Education media publisher Appraiser eLearning (AEL) bought Valuation Expo and Appraisal Buzz from Joan Trice, who created the two entities about 20 years ago.
The staff of both appraisal conference Valuation Expo and the newsletter for appraisal professionals Appraisal Buzz will remain in place and no changes are planned to either entity, AEL said announcing the purchase on Wednesday.
AEL is a subsidiary of StoryBoard EMP, whose CEO Jim McLeod negotiated the purchase as well as AEL executives Hal Humphreys and Bryan Reynolds. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I have reached the point where I need to scale back, so I have hand-picked my successor,” Trice said in a statement. AEL’s education products, communication skills and conference management skills will “raise the bar” for both the conference and the newsletter, she added.
Trice, president of Collateral Risk Network (CRN) — a nonprofit group that focuses on valuation, collateral risk, and regulations — will continue to hold its annual meeting in conjunction with Val Expo, which she started in 2003. The expo is scheduled for August 7-9 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
AEL will also continue to partner with the National Association of Appraisers (NAA) as co-host of two annual appraisal conferences — the ACTS Conference held in Sacramento, California in April 2023 and the Appraisal Summit Conference in September 2023 scheduled for September 2023.
The Maryland-headquartered Appraisal Buzz sends out newsletters two times a week, featuring articles and submissions from industry leaders, according to its website. LinkedIn pegs the company size to be between 11 to 50 employees.
AEL, established in 2013 and headquartered in Tennessee, offers online training for real estate appraisers that help them “learn new skills, build on your experience,” according to the website. More than 2,770 people have enrolled in its learning programs, AEL said.
“We are committed to building practical business value into the appraisal industry’s continuing education model, and we are very excited to grow our presence in the industry with the Appraisal Buzz newsletter and podcast,” said Humphreys, chief operating officer of AEL.
