Like most others in the workforce today, you probably “twitch” all day long. You won’t admit it, though, right? You think it’s a badge of courage in today’s high tech world.

When I was in sixth grade I entered an essay contest and won a spot in an Earth Day commercial. I was known mostly for the swishing sound my Charlotte Hornets nylon wind pants made every time I walked down the halls of the middle school, so this was an exciting opportunity to re-invent myself. I was finally catching my big break.

This Memorial Day Weekend we commemorate the sacrifices made by those who have served in our armed forces. I can think of no better time to highlight the contributions veterans are making to our own industry and the ways in which they are ideally suited for careers in the apartment industry.

I recently had the tremendous pleasure of hearing real estate industry expert and visionary Christopher Lee speak at a conference about his new publication, “Transformational Leadership in the New Age of Real Estate”. Lee has a “Tell-it-Like-it-is” attitude that’s mirrored in his writing, and his document sets out the likely future of the real estate industry.

The other day—a Friday night, to be exact—my roommate said she didn’t understand why we never met single guys. “I really don’t get it,” I said to her, sitting on the couch in an oversized t-shirt, scrolling through the TV’s On Demand menu so I could watch Maria Menounos and Derek Hough’s rumba (for the third time) on “Dancing With the Stars.” “Hey, do you mind if I open a can of tuna?”

My roommate—who is a self-proclaimed mess right now, both personally and professionally—has started downloading podcasts from Oprah’s Spirit Channel to re-center herself. Last week she pulled out a notebook and began rattling off inspiring catch phrases—nuggets of wisdom such as “remember your spirit,” “what we dwell on is who we become” and “never speak out against the beef industry.”

Our program was inspired by “The Five” on the Fox News Channel. That show features a roundtable ensemble of five personalities who “discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news stories, controversies and issues of the day”. And that is plan of the Fair Housing 5 – to discuss, debate and debunk what you may have heard about as relates to fair housing.

Customer reviews land at the top of search results. In some cases it may be advised to respond to negative, and even positive, reviews. Set objectives and create a policy and a plan for responding to reviews.

You’re about to start hearing a lot about this year’s winners of our PARAGON, Apartment Career and Education (ACE) and Anthony Pusateri Career Promotion awards. We’ll honor all of them at our NAA Education Conference and Exposition in June. In the meantime, I’d like to let you know about an innovative program being done by the Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA) to introduce job seekers to our industry. AMA is being recognized with a Pusateri Award for its October job fair.

Back in the day I used to sit in my elementary school’s computer lab, playing the game Oregon Trail. Originally developed in the early 70s to teach school children about the harsh realities of 19th century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail, the game was a real gut check.