2025 NCRAAO Education Descriptions

Active Shooter – Violent Intruders

Chancy Smith, Dickinson County KS Emergency Management Director

1 hour seminar credit

The thought of facing an active shooter or a violent intruder is tossed aside by many with saying “It will never happen to me”. This session will highlight the importance of preparedness in government facilities, the warning signs to look for, and the steps to take during and after an incident.

Timeline:

1:00-1:05

Introduction

1:05-1:15

Recognizing the Threat

1:15-1:30

Immediate Response Actions

1:30-1:45

Post-Incident Considerations

1:45-2:00

Q&A and Interactive Scenarios

Chancy Smith, Dickinson County KS Emergency Management Director

Chancy Smith, a highly experienced and dedicated professional in the field of emergency services, Chancy hails from the Concordia, Kansas area. For the past 30 years, he has resided in Abilene he has four remarkable children – Casity (32), Caysen (29), Carstyn (17), and Tenley (15), and three sweet grand- children Payton, Sutton & Lynnon.

Chancy’s journey in emergency services commenced in 1988 when he served as a Military Police Officer. Having bravely served in two combat theaters, namely “Operation Just Cause” and “Desert Storm,” he decided in 1991 to transition into civilian law enforcement. Between 1991 and 2005, Chancy served as a public safety officer, during which he not only achieved his Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications but obtained his EMT certification. His dedication to serving the department and community was recognized when he served as a field training officer for the Abilene Police Department.

Chancy’s career in emergency management spans over 20 years with Dickinson County, as their Emergency Management Director.

Under Chancy’s leadership, Dickinson County has faced numerous disasters, including seven presidentially declared emergencies, five devastating floods, one crippling ice storm, and several destructive tornadoes, notably the devastating tornado strike in the City of Chapman in 2008.

Recognized as a Kansas Certified Emergency Manager, Chancy’s expertise in the field is backed by an associate degree in emergency management from Barton County. Chancy has left a lasting impact on the emergency management community, having served as the president of the Emergency Management Support Association of Kansas (EMSAK) and played a pivotal role as a charter member of the North Central Kansas Incident Management Team and the IMT Working Group. Where he has made several deployments. The most memorable was to Maryland for Hurricane Sandy, where his team of Kansans helped run the Baltimore EOC, and later helped Garrett CO MD recover from a monster snowstorm wiping out their power grid and stranding the entire county.

Chancy also actively contributes to the safety and security of the North Central Homeland Security region by serving on the North Central Homeland Security Council. Furthermore, his dedication to promoting excellence in emergency management is evidenced by his four-year tenure as Vice President of the North Central Kansas Emergency Management Association (KEMA).

Chancy is also a lifetime member of the VFW.

Mastering Critical Conversations: Transform Communication, Build Relationships, and Achieve Results (Conflict Management)

Roosevelt Lyons
𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 | 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽

2 hours seminar credit

In today’s fast-paced and high-stakes environments, the ability to navigate high-stakes conversations is critical for success. This keynote dives into the powerful skills needed to turn challenging discussions into opportunities for collaboration, trust, and progress. Learn how to stay composed when emotions run high, transform conflict into connection, and communicate effectively.

Packed with actionable insights and real-world examples, this session will equip you to handle critical conversations with confidence, ensuring better outcomes at work and in life. Unlock the tools to build stronger relationships, foster inclusivity, and achieve results—no matter the topic or audience.

Timeline:

8:30-8:40

Introductions

8:40-9:10

Critical Conversations Communicated Effectively

9:10-10:00

Interactive Scenarios/Group Participation

10:00-10:30

Group Discussion and Q&A

Roosevelt is a facilitator with KU’s Public Management Center. With over 15 years of hands-on leadership experience across public, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, Roosevelt Lyons is a proven expert in transforming workplace culture and developing dynamic leaders. Drawing from his extensive background in executive coaching and certifications from renowned institutions like Harvard Kennedy School, Roosevelt brings a unique, relationship-centered approach to leadership development.

