2024 Conference – Savannah, GA

The 2024 Annual SASPTA Conference is all wrapped up! This year’s conference was held in the bustling port town of Savannah, GA just a few blocks off the famous waterfront district River Street. This year’s attending members included valuation experts from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Attendees were welcomed by Chatham County’s Chief Appraiser Corey Gillenwater. Guest speakers included Toby Reese, Managing Director for Kroll; Richard Sullivan, Director of Tax for AT&T; Josh Cupit, Indirect Tax Manager for Colonial Pipeline; Greg Wood, Senior Manager for Ryan; Mace Gunter, Tax Counsel for Delta; Erik Hirsch, Senior Manager of State Taxes for Norfolk Southern; Mike LoPresti, Director of State Taxes for Norfolk Southern; Lee Beckman, Manager of Governmental Affairs for Georgia Ports Authority; Kevin Foster, Director of Innovation for CSX; and Rashard Howard, Director of Industrial Development for CSX.

The whole event was highlighted with a guided tour of the Savannah Port, where attendees were able to get an up-close look at the operations involved with transferring goods from merchant ships to the Road and Rail delivery systems our nation runs on.

2023 Conference – Chattanooga, TN

The 2023 Annual SASPTA Conference is all wrapped up! This year’s conference was held in vibrant downtown Chattanooga, TN. This year’s attending members included valuation experts from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Attendees were welcomed by Hamilton County’s Assessor of Property Marty Haynes. Guest speakers included Richard Sullivan, Director of Tax for AT&T; Toby Reese, Managing Director for Kroll; Josh Cupit, Indirect Tax Manager for Colonial Pipeline; John Dunn, Director of Communications for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury; Greg Wood, Senior Manager for Ryan; Peter Crossett, Property Tax Attorney for Crossett Consulting; and Jamie Bach, Manager of Renewable Energy Solutions at Tennessee Valley Authority.

The whole event was highlighted with a short line passenger railroad tour including a scenic ride through both the city and countryside, a showcase of several in-process locomotive restorations, a walkthrough of an on-premises railcar maintenance facility, and a demonstration of one of the oldest functioning hand-operated locomotive turntables still in active use.