SIOR Fall World Conference held at the Omni Hotel in Nashville

With an attendance pushing record levels, 1,003 members, associates, and sponsors attended The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors Fall World Conference at the Omni Hotel. Located in Nashville's vibrant downtown, across from the Music City Center and in walking distance to Nashville's finest restaurants, sporting and entertainment venues, the conference provided a great mix of professional and educational daytime events and nighttime music-filled entertainment. Several members from the Western Massachusetts/Connecticut Chapter attended. The prevailing theme at the Conference was one of optimism regarding the U.S. economy and domestic manufacturing. The market anticipates a continuation of re-shoring manufacturing activity in the United States, with several major manufacturing projects recently announced, primarily in the Southeast. Other factors contributing to this optimism include productivity advantages in the U.S., the decreasing labor cost gap with Asian countries, and decreased energy costs due to domestic oil and gas production. General session speakers included Jonah Berger, marketing professor at The Wharton School/University of Pennsylvania and author of the Bestseller, Contagious. Diana Nyad provided a compelling and inspirational message that you are never too old to chase your dreams, as she chronicled her successful quest to swim from Cuba to Florida at age 64 after several failed attempts. And, Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business professor, Peter Ricchiuti, PhD, presented an upbeat current view and forecast of the economy; sprinkled with his down-to-earth humor. SIOR is the leading professional commercial and industrial real estate association. With more than 3,000 members in 580 cities in 26 countries, SIOR represents today's most knowledgeable, experienced, and successful commercial real estate brokerage specialists.