Realtor associations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island had been planning a regional convention for later this year at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn., but the event has been postponed.

Plans for a New England regional convention for Realtors, which the Massachusetts Association of Realtors was helping to organize, have been put on hold.

The Realtor associations organizing the event ran out of time to put the convention together and couldn’t negotiate a contract to secure a site for the meeting.

“Anytime you’ve got a number of different associations with their own governance structures and their own view of how they want to put on an event, you’ve got a learning curve of how you put the pieces together and make it work,” said John Fridlington, MAR’s executive vice president.

“We were not able to put it together in time,” said Bob Kennedy, executive vice president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors.

MAR and CAR, along with the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, were planning the first-ever regional convention this fall. The event was expected to draw at least 1,500 to 2,000 real estate professionals from all of the New England states.

In prior years, MAR and the other two associations have had individual conventions and programs for their members. MAR, for example, has typically hosted three-day, two-night conventions in the fall. In the past, the group has hosted the event at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.; Puerto Rico; and various locations throughout Massachusetts.

However, last year MAR skipped its annual convention and agreed to join the other Realtor groups in hosting a regional convention and trade show in hopes of saving money on expenses, drawing well-known national speakers and attracting larger crowds. The groups even hired an event planning firm to help the associations secure a site for the convention and to assist with the trade exposition that is part of the conference.

But organizers said they ran out of time and couldn’t negotiate a contract for an appropriate venue in time. The groups were eyeing the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville as the site for the meeting this fall.

“They [Mohegan Sun] were very accommodating and professional,” explained Kennedy. “It was a matter of not having the right pieces in place on time.”

Groundwork Laid

Fridlington said the state groups were in the “initial talking stages” to see if they want to start planning a 2004 regional convention. “We had established a really good working relationship and had come up with a good model and approach for the convention,” added Fridlington

When asked about the possibility of a 2004 convention, Kennedy would not specify whether the Realtor groups were going to host a regional convention and trade show next fall. But Kennedy did say that the state groups “are certainly interested in working together to provide various programs and services to the membership of the various states.”

Susan Arnold, chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said she is “very open” to participating and organizing a joint event in the future.

“We’re really positioned to doing some sort of event in the future,” said Arnold. “It might be a leadership event or it could be a full-scale convention for our members.”

Arnold said a lot of the groundwork has been laid to move forward with a joint event.

“One of the things we learned is that we worked together very well. Our timeframe was just a little compressed,” she said. “I think that at this point we really surmounted collectively any challenges except for the compressed timeframe.”

If MAR and the other Realtor associations succeed in organizing a regional conference next year, it won’t be the first. Realtor groups in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been hosting regional conferences for at least two years. The conventions have drawn thousands of real estate professionals and hundreds of exhibitors.

In the meantime, MAR is considering organizing other events for members this year. Last year in lieu of the annual convention, MAR hosted a professional development day in the fall that featured social events, speakers and discussions.

Fridlington said MAR is likely to do a similar event, and may even expand it. All of that is subject to approval by a MAR committee that is in charge of organizing educational programs and events for the organization. The committee was scheduled to meet last week but couldn’t because of the blizzard that blasted the region. Committee members are likely to meet in upcoming days to discuss future events.

In Connecticut, CAR is also considering hosting a smaller-scale, one-day program similar to an event they organized last year. That event featured education sessions, networking opportunities, the installation of new CAR officers and an awards ceremony that recognized Realtors for their community service.

“We may enhance it,” said Kennedy. “We may concentrate a little further on leadership training and education for the local associations in conjunction with the state association.”

The Rhode Island association, which last hosted a multi-day convention about seven years ago, also will schedule a program for its members sometime between September and November that will last several hours.

“We will have a very scaled-down event this year in our state that would essentially serve to install our new president, honor our state Realtor of the Year and have a forum for our annual membership meeting,” said Arnold.

Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at
apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.