I’ve attended about 30 RE BarCamp’s all across the country. Most of them were on behalf of Zillow, but have certainly attended numerous since I departed in 2010 (including Phoenix, Austin, and helped organize a Seattle one). A couple weeks ago, I attended RE BarCamp X held in its original location. It was beyond amazing to see so many wonderful people show up, some of which I hadn’t seen for 7 or 8 years.

Just like Jeff Turner mentioned at the end of RE BarCamp X in the “How has RE BarCamp changed your life?” session — I can say without a doubt, the start of virtually every great friendship I have in this industry can be traced back to the RE BarCamp community. I first met Jim Marks, who I worked for in 2010 and 2011, at a RE BarCamp. I met Steve Hundley, who I’ve been consulting for recently, at San Diego’s RE BarCamp. I met Andy Kaufman, Brad Coy, Todd Carpenter, Ginger Wilcox, Jeff Turner, Brad Nix, Nick Bastian, Ines, Eric Stegemann, and so many others. I spent time with Justin LaJoie, Jay Thompson, and Bill Lublin. The list goes on, and on.

Without the RE BarCamp community, I wouldn’t be nearly as excited about showing up at Inman twice a year. Without the RE BarCamp community, it would certainly be much harder to show up in any city in the country (as I did on my road trip) and be welcomed with open arms.

So, alas, THANK YOU to RE BarCamp for providing so many memories and friendships!

Left to right: Brad Coy, me, Andy Kaufman