An Incredible Trip with Countless Memories and Connections by Nick Bailey

An Incredible Trip with Countless Memories and Connections by Nick Bailey (Building Engineer, Unico Properties) - 2024 Emerging Professionals Scholarship Recipient

When I found out that I was nominated and won a scholarship to the 2024 BOMA Conference in Philadelphia, I was extremely honored and excited to attend. I am relatively new to the commercial real estate and the property management world, so I was ready to learn everything I could and network with individuals in the same industry.

After a long day of travel, I arrived on Saturday and had a fun dinner at the Iron Hill Brewery with the entire Seattle area BOMA team. It was great to meet some new faces and see some familiar ones in person (some I had only met via Zoom).

The next day started with a PNW Regional Breakfast where I was introduced to many new members who fulfill various roles in the industry. I enjoyed making new connections and learning how far of an outreach BOMA and BOMI have in commercial real estate and residential building management. That was the point of the trip where I was a bit overwhelmed at the sheer scale of what BOMA represents and how integral they are in the business, but I quickly became comfortable when I started talking to so many incredible people who offered so much advice about the BOMA experience and how to tailor it to my specific needs and areas of interest.

Following the breakfast, we attended the Sunday Opening Keynote with Michael Smerconish. This was the highlight of the trip for me. Michael’s speech resonated with me on a personal and professional level. He touched on so many important topics of today, and I will remember some of his insights for the rest of my life.

That afternoon, I had my first experience at the Grand Opening of the BOMA Expo. I was able to see hundreds of vendors who provide various services to our industry, as well as the BOMA Philly Booth, where we tasted two of the most famous Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches, Pat’s and Geno’s. It was an experience to say the least.

Following the opening festivities, we had several meetups with our local BOMA team for some amazing dinners, the Attico Rooftop was a blast, and the City Winery for Yacht Rock was amazing.

This was such an incredible trip with countless memories and connections that I will carry with me throughout my career in commercial real estate. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and the many new friends I made at the 2024 BOMA International Conference in Philadelphia.