Post by Patrick Doncouse, SRA

This will be my inaugural post on this platform so I suppose a brief introduction is in order. My name is Patrick N. Doncouse, N for Nathan. I am a real property appraiser based in North County San Diego and have been appraising up and down Southern California across a range of property types for a hodgepodge of uses, but really, the reason I’m posting today isn’t to provide an elevator pitch on what my services entail as an independent appraiser, but to share a bit of news that transpired today. In short, as of 6:44 AM PST I received some good news. And what is this news exactly? Great question, I’ll get to that later, but first, a bit of reflection on my end. As I sit here typing on a rather auspicious day, it’s been just over 10 years since my first chapter meeting, well 10 years and five months, as of February 2016, and upon attending it as a bright eyed trainee bearing witness to a group of highly decorated professionals, which, mind you, I was recovering from the flu and had yet to re-find my voice, so the prospect of conversation was, at best, a superstition, and in seeing said highly decorated professionals walking about mingling with four badges to their name while conducting chapter business, the idea of participating in the leadership of said organization, let alone acquiring said designations, was an abstraction, a whimsical idea at best that bore no weight at that present moment, but in time, over time, through my development within the profession over a few years with great time and effort, the abstract faraway dream became concrete reality, and as of the above time I mentioned, I became a designated member of the Appraisal Institute, and to put it quite plainly, it’s very cool. So in short, today was a red-letter day and I wanted to share the good news.   Patrick N. Doncouse, SRA