Year End Message from 2023 President, Tina Lu
Monday, Dec 18, 2023
As the year draws to a close, I am incredibly proud of all of the good work we collectively accomplished these past 12 months. This year, our chapter membership base grew 17%, reaching an all time high of 254 active members. We concluded the year with an unprecedented offering of 40+ events and programming catered to our valued members, volunteers and sponsors. Impressively 18+ events were sold out in advance, underscoring the thoughtful curation and exceptional execution of our dedicated volunteers across all portfolios. We were delighted to see our committees expand to 86 volunteers, up from 68 the prior year, a 26% increase year-over-year. Thank you to ALL our volunteers for your hard work and the countless hours you’ve put in to make this year a success!
Following the resounding success of last year’s inaugural award gala, the CREW Vancouver Awards Committee is pleased to have hosted another sold-out event to honour our award recipients on October 25th at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. This year’s event featured five award categories and renowned future of work keynote speaker Cheryl Cran, alongside 200+ guests in attendance. Initially launched in 2021, the awards program recognizes and celebrates extraordinary leadership and success in the Vancouver Real Estate Industry. The awards program will transition to an every two-year format after three consecutive years, with the next anticipated program scheduled for 2025.
None of these achievements would have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. We welcomed 11 new sponsors this year, bringing our total to 53 annual sponsors and three in-kind sponsors. Additionally, we continue to foster partnerships for our two signature events, the Charity Golf and Awards Gala, with both new and existing sponsors this year. We extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all for your unwavering support!
I want to take this opportunity to thank our 2023 Board of Directors including: Elaine Chong, Madeline Clement, Patti Glass, Jasmean Toor, Meaghan Tullis, Margo Smith, Rachel Orr, Veronique Turner. And congratulate our incoming 2024 President, Meghan Henselwood and 2024 President-Elect, Kathy Yu. Please also join me in extending our congratulations to Cindy MacMillian on her appointment at CREW Network as President-Elect for the 2024 Global Board of Directors.
As we reflect on 2023, its clear that is has been a year of remarkable achievements as we set the stage for two significant milestone years for our chapter ahead. In 2024, CREW Vancouver will take center stage as the host chapter of CREW Convention held September 25-27th, welcoming over 1300+ CREW member globally to our beautiful city. Following that in 2025, our chapter will celebrate our 20th anniversary, marking two decades since our incorporation as a society on April 1st, 2005.
CREW Vancouver is please to have had 12 CREW Vancouver Members attend this year’s convention at Atlanta this past September. In addition to Board Member attendance, we were very pleased to relaunch the convention scholarship for our members - congratulations to two our recipients this year Lisa Allsworth and Vicky Hou. We were also thrilled to have showcase three distinguished Vancouver speakers, Ben Taddei, Liz Firer-Gillespie, and Stephanie Marshall at this year’s CREW Convention in Atlanta.
As we gear up as the 2024 Host Chapter for Convention next year, we held an open call earlier this year for the Host Chapter Co-Chairs. After careful consideration and reviewing all applicants, the CREW Vancouver Board was very pleased to share the appointment of Ashley Willard Bauman, and Chrystal Burns. The two will be responsible for the Local Organization Committee overseeing Learning Excursions, Marketing, Sponsorship, Leisure/Volunteer and serve as a key liaison between CREW Vancouver and CREW Network. Ashley and Chrystal also successfully hosted the Vancouver Welcome Booth at CREW Convention Atlanta Marketplace earlier this September and received an overwhelming warm reception from our CREW global members. Please stay tuned for more information about how to get involved or become a sponsor with the CREW Vancouver Convention in the new year.
It has been an honour of a lifetime to serve as the President of CREW Vancouver. I am immensely proud of the outstanding work we collectively accomplished this year, as we continue to advance our shared mission of accelerating women in Commercial Real Estate. I can’t wait to see what the new year holds!
Wishing everyone a happy and safe holidays.
Kindest Regards,
-Tina Lu