Volume 7, Issue I                                                                                                                           Summer 1999

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.

 

 Charlie Elliott
President

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  
William Parker, Boone, NC Gold
Barry Weaver, Boone, NC Silver
Jeffery Briggs, Raleigh, NC Bronze
Top Producing Manager  
Joyce Pusey, Winston-Salem, NC Gold
Catherine Hamlin, Gastonia, NC Silver
James Bair, North Myrtle Beach, SC Bronze
Top Producing Office/Owners  
North Myrtle Beach, SC
Thomas Kearney & James Bair
Gold
Winston-Salem, NC
Joyce Pusey
Silver
Gastonia, NC
Catherine Hamlin
Bronze

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 


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.

 

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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