As the founder of Lyons Share, he empowers organizations to tackle people challenges, resolve team conflicts, and build thriving, inclusive environments that inspire innovation and growth. Roosevelt’s work has driven measurable results, such as boosting municipal revenues by 8% for three consecutive years and mobilizing grassroots advocates to secure $450 million in state education funding.

Before opening Lyons Share, Roosevelt served as Vice President of Advocacy at the Quality Schools Coalition, where he oversaw community engagement, stakeholder engagement, and communication strategies. In this role, Roosevelt led coalition-building efforts, implemented legislative and regulatory strategies, and advocated for educational initiatives through public speaking engagements and community events.

Previously Roosevelt held several key positions with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, culminating in his role as Interim Director of Parks and Recreation. He is the first person of color and the youngest to hold that position. In this capacity, he managed all city parks, parkways, recreational facilities, and playgrounds, overseeing a $60+ million annual budget and 380 full-time employees.

Roosevelt also served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Civic and Community Engagement for Mayor “Sly” James of Kansas City, Missouri. In this role, he managed the Mayor’s Office’s 311 cases and constituent correspondence database, developed and implemented a $500,000 budget for youth development programs, and oversaw multiple programs providing career and leadership opportunities for youth.

A passionate advocate for emotional intelligence and authentic leadership, Roosevelt believes that “leadership is 100% about relationships.” His engaging keynotes equip audiences with actionable strategies to handle high-stakes conversations, elevate team performance, and lead with purpose.

Defensive Driving

Lauren Lewis, B.A. Kansas State 2009. AINS, AIC

2 hours seminar credit

Defensive driving is a set of driving skills that allows you to defend yourself against possible collisions caused by bad drivers, drunk drivers, and poor weather. Practicing defensive driving helps to reduce the risk of accidents by anticipating dangerous situations, despite unfavorable conditions or the mistakes of others. This session will focus on the key components of defensive driving.

Timeline:

2:15-2:45

Awareness: Continuously monitoring the road and the traffic around you to identify potential hazards.

2:45-3:15

Anticipation: Predicting possible actions from other drivers and road users to take proactive measures.

3:15-3:45

Safe Distances: Maintaining a safe following distance to allow time to react to unexpected maneuvers by other drivers.
Speed Control: Adjusting speed according to road conditions, visibility, and surrounding traffic.
Right of Way: Yielding whenever in doubt to avoid conflicts and reduce potential accidents.

3:45-4:15

Preparedness: Being ready to take evasive action if necessary, such as changing lanes or reducing speed promptly.
Questions

Lauren Lewis, B.A. Kansas State 2009. AINS, AIC

Lauren Lewis just entered her 15th year in financial services and Insurance in Kansas. She is a licensed insurance agent in Life, Health, Property, Casualty, Securities and Annuity contracts. She worked for 10 years for the Kansas Farm Bureau and also worked for a national carrier on a catastrophe team that traveled to and worked on hurricane and tornado sites nationwide.

Lauren currently handles all automobile claims for the Kansas County Association Multiline Pool which insures 81 of Kansas’ 10 counties. She is also a certified Instructor for the National Safety Council and teaches KCAMP members Defensive Driving as part of their Risk Management program. Participants in this class will receive a completion certificate that will entitle them to a 3-year discount on their automobile insurance.

Lauren lives in Topeka, Kansas with her husband Andy who works for the KBI, and their 7-year-old son, Griffin. They are members of First Presbyterian Church where Lauren is the featured Alto soloist. Lauren is active in volunteering at her local community theatre, Topeka Civic Theatre, and has been seen in many productions there. She also serves as Vice President of the Randolph Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization.

IAAO Standards with Aerial Imagery – Ryan Poots, Eagleview

1-hour seminar credit

EagleView’s high-resolution ortho and oblique aerial imagery provides assessment jurisdictions with the technology tools recommended in the IAAO Standard on Mass Appraisal, Section 3.3.5, to supplement field reinspection through a computer-assisted office review. EagleView delivers current high-resolution orthophotos, with resolutions as fine as 1-inch GSD, surpassing the 6-inch pixel resolution minimum specified for urban and suburban areas. Our low-level oblique images capture all four cardinal directions, enabling measurement verification and providing appraisers with a 360-degree view of properties to assess quality grade and physical condition remotely.

