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:

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