COME ON DOWN MAY 13-15 TO NEW ORLEANS FOR A ROCKIN' PP CONFERENCE ... WITH COURSES, TOO!

Even if you've been to the Big Easy before, you've never seen it the way you will this time around. In fact, we urge you to come early and stay late! 

Come on down May 13-15 for the ASA Personal Property Conference in New Orleans. Then stick around after the conference to sharpen your professional skills with some of ASA's leading professionals.

In the words of the late Southern chef and Cajun-culture humorist, Justin Wilson, we gar-on-tee that you will fall in love with the 300-year-old gumbo of history that makes New Orleans one of the world's unique cities ... and that you, too, will depart singing "I know what it means to miss New Orleans."

The conference is being held at the Country Inn & Suites at 315 Magazine Street, located in the French Quarter next door to the beloved Bon Ton Cafe. It's a five-minute walk to Bourbon Street, but near the Arts and Warehouse districts, and cultural venues such as the World War II Museum. Like many of the Crescent City's quirky structures, the Country Inn is composed of (seven) 19th Century buildings cobbled together with new construction, and decorated with first-rate furnishings and amenities. However, conferees won't be spending much time stuck in a conference meeting room.

Our three-day conference schedule is crammed with site visits to numerous museums, galleries, and historic properties, with specialized lectures by top experts:

• Antique Louisiana furnishings and decorative arts, which reflect French, Spanish, West Indian and sometimes early American influences, and are most definitely different from eastern American styles;
• 19th Century American furniture and decorative arts, emphasizing key regional makers, identification points, and market activity;
• Southern "American Scene" art and Southern outsider and visionary folk art;
• Crafts and design movements, especially Southern genres such as Newcomb Pottery, Walter Anderson, George Ohr, and Shearwater Pottery, with some major Tiffany windows thrown in for good measure;
• Conservation considerations for textiles and furniture in the Gulf climate before and AFTER Hurricane Katrina;
• Indelible influences of African American artists and craftsmen working within the complex multi-ethnic societies of New Orleans and Louisiana before and after the Civil War, and to the present day;
• European influences on the local culture in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, and exchange of ideas by such visiting artists as Edgar Degas (who had Creole relatives in New Orleans);
• John James Audubon, the Creole adventurer whose wife worked as a New Orleans governess to support his travels and his Birds of America business.

New Orleans has been to the heartland of North America what Ellis Island, Coastal Virginia, and the Carolinas were to eastern American settlement ... but with a seriously funky flair for fun. There's a reason why the motto in NOLA is Laissez les bon temps Rouler! And as folks around here say to the ones they miss, "Where YAT?" Don't make us say that about YOU.

Click here for the May 13-15 New Orleans Conference Schedule.

WAIT WAIT. THERE'S MORE...

As if a jam-packed three-day conference in New Orleans weren't enough, we have set up an entire week in the Big Easy where you can hone your professional skills and advance in your area(s) of expertise. On Wednesday, May 16, we are offering a one-day advanced report writing course taught by Sandra Tropper, ASA, Chair of ASA Education, and Edith Yeomans, ASA, Chair of the PP Board of Examiners. The report-writing course is designed to help both PP Candidates AND experienced accredited appraisers avoid report deficiencies that get them into trouble with clients, the legal system, the IRS, and ASA's Board of Examiners. If you have not taken report writing or the 15-hour personal property USPAP course within the past two years, you NEED to attend this one-day course.

We also are presenting a three-day course on antiques and decorative arts (ADA) for appraisers prepping to sit for the ADA specialty examination. This course is back by popular demand as a result of the successful prep course given at the Winston-Salem conference in 2010, and will be conducted by many of the same instructors. We are giving the ADA exam on Sunday, May 20 for  anyone wishing to sit for the exam following the three-day course. Special arrangement may be made to take the course late Saturday, May 19, following the ADA course. Contact our PP Chair, Sharon Ring Rollins, or Nicole Cruz at ASA Headquarters, to register for the exam.