In addition, EagleView’s imagery and AI-powered change detection solutions enhance assessors’ ability to identify building dimension discrepancies in the CAMA system, aligning with IAAO’s recommendation to incorporate georeferenced imagery and remote sensing data for further investigation. By integrating EagleView’s imagery into GIS and CAMA platforms, jurisdictions ensure their data meets expected quality standards, supports RFP-defined imagery specifications, and facilitates efficient property inspections.

EagleView’s solutions increase safety, reduce costs, and improve efficiency by minimizing the need for on-site visits while still maintaining compliance with IAAO best practices. However, when physical inspections are necessary, our imagery supports assessors by prioritizing properties with significant changes, as recommended by IAAO for situations such as new construction, remodeling, property sales, or disaster recovery.

Timeline:

1:00 – 1:15

Advances in aerial imagery

1:15 – 1:25

Orthogonal Imagery

1:25 – 1:45

Ortho Imagery

1:45 – 2:00

Change Detection and Sketch Verification

Ryan Poots, Senior District Manager for EagleView

Ryan Poots is a Senior District Manager for EagleView (formerly Pictometry) for the states of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. He joined EagleView in 2013 and has over a decade of experience in the aerial imagery and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) industries.

Before his current role, Ryan supported EagleView clients as a Regional Technical Manager (2013 – 2017). In this role, Ryan provided on-site and remote support to clients on all products as well as support for a variety of technical matters, including deployment, integrations, and GIS.

Prior to his tenure with EagleView, Ryan worked as the GIS Manager with the 9-1-1 Association of Central Oklahoma Governments in Oklahoma City where he oversaw the Metro’s 9-1-1 geodatabase for use in over 15 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).

GIS in Assessment Operations – Today’s GIS for Assessors – ESRI

Luke Finley

1-hour seminar credit

There is a lot to do in the assessor’s office, and chances are GIS is already being used to do some of it. But do you wish you had more me to learn new ways it can be leveraged? Or do you just need a quick refresher on the latest capabilities? This session will provide a brief introduction to GIS starting from its beginning to what it has evolved into today. Attendees will learn more about GIS for parcel management, CAMA integration, value analysis, equitable and transparent property valuation, and enhanced field workflows. There is something for everyone – beginners and advanced users, alike.

Timeline:

2:00 – 2:15

Introductions

2:15 – 2:30

How GIS has evolved into today’s GIS.

2:30 – 2:45

How GIS is used for Assessment Operations.

2:45 – 3:00

Follow Up Questions

Luke Finley

Luke Finley is a Solution Engineer at Esri, specializing in GIS implementation, planning, and solution design for state and local governments. With 10 years of experience in GIS, he previously worked with the State of Kansas, leveraging geospatial technology to support critical decision-making at the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. Luke is passionate about helping government agencies optimize their GIS solutions to drive efficiency and informed decision-making. Outside of work, Luke enjoys walking his dogs, traveling, and practicing leather work.

Technology Trends & Local Government & GIS for Assessment Professionals – ESRI – Luke Finley

1-hour seminar credit

The GIS ecosystem is growing, evolving, and delivering more capabilities specific to assessors. New field applications, machine learning, artificial intelligence, imagery processing, growing online content, and a whole lot more. Assessors can take advantage of the same technology and find new insights in their data. This session will show how to take new GIS technologies that go beyond maps and deliver graphs, charts statistics, and dashboards and how to set them up for your specific needs.

Timeline:

3:00 – 3:15

Introductions

3:15 – 3:30

New field applications, AI, Imagery Processing, Growing Online content.

3:30 – 3:45

Finding new insights with your same technology.

3:45 – 3:55

Go beyond the maps.

3:55 – 4:00

Questions and Answers

Luke Finley

Cyber Security: Breaking Down the Mystery

Alyssa Boss, Dickenson County IT

1.75 hours of seminar credit

The phrase Cybersecurity can instill a lot of emotions in people, fear, confusion, anxiety, and more. Many people feel that cybersecurity is something they can’t even begin to understand. My goal is to bring you on a trip with me to pull back the curtain and reveal what cybersecurity means for everybody who doesn’t want to learn all the acronyms. We’ll learn some fun history, visit the principles of security, and then give you tools to use in your everyday life.

