HURON — Angie Uttecht, Broker/Owner of Ace Realty and Laurie Smith, Broker/Associate of Ace Realty recently attended the National Association of Realtors annual convention held in San Diego.  Over 10,000 Realtors® from across the country and around the world  gathered in San Diego to experience the premier global event for real estate professionals.  Uttecht & Smith heard from NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun, attended the inaugural gala where the 2022 NAR Leadership officers were installed,  were inspired and motivated by former New Orleans Saints quarterback and Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees and also Simone Biles, four-time Olympic gold medalist, the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history. 

The conference theme was “Rise and Shine” and served as the theme for the first-ever hybrid — in-person and virtual — REALTORS® Conference & Expo, the annual conference for the world’s largest trade association.

Uttecht and Smith interacted with 250 exhibitors at the industry’s largest trade show and attended some of the 80 educational sessions on a wide array of topics, including emerging real estate technology, housing supply and affordability issues, and cybersecurity, among many others.

Uttecht served as a NAR committee member for the Risk Management Issues Committee where she served as co-chair for the Midwest Region on emerging real estate liability issues currently facing the Real Estate industry. She also was a voting delegate representing the HBOR as voting took place on historic governance changes for the association all geared toward transparency and putting the consumer first. 

NAR’s last in-person annual conference was nearly two years ago. In that time, Realtors® have risen to meet daunting business challenges and have helped lead the real estate industry and our economy through the difficult times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.