Pamela R. Bailey: Fond Memories—First Quarter 2025

Pamela R. Bailey—Fond Memories of a Great Human, Consummate Professional, and Dear Friend

Brien K. Jones
Chief Operations Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Development

As I sit at my desk thinking about Pam, tears are welling up in my eyes and streaming down my face because I just cannot believe she is gone.

Just a few weeks ago, she called to congratulate me on my 28th anniversary with NACVA. I missed her call, but she also text me shortly after calling to say, “Brien, I am so very proud to have witnessed your commitment to excellence and providing the utmost support to NACVA and its members for 28 years! That’s a huge accomplishment! Congrats! Miss you bunches.” To that I replied by text, “Pam! Anytime I hear from you is a good day and thank you so much for thinking of me.” I now wish I had been able to take her call, hear her voice, and catch up with her because she also said in her text, “I think of you often and miss our talks.”

To have known Pam was to have known an incredible human being and you knew you had met someone very special. At first, you were greeted by her broad and beautiful smile, then her warm voice, a sincere hug and effervescent giggle, and then you could expect her sincere curiosity at how you were doing, how you were really doing.

One random, sunny September afternoon in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was working at home, my doorbell rang, and to my great surprise it was Pam. She had been a few years retired from NACVA, had moved to Arizona to be close to her family, but was in town visiting friends in Park City, Utah. She stopped by to see me and we visited for over an hour on my front lawn. It is one of the most cherished memories I have of her. As random as her visit was, I am so grateful to have snapped a quick video of her, of us, at the end of our spontaneous and heartfelt reunion. Interestingly, I joked, “Yikes, I’d better get back to work,” and she joked as well, “Get back to work,” and though it was fun and lighthearted, it was a true testament to who Pam was and the impact she had on me and anyone fortunate enough to have worked alongside her.

Pam approached her legendary career with NACVA wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, with passion and was so very dedicated to excellence. She also jokes in the quick video, “Does anybody remember me?” for which I commented, “Of course they do.”

Pam’s mark on NACVA is great.

She championed State Chapter initiatives, forging long-lasting grassroots leaders and relationships.

She pioneered a legacy of leadership with NACVA’s governance boards and built alliances with several valuation professional organizations.

She instilled with a host of current and past employees a commitment to excellence and pride in having a strong work ethic and dedication to world-class customer service.

As a former flight attendant with Western and Delta Airlines, and a key executive with Ms. Fields Cookies, Pam’s genuine and welcoming customer service attitude and meticulous attention to detail set the tone for what ultimately became pillars of NACVA’s brand.

She was instrumental with NACVA’s Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) first becoming accredited and took pride in helping NACVA’s landmark credential gain global credibility.

She took pride in the association’s name, N-A-C-V-A not “Nak-Vuh”, and encouraged staff and association leaders to do the same. “What is Nak-Vuh?” she would often say. “People may never figure out what that means, so take pride in saying N-A-C-V-A. People can Google that and find us.” She is so correct about that.

Pam also loved the staff at HQ. She was often misunderstood because her standards and expectations were so high. She was an effective leader, trainer, coach, and mentor, but man, could she ever come down hard on you and hold you to task when she knew that you could do better and had potential to grow and excel. That is what she sincerely wanted for everyone, for them to thrive, to grow, to be successful, and to believe in themselves.

I am forever grateful to have known Pam Bailey and to have been influenced by her. She believed in me when I found my role to be overwhelming. She challenged me to rise to every occasion with confidence. She encouraged me as a young professional to overcome odds, lead with integrity, and to believe in, pursue, and achieve my professional and personal dreams. She supported and mentored me in ways to be an effective leader with NACVA’s boards, volunteers, instructors, and subject matter experts. She encouraged and supported me to enact my passion projects with NACVA|GACVA, and to become a pioneer in this profession and industry. She was a dear friend and confidant. Thank you, Pam, for genuinely caring for me, taking me under your wing, and shepherding my career. I love you and will miss you.