Timeline:

10:15 – 10:20

Introduction

10:20 – 10:50

Presentation – Cybersecurity Cases/Incidents

10:50 – 11:20

Reaction/Resolution – what to expect

11:20 – 11:45

Q&A and open discussion

Alissa Boss, Dickenson County IT

Alyssa has a diverse background, transitioning from an Emergency Communications Dispatcher to a Network Administrator over 15 years with Dickinson County. She’s had experience handling both routine and crises, giving her many learning opportunities. In addition to her regular responsibilities, she also is a member of GMIS, MS/EI-ISAC, and the Kansas 911 State Board. While there are many facets to her job, Cybersecurity is one of her strongest passions. Alyssa loves to share her knowledge on Cybersecurity with people from all walks of life, in hopes that her knowledge can help mitigate the overwhelming vulnerabilities that are found in everyday life.

Commercial Real Estate Resources/Research

Brad Eldridge, MAI, CAE

1.75 hours of seminar credit

Are you challenged with finding commercial real estate data and incorporating it into your analysis? This session will walk you through the resources that are available to appraisers for a variety of real estate uses, such as retail, office, industrial, apartments, hotels, self-storage, mobile home parks, and senior housing. It’ll also provide tools to gauge the state of the local and regional economies and it’ll show how to integrate these tools into your mass appraisal analysis.

Timeline:

10:15 – 10:20

Introduction of Presenter and Topic

10:20 – 10:50

Resources available to appraisers and how to use them.

10:50 – 11:30

Provide tools and show how to integrate them into the mass appraisal analysis.

11:30 – 11:45

Wrap-up and Q&A

Brad Eldridge, MAI, CAE

Brad has over 25 years in commercial real estate appraisal split between single property appraisal and mass appraisal. From 2009-2013, he supervised the Commercial Real Estate Division at the Douglas County Appraiser’s Office and is now the appointed County Appraiser in Lawrence, Kansas. Brad’s credentials include a Certified General Appraiser license in Kansas, the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute, and the CAE designation from IAAO.
He served on the Education and Professional Development committees at the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), as well as past leadership positions with the Kansas City Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and the Kansas County Appraisers Association. Brad is a previous chair of IAAO’s Education Committee and has chaired two education-related task forces for IAAO.
Brad is a Senior Instructor for IAAO, with experience teaching throughout the United States. Brad has assisted IAAO and other organizations with several special projects in assessment training and consultations in the areas of developing mass appraisal income models, capitalization rate studies, and finding solutions to resolve challenging valuation issues.
Brad is a partner in the TEAM organization and workshop materials. He enjoys keeping the existing workshop materials up-to-date and developing new workshops that are offered through the TEAM Consulting instructor group.

From the Boots Up – Building a Better Leader

Kara Endicott, CAE, RES, AAS

1-hour seminar credit

This session is about building strategies to help managers be more successful and do more in less time. Topics covered include running an effective meeting, stress management, and handling public relations. Let’s start building a better manager “From the Boots Up”.

Timeline:

11:00 – 11:05

Intro of Presenter & Topic

11:05 – 11:15

What Makes a Good Manager

11:15 – 11:25

Time Management

11:25 – 11:35

Stress Management

11:35-11:45

Effective Meetings

11:45-11:55

Team Building

11:55-12:00

Wrap Up & Questions

Kara Endicott, CAE, AAS, RES

Kara Endicott is the Assistant County Appraiser for Johnson County, KS, and has worked in the mass appraisal sector for over 25 years. She has appraised properties involving anything from agricultural to retail uses.

She is a Certified Assessment Evaluator, Residential Evaluation Specialist, and Assessment Administration Specialist Designee from the International Association of Assessing Officers. She is a Senior National Instructor for IAAO and works across the United States.

Currently, she serves on the Governance Committee for IAAO and previously chaired the Education Committee for several years. She has also chaired several task forces for IAAO. Kara is a Senior National Instructor for IAAO and has taught courses across the country. She currently serves the local chapter of IAAO, the Kansas City Chapter of IAAO, as Vice President.

