MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: JOE REILLY, CFE, CAE
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What do you do for the PA?
I am the Residential Appraisal Manager for Seminole County. I have a
staff of eight outstanding appraisers, and 160,000 parcels to value each
year. I am also a Senior Instructor for the IAAO and teach classes part-
time.
How long have you been employed with the PA?
I have been working in property appraisers’ offices for 21 years; one year
with Seminole County and twenty years with Orange County.
What do you like most about your job?
There are a number of things I really like: tackling a problem, coming up
with a solution, and watching my plan unfold is fulfilling (as long as it works). I enjoy wrestling with
some of the really interesting appraisal problems that come our way, such as valuing a one-of-a-kind
property. I also like going to work every day because I’m blessed to have such a great group of people
to work with.
What was your first job?
My first noteworthy employment was a summer job selling books door to door during the summer of
1984 after my freshman year in college. I lived a whole lifetime that summer. Since it was a hard job
with a high dropout rate, the company would send you far away from home to make it harder to quit. I
was sent from Florida to rural farm country outside Rochester, New York. It was a lot of work; over
eighty hours a week. It carried lots of rejection from people who weren’t expecting me and didn’t want
to see me (good preparation for 5 year parcel to parcel inspections). It could be painful; I was bitten by
dogs five times. It could also be strange, as one time, in order to secure a sale, I had to kill a cus-
tomer’s rabid cat. Another time I had a very credible customer who claimed to have been abducted by
aliens. I was also routinely pulled over by the police who wanted to know what I was doing, running
around these neighborhoods. After a while I started giving the police my sales demo as well. It was a
privilege meeting so many nice people and selling a lot of books. By summer’s end I had over 400 cus-
tomers and $25,000 in sales. What an experience!
Where were you born?
I was born in Denver, Colorado, although I never really lived there. My dad was attending an air force
school in the area at the time, and we moved away shortly thereafter.
Where was your best vacation ever?
My best vacation ever was a trip with a church group to Norway in May, 1998. We went to Bergen and
the fjords on the west coast, and it was magnificent. Vertical cliffs rose straight up out of sight from
the water, and it looked like a postcard in every direction. The seawater itself in the fjords was inter-
esting; it was a light iridescent blue due to high concentrations of plankton. Since it was May, it was
sunny with flowers blooming everywhere, and the sun didn’t go down until about 11 PM since it is such
a northern latitude. The people were notably friendly, and many spoke English.
Another interesting aspect of the trip was the culinary delights. Although whale meat was on the
menu, I didn’t try it, but I did try horse steak. It didn’t taste like chicken; it tasted like beef. It was an
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Joe Reilly CFE, CAE
Fall 2013 Newsletter of the FCIAAO
