When Carmela Soprano starts talking about REITs on Sunday nights, you know the industry has come a long way. And so has the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

I’ve been on NAREIT’s Board of Governors since 1996 and am honored to serve as chairman for the coming year. This is a great organization with great people. NAREIT president and CEO Steve Wechsler and his team, including Tony Edwards, senior vice president and general counsel, Sheldon Groner, senior vice president of finance and operations, and Michael Grupe, senior vice president of investor outreach, are at the front line on key industry issues.

NAREIT has done some elephant hunting in recent years, including the passage of the REIT Modernization Act, the breaking down of the barrier for REITs to be included in Standard & Poor’s indices, the launch of a real–time index and creation of a global index. Significant progress has been made in the use of research and analysis to call investor attention to the benefits of REITs, including last year’s study by Ibbotson Associates. NAREIT continues to lead efforts to pass national terrorism insurance legislation and to include REITs in every 401(k) plan.

Given that REITs are an industry heavily regulated by the federal tax code, NAREIT’s single most important role is as the industry’s official interface with the government—one it performs very well.

NAREIT coordinates Capitol Hill Fly–ins with lawmakers and executives each year, as well as meetings in local Congressional districts. There were nine such events in 2002. I want to thank the more than 50 industry senior executives who met with more than 40 leaders in the Senate and House this year. This is a critical component of NAREIT’s activities that needs our continued support.

REITPAC is one of the fastest growing political action committees in the nation. So far in 2002, it has contributed approximately $400,000 to candidates who support our views. It is imperative that NAREIT have a strong and vibrant PAC to ensure that our message is heard.

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act and other changes in securities law and disclosure regulations have raised the bar for all publicly traded companies. Investors are demanding total transparency in financial reporting. And NAREIT’s guidance on financial standards ensures that the real estate industry meets those demands. Case in point, the work of NAREIT’s Best Financial Practices Council to create a standardized, industry–wide definition of FFO.

Image is not everything, but it is important. And ours is getting better thanks to NAREIT’s outreach efforts. Using every tool at our disposal, including our own publications, web sites and a successful push to secure broader media coverage, NAREIT is educating the investing public, both individual and institutional, to what REITs are all about. NAREIT continues to beat the industry’s drum. And with your help it’s going to get louder.

Steven Roth
NAREIT Chair