She lives in Lawrence KS with her husband, Chris, and loves finding good trouble in her limited free time.

Kara loves Taco Tuesday. She believes in unicorns and leprechauns, but not elves. You would have to be ridiculous to believe in elves. After a long and fruitful life, on her tombstone will be written “Yes I am still mad at you Sheila, you know what you did.”

Power BI: Beyond the Dashboard? – Ryan Janzen, CAE, RMA

2 hours of seminar credit

In recent years, Power BI has come to be known as a very powerful tool for easily and efficiently creating dashboards to summarize data. But can Power BI be more than a data visualization tool? Can it also be a data analysis tool? This session will explore functions, techniques, and methods that can help make Power BI do more than just display data, it can also be used in analysis and aid model development.

Timeline:

2:15 – 2:45

Introduction and Power BI overview, base functionality, and baseboard creation.

2:45 – 3:25

Writing Power BI functions in DAX specific for appraisers, (ie sales ratio, COD, weighted mean, PRD, confidence intervals, etc).

3:25 – 4:05

Explore analytical functions within Power BI including linear regression and multiple regression concepts.

4:05 – 4:15

Summary and final thoughts

Ryan Janzen, CAE, RMA

Ryan Janzen has been in the appraisal industry for over 15 years. In 2014, Ryan obtained his Registered Mass Appraiser (RMA) designation from the State of Kansas and three years later met the requirements for the Certified Assessment Evaluator (CAE) designation from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). In 2017, Ryan started Equitable Solutions, LLC, to assist jurisdictions with various valuation projects, having worked on projects in nearly 20 jurisdictions, including several regional and statewide projects. Ryan currently serves as the Lyon County Appraiser in Emporia, Kansas, a position he has had since 2019.

Land is a Big Deal: The Past, Present, and Future of Land Valuation Methodologies and Practices

Will Jarvis, Founder and CEO of Valuebase

Land is the world’s single largest asset class, estimated at a third of all real assets. It’s the chief driver of property values, after all, “the three most important rules of real estate are location, location, location.” Land IS location, and if we can get better at measuring its value accurately, our overall values will be more accurate too. Further, many jurisdictions require assessors to split their assessments into land and improvement.

My talk will survey the conventional methods most of us are using today, and then discuss the latest cutting-edge techniques from the research literature, including adaptive weight smoothing, kernel regression and spatial interpolation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence-based methods.

Timeline:

2:00–2:15

Different approaches to land valuation in history

2:15–2:30

Current best practices in land valuation

2:30–2:45

What new techniques have to offer

2:30–2:45

How new techniques can be implemented in assessors’ offices today

2:45-3:00

Will Jarvis, Founder and CEO of Valuebase

Will Jarvis is the Founder and CEO of Valuebase, with extensive experience in product management, data science, and business development. Since founding Valuebase in 2023, Will has raised over $8 million in venture capital to support the development of AI-powered property. His leadership has been instrumental in building and scaling Valuebase’s operations across multiple jurisdictions. With a background in research and business operations, Will ensures that Valuebase’s solutions meet the specific needs of appraisal districts.

Solving Everyday Problems with Fast & Easy Map Visualizations

Will Jarvis, Founder and CEO of Valuebase

The human eye is a massively powerful data recognition tool. When data is presented in the correct visual format, our eyes can pick out obvious patterns and insights that are just impossible if the same data is presented as rows or figures in a CAMA or spreadsheet. And yet, many assessors struggle with using visualization tools effectively. The most common complaints tend to be that the tools are too technically challenging, or that setting up the visualization interrupts the assessor’s workflow.

The good news is that the state of mapping technology has changed considerably in recent years, and there are a variety of free tools assessors can make use of that make visualization simple and easy. I’ll show you how to set up a fast and easy visualization workflow that generates maps that solve real everyday problems.

Timeline:

11:00–11:15

How to set up a workflow

11:15–11:30

How to get maps to update from your data automatically.

11:30–12:00

How maps can solve everyday problems such as outlier detection, data quality validation, and neighborhood segmentation.

