17 delegates from all regions of IAPA attended the US Regional Conference, Miami, this year being hosted by Alan Lips (Gerson, Preston, Klein, Lips, Eisenberg & Gebler) at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach.
With 2 optional days of golf/networking many delegates arrived early to take advantage of the fantastic Miami weather and to get to know fellow IAPA members outside of the main conference programme.
Evening cocktails and dinner for all early arrivals were arranged in the offices of Gerson, Preston, Klein, Lips Eisenberg & Gebler, which was a fantastic occasion to enable all guests to get to know the local office and staff in true Miami style!
With an opening dinner at local restaurant Mango’s on Friday night, the official conference began on Saturday 20 May. Martin Clapson, IAPA Vice-Chairman delivered the key presentation from the Centre highlighting recent developments within IAPA including the results from the 2017 global Membership Survey.
This was followed by roundtable discussions led by Martin Clapson and US President Tom Rex, primarily on how members want to develop the US region. Members engaged enthusiastically to develop key action points for the Centre and the Regional Board to work together on, to meet the needs of the members. This re-energised focus was welcomed by all and the Centre looks forward to reporting more specific detail in separate correspondence.
The meeting adjourned lunchtime for delegates and guests to enjoy the beautiful Miami Beach and surrounding area and dinner was arranged in the gourmet Scarpetta Restaurant, in the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel.
The final conference day started with more roundtable discussions, this time with each delegate sharing ‘top tips’ or ‘best practice’ ideas that have significantly helped their practices over the last 12 months. This is always a popular way for members to take new ideas, tried and tested, back to their firms to implement change. Many thanks to everyone for making this such a success.
Finally, the conference ended with the AGM. IAPA is delighted to welcome Scot Minnig as the new US President, Alan Lips as the Vice-President and 2 new members: Mike Mullen (Treasurer) and Norm Schulman. We look forward to working closely with our new Board to implement development plans for the region.
