This year, EMERGE! took place on Wednesday, October 28th at New Vintage Place. We will have the same general format as previous years, with each speaker having approximately 15 minutes. This is a fast-paced educational event targeted towards real estate agents. The idea behind EMERGE! is the desire to grow by learning from peers in your marketplace. There will be a variety of topics covered including lead generation, marketing, mistakes to avoid, personality profiling, leadership skills, investing in Grand Rapids,  the evolution of the real estate industry, and taking your business to the next level. Following the event was the YPN/WCR mixer from 2:00-4:00pm. The Women's Council of Realtors and the Young Professionals Network of GRAR teamed up! we mingled with friends and met some new ones too.

We found out the latest news about the economy in Grand Rapids and West Michigan. We welcomed David Riley with The Right Place to share with us. David is the business research manager and provides custom research services and community economic statistics to Right Place clients. We learned the interesting trends and statistics that affect the way we do business. Serving West Michigan since 1985, The Right Place, Inc. is a regional economic development organization funded through investments from the private and public sectors. The Right Place drives regional Economic Development initiatives to stimulate economic growth, wealth creation, and operational excellence by focusing on productivity, innovation, and the retention, expansion and creation of quality employment and companies in the West Michigan region.