I would like to thank the membership for the honor of being the Houston Chapter's President for 2008. We are all fortunate to be in a large well run chapter with hard working committees. The chapter has made a lot of progress in recent years with strong leadership and member volunteers making us one of the best run chapters in the country. We won a national award for the best run larger chapter and best electronic newsletter under the leadership of Brad Kangieser, MAI, SRA as president last year. Brad will be a hard act to follow, but I am confident that we will build on the progress we have made to continue to be the best chapter in the country. We should all be grateful that our economy continues to grow and will out perform most of the country in the foreseeable future.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the nation's two largest purchasers of home loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have entered into cooperation agreements requiring them to only buy loans from banks that meet new standards designed to ensure independent and reliable appraisals. The agreements, among the New York Attorney General, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their federal regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), also create an independent organization to implement and monitor the new appraisal standards. Senator Charles Schumer, Chair of the Senate Banking Committee's Housing Subcommittee, praised the agreement and the reforms which he has supported.

Several scholarships are available through the Appraisal Institute including the Minorities and Women Scholarships awarded each year to minority and women college students pursuing academic degrees in real estate appraisal and related fields, Regional Scholarships awarded to minority and women associate members of the Appraisal Institute who need financial assistance to take Appraisal Institute courses leading to the SRA or MAI, and Local Scholarships awarded to Associate members needing assistance in financing their appraisal education with the Appraisal Institutedesignation. Institute's ten regions.