Guadalajara, Mexico - The Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) recently held its annual, conference and trade show in Guadalajara and Tequila, Mexico. Those attending called the event a "HUGE" success.

The word HUGE could be used to describe the number attending. Nearly 900 people came to Jalisco for the event. There were educational and social events, a trade show, the Annual General Assembly and an Extraordinary Assembly.

Several classes were given prior to the official opening. These included "Doing Business in the USA" and "Specialized Marketing and Mexico A to Z." The latter, a new course given for the first time, was presented by Linda Neil, CIPS and Mercy Duenas of AMPI Guadalajara.

AMPI classes are part of its training center and are accredited by the Mexican Secretary of Education. The goal for next year is to have more online and also more in English.

Among the presentations made were: "Sustainable Construction - The Global Tendency," by Cesar Ulises Tervino; and "Planning for Integral Tourism Centers," by Enrique Carillo Lavat, Director General of FONATUR; and the "Architecture of the Future," by Michel Rojkind. Also, "The Reality of the Current Real Estate Market" was presented by Eugene Towle of Softec. Towle was very informative and used his sense of humor in explaining his graphics as usual.

A large convoy of buses headed to Tequila for some fun and to hear Robin Sharma - I was invited to ride on the special bus for international guests. Since the street leading to the "Jose Cuervo Amphitheatre" was torn up, we had to pass through a corner of the distillery; this meant wearing hair nets. There were some rather cute hombres in the group.

On the business side of things, I represented the La Paz section at a meeting of Regional Coordinators and Presidents. There were about 127 of us as AMPI has grown substantially in these past few years.

Another event was the Annual General Assembly of the Mexico Section of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI.) We were honored by the presence of the World FIABCI President-elect, Flavio Gonzaga Nunes. An attorney, Flavio travelled from Brazil to be with us. Jacobo Jasqui Amiga of AMPI D.F. was elected President of FIABCI Mexico.

There were two business meetings. At the Annual General Assembly, ten new members of the National Advisory Board were elected for two year terms and, for the first time, a female Vice President was elected - Martha Ramirez Gallegos. Also, Mazatlan was selected as the site for next year's Congreso.

AMPI revised its bylaws and constitution at an Extraordinary Assembly. Major changes are the addition of two new Vice President positions. One is V.P. Technology and the other V.P. AMPI red (MLS system.)