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Volume
7, Issue I
Summer
1999 |
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UP,
UP,
AND AWAY
The popularity of hot air
ballooning has :ballooned," no pun intended, in recent years attracting
many followers. In March of 1999, Swiss Balloonist Bertrand Piccard and
British co-pilot Brian Jones became the first ever to circumnavigate
around the world by balloon. They came away one million dollars richer,
thanks to prize money put up by Anheuser-Busch, and arrived to a hero's
welcome after the twenty-day even. Now, I don't know about you, but I
have absolutely no interest in participating in such a venture. Balloons
do interest me, and I would consider a local flight on a Sunday
afternoon at the local country fair provided wind conditions were right
and the flight did not last for an extended period of time, say twenty
minutes. If you have similar interest we are both in luck. More and more
people are taking to the wind, and there are more and more opportunities
for those of us with casual interest to participate. According to the
Balloon Federation of America (BFA), the average cost of a balloon ride
is $100 to $300, and the average cost of a new balloon ranges between
$25,000 and $35,000. Lessons may be included in the price of the ride
for those seeking to become FAA certified. The best time of the day to
take to the air is at sunrise or sunset and when the temperature is in
the fifties and sixties. The BFA website,
www.bfa.net, lists more than 150 balloon festivals and races across
the country. Most paid balloon flights are conducted no higher than
3,000 feet in elevation and carry 3 to 5 passengers. Flights are usually
launched when winds are below ten miles per hour and most crafts are
around seventy feet tall. We are also informed from reliable sources
that participants do not get airsick and that there is usually no fear
of heights due to the fact that the craft drifts with the wind.
ELLIOTT® Expands
Into Atlanta and Nashville
ELLIOTT® & Company
Appraisers has recently expanded into the cities of Atlanta, Georgia and
Nashville, Tennessee. Company representatives there are owner managers
Marilyn Johnson in Atlanta and Edward Cary in Nashville. "We are very
pleased to have two high quality individuals like Marilyn and Ed
representing the firm in these areas, and we are also pleased to be able
to offer our services in two of the most progressive cities in the
United States," reports company President Charlie Elliott. "This
expansion represents the kind of aggressive growth that the firm has
planned for the future, and we look forward to expanding into other
states as we head into the next millennium. Both of these southern
cities continue to grow at a rapid rate and serve as financial hubs for
their states as well as the southern region of the country." ELLIOTT® &
company Appraisers has a client base in excess of twenty-six hundred
clients nationwide, fourteen offices in the states of Georgia, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee and offers real estate appraisal
services throughout each state. Some of the firm's offices are
independently owned and operated.
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Charlie Elliott
President |
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In March of this year at the
firm's Annual Spring Appraisal Conference in Charlotte, NC, certain
individuals within the firm were recognized for excellence in
production. Listed below is a summary of those receiving awards.
My personal congratulations go out
to each of you who received awards. Keep up the good work.
| Top Producing Appraiser |
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| William Parker, Boone, NC |
Gold |
| Barry Weaver, Boone, NC |
Silver |
| Jeffery Briggs, Raleigh, NC |
Bronze |
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| Top Producing Manager |
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| Joyce Pusey, Winston-Salem, NC |
Gold |
| Catherine Hamlin, Gastonia, NC |
Silver |
| James Bair, North Myrtle Beach, SC |
Bronze |
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| Top Producing Office/Owners |
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North Myrtle Beach, SC
Thomas Kearney & James Bair |
Gold |
Winston-Salem, NC
Joyce Pusey |
Silver |
Gastonia, NC
Catherine Hamlin |
Bronze |
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In Memoriam
Clinton Ashley Elliott
1974-1999
It seems like only yesterday when Clinton
Elliott joined ELLIOTT® and Company Appraisers as a marketing
consultant. Actually is was in the summer of 1998. He came with a smile
and a determination to do his part to enhance the marketing program for
the company. He brought a remarkable artistic talent along with a fresh
new attitude and approach to a company run largely in the past by
tradition. He came with a twinlke in his eye and an excitement for new
projects. We lost Clinton Elliott on May 30th, 1999. For those of us who
he knew and touched, his memory will linger for many years. Clinton was
an accomplished artist leaving many pieces of professional art for us to
enjoy and remember him by. His artistic talents were both God given and
learned. He demonstrated talent for drawing at an early age and
proceeded to perfect those talents at Savannah College of Art and
Design.
Clinton enjoyed boating and fishing as
well as the adventure and excitement which goes with it. He liked music,
cooking and people. He invested many days and hours in community
service, helping others suffering from the same disease of addiction as
his. He was instrumental in developing a completely new and modern
advertising program for ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers including special
artwork, which he personally prepared.
Yes, Clinton, we will miss you. We will
miss seeing you, working with you and depending upon you to plan and
implement our marketing program. We will also miss that smile, those new
ideas, that optimism of youth and most of all that friendly warm feeling
which you so often shared with all of us.
Clinton, for all of the special talents
which you demonstrated, and for the memories that you left us, we say
thank you and may you rest in peace.