Will Jarvis, Founder and CEO of Valuebase

Sovereign Citizens Extremism

Jonathan P. Ehret FBI Kansas City/Wichita RA

1-hour seminar credit

This presentation will provide a brief description of Domestic Terrorism and the current sub-categories of the current Domestic Terrorism threats, followed by an in-depth look at Sovereign Citizen Extremism: What they Believe; Who they Are; and Sovereign Citizen Indicators.

Timeline:

1:00 – 1:05

Introduction and Description of Topic

1:05 – 1:45

Domestic Terrorism/Domestic Terrorism Threats

1:45 – 2:15

Sovereign Citizen Extremism: What they Believe, Who they Are, and indicators to look for.

2:15 – 2:30

Follow-up and Q&A

Appeal Prep – Johnson County Kansas

1-hour seminar credit

Take your appeal preparation to the next level with this interactive session designed to equip you for your next appeal season. With over 40 years of combined experience handling informal appeals through district court and managing an office that processes more than 7,000 appeals annually, we will share invaluable insights to help you prepare effectively. Learn proven strategies, practical techniques, and essential tools to enhance your appeal preparation. Walk away with the confidence and skills needed to navigate the appeal prep successfully, ensuring you can present and support your case with clarity and impact.

Timeline:

3:00 – 3:05 – Introduction

Welcome participants & Introductions
Overview of session objectives and agenda

3:05 – 3:15 – Appeal Levels

Explanation of different levels of appeal

3:15 – 3:30 – Appeal Objectives & Preparation

Defining clear goals for the appeal
Gathering relevant evidence and documentation
Crafting a persuasive narrative

3:30 – 3:45 – Putting it Into Practice

Interactive scenario
Tips for effective communication during an appeal

3:45 – 4:00 – Q&A

Open floor for participant questions
Address specific concerns or scenarios

Vince Tobin:

Vince Tobin has worked in mass appraisal for almost 13 years, all with the Johnson County Appraiser’s office. In his time with Johnson County, he has worked with both residential and commercial properties serving as a residential appraiser for three years and commercial appraiser for six years. The last four years he has been in management positions and currently serves as a Regional Coordinator. Beyond his professional life he enjoys spending time with his wife and their four children. They frequent the Lake of the Ozarks in the summertime where they enjoy boating and water sports. He is also a sports fanatic and enjoys rooting on the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas Jayhawks.

Tracy Weaver:

Tracy Weaver has over 20 years of experience as an appraiser. Before joining the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office, she worked as a Fee Appraiser and successfully managed a bustling appraisal office before establishing her practice. In 2008, Tracy brought her expertise to Johnson County, where she has held several key roles, including serving as a Residential Board of Tax Appeal Specialist for nearly seven years. Her comprehensive knowledge and dedication to fair property valuation recently earned her the opportunity to testify in Johnson County District Court regarding the functionality of the CAMA system in comparable property selection. Currently, she co-manages the Real Property Department alongside Tiffany. When she isn’t geeking out on all appraisal-related matters, she enjoys spending time with her two children and is an avid soccer fan.

Tiffany Osborn:

Tiffany’s passion for appraisals started early, spending her summers in Garden City, Kansas, observing her grandmother, a fee appraiser, at work. She later earned a business degree with an emphasis in Real Estate from Wichita State University, setting her sights on obtaining an Appraiser’s License as her next milestone. While preparing for this, Tiffany joined the Sedgwick County Appraiser’s Office, where she gained valuable experience during her five-year tenure. She then moved to Johnson County, taking on a range of roles, including serving as a Commercial Board of Tax Appeal Specialist. Currently, Tiffany co-manages the Real Property Department as a Real Property Manager alongside Tracy. Under her leadership, she oversees the Real Property Board of Tax Appeal Specialists.

Tiffany enjoys her collaboration with Tracy, as their shared passion for their work drives their success as a team (fondly referred to as “T&T”). Outside of work, Tiffany’s greatest joy lies in her family, especially her children, Holland (5) and Porter (3). Whenever she finds time, she enjoys pursuing creative home projects, adding a personal touch to her surroundings.

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