Shannon Pratt is a living legend in the business valuation community. On Thursday, April 12th, he will celebrate his 85th birthday. No one has contributed more to the development of business appraisal as a profession than Shannon, so it is appropriate for the many of us who have benefited from his contributions to share our congratulations with him.
You can do so by sending a birthday card to him. I hope he will receive thousands of cards! Send your card to Shannon at:
6663 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy #312
Portland, OR 97225
The first edition of Valuing a Business had just over 400 pages. The fifth edition, the most current, has over a thousand pages. Shannon has written or co-authored many other texts that have been helpful to a growing profession.
I first met Shannon in 1984 after starting Mercer Capital in 1982. I had met a former research director at Willamette Management Associates at a CFA review class in Windsor. I told her I was interested in meeting Shannon. She arranged a dinner meeting for us at an ASA conference in the Orlando area. Shannon was most gracious and shared a great deal with me about his vision of the business appraisal profession. He recalls that he bought dinner, but I know what really happened! And he has been a friend ever since.
I guess we were both a bit younger then.
Many of you have met Shannon at any of many conferences of the American Society of Appraisers, NACVA, the Institute of Business Appraisers, AICPA, and many others. He has been helpful to thousands of business appraisers across America and the world either personally, or through his many books, publications, teaching and speeches.
So, if you have …
- Read one or more of his many books
- Heard him speak at one or more conferences
- Been a student when he taught business valuation courses for the ASA, NACVA, and others
- Talked with him as he shared his humor and wisdom
… then, stop right now, get a nice birthday card, sign it with a little note of appreciation, address the envelope (see above), put a stamp on it, and mail it now.
Happy Birthday, Shannon!
If you are like me, it is easy to want to do something and then, to procrastinate or forget. Don’t let this happen. Send your card today.
And feel free to comment below about what Shannon has meant to you or to the profession!
Until next time, be well!
Chris
Photo Credit: NACVA.com
Shannon hired me at Willamette Management Associates and was my mentor for many years.
We have enjoyed many glasses of fine Oregon wine together, discussing valuation and how the world should work…
Happy birthday my friend! – Curt
Happy Birthday, Shannon. Well said, Chris – the only thing missing is that Shannon is the Godfather of Business Valuation (and I don’t mean in the Pacino manner). He has not just led the way to making BV a true profession, but he also paved the way so that so many people (including me) have had much more enjoyable, rewarding, and lucrative careers than they otherwise might have had.
Shannon
I have enjoyed our times together: remember the tennis upstate New York at the VSG . I guess I wasn’t supposed to hit you so hard with the ball .
Happy Birthday
Wild Viking
A business associate asked me the other day why I went to Portland State Univeristy to get my MBA in 1970 as a 22 year old. He asked why did you leave Las Vegas to go there. I said there was thing called the Investment Analysis Center and I was all about researching the stock market. I said to him a guy by the name of Shannon Pratt was running the center and I met with him once to discuss a research project, but unfortunately for me he left briefly after that. So on a lark I looked him up not expecting him to be around any longer…and low and behold…still here…still ticking! So congratulations Shannon on a great career and a belated happy birthday. Oh as to me…now age 70 and running a hedge fund and cranking out those algorithms nonstop for our Global Equity Timing trading platform. All the best!