Contributions may be made in Clinton's
memory to Alcohol and Drug Services, 5209 W. Wendover Ave., High Point,
NC 27265. |
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The Increasing
Speed and Capacity of Computers
 Back
in 1982 IBM offered for the first time the XT personal computer (PC).
While this was not the first desktop computer, it did represent a
milestone since it was a pattern all other desktop computer
manufacturers would follow for many years to come. Given this history we
did some analysis work in an attempt to measure the increases in PC
capacity since that time, using the XT as a baseline.
Computers have three basic capacities: processing
power, RAM memory and hard drive. The top of the line XT in 1982 offered
4.77 Megahertz of processing power, 64 K of RAM and a 10 Megabyte hard
drive. A recent trip to Best Buy located a top of the line Compaq PC
with 550 Megahertz of processing power, 128 Megabytes of RAM and 17
Gigabytes of hard drive.
A review indicates that over the seventeen year
period, processing power has increased 115 times, RAM has increased 200
times and hard drive capacity has increased 1,700 times. An average of
these three provides an average increase over the period of 672 times or
about 40 times per year. Bill Gates has been quoted (paraphrase) as
saying that the demand for capacity has and will continue to outstrip
the ability of technology to keep pace. Where will we be in another 17
years? You figure.
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Marilyn
Johnston Appraises Atlanta
 As part of a
recent expansion of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers, Marilyn W. Johnston
has recently joined the firm as Owner/Manager of the Atlanta Office.
Marilyn is a State Certified Residential Appraiser in the State of
Georgia and has fifteen years of appraisal experience. She also holds a
Georgia Real Estate Sales License as further demonstration of her
commitment to the real estate profession and has sold real estate in the
past.
Marilyn is a true
representative of her city and state. She grew up in Atlanta and a
conversation with her reminds one of the local traditions found in
Gone With The Wind. She is a loyal fan of local sports teams
including the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and especially her beloved Georgia
Bulldogs. She served as a volunteer during the 1996 Olympics which was
held in her city and speaks positively of all the civic and community
development which is taking place in what many would say is the most
important city in the South. Marilyn holds a Bachelor's Degree in
Journalism from, you guessed it, The University of Georgia, an
accomplishment which serves her well in her duties as an appraiser.
Marilyn is a
dedicated mother of a daughter entering her senior year in high school
and a son in college, people who occupy much of her time and are a big
part of her life.
Oh, for all of you
pro-football fans Marilyn says lookout for the Falcons again this year.
She thinks that they can become the first Super Bowl Champions of the
new Millennium.
Marilyn serves the
entire Atlanta Metropolitan Area. She welcomes calls from clients with
needs in her market.
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 Ed
Cary, SRA
Your Music City Appraisal Connection
Not everyone in Nashville, Tennessee
makes a living playing and singing country music. Some of us have real
jobs, and Ed Cary is one of them. Ed, with the help of his son Bill,
owns and manages the newly opened Nashville office of ELLIOTT® & Company
Appraisers.
It seems that many appraisers have strong
allegiances to their college alma maters and Ed is no exception. Ed
holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Tennessee, and one would
wonder if his blood runs orange. He never misses a home game of the
Volunteers, and as you may be aware, the drive from his home in the
Nashville area to Knoxville is no short distance. Last season was a
particularly exciting year for Ed, as his Southeastern Conference team
went undefeated not only in the conference but outside as well, taking
the national championship.
Ed Cary is a Tennessee State Certified
Appraiser and is an SRA (Senior Residential Member) member of the
Appraisal Institute. He also holds a Tennessee State Building
Contractors License and has practiced various real estate disciplines as
a self-employed practitioner over the past twenty-seven years in the
Nashville market.
Ed, along with son Bill, resides in
Brentwood, a fashionable suburb of Nashville near their office of the
same address. They provide appraisal services over the entire
Metropolitan Nashville Area. When your needs include appraisals in
Nashville, and if you are looking for professionals with a depth of
experience, give them a call, they stand ready to be of service to you.
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Introducing Vickie
Legge
There is something exciting about the addition of new
members to an organization. Personnel changes frequently represent a
fresh attitude and a new-found energy not always present in those who
were finishing their tenure in a position. Such is the case with Vickie
Legge, Corporate Service Director for ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers.
Vickie comes to us from the Health Information Industry where she served
as office manager for a local firm for a period of five years. While in
her previous position she did not deal with appraisals, she found
herself constantly employing and sharpening her customer relation
skills. Vickie was quick to make the transition and brought with her
many skills universal to serving customer in almost any industry. She
states that she prefers a personal "one on one first name relationship
with her customers, the type that promotes not just a customer
relationship but a friendship."
"Her enthusiasm for the position is contagious,"
reports Charlie Elliott, company President. "Her cooperative spirit and
dedication to the needs of the customer permeate through the
organization, and we along with our customers are fortunate to have her
on board."
Vickie, a native of Greensboro, NC, is a dedicated
wife and mother, She, husband Lee and daughters Ashley and Leslie, enjoy
outdoor leisure activities such as fishing and camping. She is an avid
reader preferring biographies and fiction.
If you would like to develop a customer and/or
friendship relationship with Vickie, give her a call at the central
office; you won't be disappointed.
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