Above are Ball State University's Shun Cameron, University of Wisconsin's Kit Anderson, Virginia Tech's Megan Bryant, and University of Alabama's Robby Waldrop bookended by The IREM Foundation VP Gail Duke and president Bob Toothaker. Five students received all-expenses-paid trips to the conference from the Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to attracting, developing, and retaining individuals for careers in real estate management. (The only place we ever went in college was spring break in Cabo, and that did not help develop our careers.) The Foundation is supported by IREM members and chapters, corporate sponsors, and private contributors.

At the conference's "Party With A Purpose" at the Westin Kierland's Brittlebrush Bar and Patio, members raised over $20,000 in support of the IREM Foundation. During the past year, the Foundation underwrote nearly $20,000 in student grants, materials, and activities designed to promote the property management career within college and universities. It's also provided 123 scholarships worth more than $154,000 for students in need pursuing IREM courses.