The Swartz Report: “LIVE, AND IN PERSON”

By Donald Swartz, President

As you may have read in an earlier posting on LinkedIn, David Swartz, Keith Sherman and I recently attended the 25^th anniversary conference of TOMA (Theatre Owners of Mid-America). I was fortunate to be asked to participate in a panel discussion during the conference, and was very pleased to be a part of this. Along with Jason Roos, of Valbridge Property Advisors and Alicia Grant, legal counsel with Norton Rose Fulbright, we covered the topic of property taxes (both real estate and business personal property) and the nuances associated with the valuation of theaters.

Having worked with both Jason and Alicia on property tax matters, I felt a comfort level and ease of “back and forth” that you don’t always see in panel discussions. They made this very easy and with our moderator, Mike Hagan of B&B Theatres leading the discussion, I’ve never had an hour move so quickly talking about property taxes. 😊

More importantly, the conference reinforced my belief in the value of meeting with people face to face.

While we have become comfortable with Teams, Zoom, Google Meet and others, there is no substitute for personal interaction. The side bars after presentations; the casual conversations in the halls before the next session; cocktail receptions and evening activities… These simply cannot be replicated on virtual platforms. I am still a big fan of virtual meetings as we conduct at least two each week between my Swartz office and the Indurante team. “Seeing” everyone is much better than the conference calls I was initially introduced to in the 1980s and 90s. Technology has made the world a much smaller place, but the opportunity for live, in-person interaction is the best.

Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to prove this interaction as David and Keith will be attending a Tax Summit this November in Orlando. Presented by Marcus Evans, we will be one of approximately 30 vendors scheduled to have 1:1 in person meetings with at least 12 companies interested in learning more about our business and the world of property taxes. This is a major step outside of my comfort zone, and I am excited to see the benefits. (You may be reading about this in my November or December blog post!)

As we get ready for the last quarter of the year, we are already preparing for 2025.

Our Swartz planning meeting will take place in Kansas City in Mid-October, followed by our Indurante planning meeting the next week in Las Vegas. This allows us the opportunity to openly discuss what went right, what needs improvement and how we may continue to be efficient and responsive to our existing and prospective clients. I always look forward to these meetings, as I know opinions and suggestions are free flowing.