligence for each client to ensure that their specific needs would be met. Ryan further discussed the future of becoming a “smart city” and discussed the many benefits associated with what exactly that entails.
The class was followed up with virtual questions and answers, and concluded with a much better understanding of everything related to economic development.
Thank you to Bob Potter at Affordable Concepts, Inc. for sponsoring this class.
DLI Class # 9 – Real Estate Operations
This 9th class for DLI was held via Zoom meeting on July 13th, 2020. Covering all topics related to Real Estate Operations, the class welcomed Reed Gottesman, Senior Vice President of Harsch Investment Properties. Reed led the discussion for the class and offered a very interactive and discussion based class.
To begin, Reed discussed our current situation, due to the pandemic. No Shirt. No Shoes. No Mask. No Service. This seems to be the current theme for Nevadans. This led the discussion towards “Operating a Large Real Estate Portfolio Through the Storm” and Reed was able to offer insight and statistics, based on his own portfolio. The class was happy to learn that the impact on rents was much less severe than originally thought.
Reed went on to discuss REIT’s, Private Equity, and Family or Privately Held assets. This portion of the class was very interactive, as the students were eager to learn, and Reed was great about initiating engagement among the students.
The class was followed up with virtual questions and answers, and concluded with a much better understanding of everything related to Real Estate Operations.
Thank you to Justin Wallin of Wallin Construction for sponsoring this class.
DLI Class # 10 – Public Speaking
The final class for DLI was held via Zoom meeting on August 13th, 2020. Who better to lead the class on public speaking, than former mayor of North Las Vegas, Mike Montandon. Mike engaged the class fully and offered up quite the acronym to assist them on their future endeavors of public speaking: LEAPS.
Logos: “Information”- Mike explained to the class that while information is important during a speech, it is only one part of it. Interestingly, he went on to explain that you should only touch on about four points to keep engagement. Another great tip that he offered was that no story should be told without a statistic, and no statistic should be given without telling a story. Relaying your information isn’t enough. It is how you relay your information that makes for a great public speaking moment.
Ethos: “Ethics” – While information is extremely important during a speech, your presence is equally important. Knowing your audience and the occasion, and showing up for that. Never lose the ability to present your ethos.
Agora: “Environment” – Especially in today’s challenges with meetings and speaking for audiences, knowing your environment is critical. Outside of your physical environment speaking at a conference, and knowing your sound, number of attendees, etc., Mike was able to get the class thinking about how to apply this to current times. One of the best take aways here, was knowing your “remote” environment. Many of our meetings are virtual, and it is important to understand small things such as your background and your ability to make “eye” contact – hint, it isn’t looking down while ready or event looking at another screen!
Pathos: “Empathy” – Know your audience. Understand the individuals that you will be speaking to, and ensure that you are speaking to them.
Syzygy (yes… it is a word!): “align” – It is only when you align all of the above elements, that you will set yourself up for success. It is not enough to go in with great “logos” while having terrible “ethos”, or allowing the environment to fall apart. They must all come together holistically to maximize the value of the speech. This acronym will be easily remembered and prove to be a useful reminder to the class for many years to come.
Thank you to David Salter and Geotechnical & Environmental Services, Inc. for sponsoring this class.
2020 DLI Class Vice President
Christina Stanfill, Director of Project Development
WORTHGROUP Architects & Designers
Cell 702.575.8024 | cstanfill@worthgroup.com
