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I am excited to announce that I am now volunteering as a board member for the Friends of the Westfield Senior Center in Westfield, MA. This organization is responsible for the fundraising for the capital campaign for the new Senior Center which is under construction and should open in the Fall of 2015.
This project is a huge undertaking and requires the assistance of the community members and businesses. This your chance to have your family name, business or organization’s name placed prominently in this state of the art building that will serve as a wonderful service to the senior citizens of the Westfield area.
I created the short video below to explain all the different ways you can get involved:
Here are the donation options and a downloadable a pledge sheet:
Yesterday I attended the REALTOR Association of Pioneer Valley’s annual holiday luncheon where they present anniversary awards to agents for the continuous years of service.This year marks my 25th year of service as a REALTOR member. As one of my friends pointed out, that means I have been a REALTOR for longer than I haven’t since I was licensed at age 18. I am still letting that little tid bit soak in.
I got my license as soon as I turned 18 so that I could work with my mother who owned her own real estate office. I had been helping her for years with small assistant jobs, but I now had a college tuition to help pay for and I needed a way to earn more money.
My first real estate commission was more money than I had ever made in an entire summer of menial labor and so like all “responsible” 18 year olds, I took the rest of the summer off and spent my days driving to the beach.
When I was that young people would respond with shock when I showed up at their house and I even had one lovely older couple say, “are you old enough to be doing this?”. I was diligent and mature (in my business dealings anyways) and I continued to grow my real estate business as my mom and I put me through college.
I graduated Westfield State University with a BA in English/Communications. I had worked a couple of internships in the public relations department of a not for profit and loved it, but there were no full time jobs to be found. About this time my mom went to a national real estate convention where she heard a talk about hiring public relations specialists to grow brand awareness. She left the class, called me and offered me a job. For the next decade plus I teamed up with my mom to run her real estate office and continued to work as a REALTOR, at the same time.
When my own daughters were very little mom decided to retire. I knew that I couldn’t run a real estate company and raise two young girls the way I wanted to so mom dissolved the company and I came to Park Square Realty.
Since that time I have been ramping up my own brand awareness through social media and internet based marketing and have grown my business to a point I never thought possible. When I got my license, I intended only to work long enough to get out of college. I never intended to be a lifelong REALTOR, but looking back at all the wonderful things this career has given me, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
I don’t feel much older than that young girl I used to be, but receiving a recognition like this does make you sit back and take stock. I am proud for sticking in this business even when it would have been easier to leave. I am proud to have 25 years of great experience to better assist my clients and I am proud of the work I do as a REALTOR.
Yesterday was a rough day in the REALTOR community as we awoke to find out that Beverly Carter, a REALTOR in Arkansas that was missing for days after meeting a prospective buyer at a home for a showing was found murdered in a shallow grave.
This tragic and senseless murder has rocked the real estate community and brought a public light via traditional media and especially social media the dangers that real estate agents face while on the job.
While I never met Beverly, I feel like I lost a friend or a sister in arms because I understand the life she was living and the work she did. I watched the reporting of her disappearance with hope in my heart and a prayer on my lips….how many times could the very same thing have happened to me?
Hearing the news of her death and seeing the outpouring of emotions in the real estate community forced me to really take stock of how we do our business and what changes I think should be made. We can’t bring Beverly back, but we can use her memory to fuel a sea change in our business that is long overdue.
We should all take personal safety measures and our offices should band together to create strategies, but what I am talking about is a community wide, global change in the way we all approach the business. REALTOR community, it is time to band together to make a change in our level of professionalism, degree of respect we give each other and how we perform the job.
Why are we running out to show a home to a client we don’t know? What other professional would do such a thing? When is the last time your hairdresser came running to your house, what about a mechanic? Does your attorney or doctor make house calls? No. They all require an appointment and for the most part demand that you attend that appointment at their place of employ. If consumers expect that we will and should drop everything to run out and open a door for them then I argue that we have created the problem by allowing and perpetuating that expectation.
Next up the agent cries, “But if I don’t go open the door for them they will simply call another agent who will!”. This is my point….we need to bond up together and agree that the standard needs to rise for all of us. Agents, STOP IT. Stop taking unsafe risks to be the “gung ho go getter”. You are putting yourself and everyone in the profession in danger.
WE NEED STANDARDS.
I am not going to get into what best practices I am setting into place for my safety moving forward because we all have different thresholds by which we feel safe. I am simply stating that every real estate agent needs to make it standard that we will not run out to show a home to a total stranger. At the very least we need to meet at our offices or a public place and obtain a picture ID and share that information with a loved one or our office. We need to make the public respect our time and safety and that will only work if we all agree that this is a necessary measure.
Take a stand agents. As for me, if a client won’t work around my safety guidelines then I will let them loose and pray that they don’t find an agent who has no standards to protect themselves and our industry.
At one point, in my youth, I loved being alone.
I lived in the country in Southwick, MA and I would hike in the woods behind my house. I would pack a snack and a book and roam out in the woods for hours. I had a favorite spot near a seasonal brook and eventually I took leftover building supplies from my dad’s projects and built a little clubhouse in the woods complete with curtains. My parents didn’t worry as long as I was home for dinner and there were no cell phones, so while I was out in the woods I was truly in a state of solitude and I found it so peaceful.
Along the way I got used to a more hectic and frenetic lifestyle filled with classes, work, appointments, friends, boyfriends and eventually children. Every moment was scheduled to the hilt (usually over scheduled) and there wasn’t a moment to myself, much less to hike or read anything that wasn’t work or parenting related. It was a bit crazy, but I am good at rolling with the flow and I adjusted to the chaos and soon enough that level of running around like a madwoman became normal.
I remember the first time I was faced with truly “free time” as a parent. It was after my separation and my then young daughters were off for a night with their father. I was well and truly lost. I had no idea what to do with myself and I felt so forlorn. At that moment solitude was such a lonely word and an even lonelier feeling. The solace and peace that used to come from a quiet moment alone had changed to anxiety and sadness. I had no idea how to be alone with myself.
Time marched on and I got better at the time without my daughters, but I mostly dealt with it in my usual way….over scheduling myself with something or another. I took to booking my “free time” with real estate appointments or dates or visits with friends. I was still running and still not alone.
It wasn’t until this weekend that I realized how marginalized I had made my solitude time. Sure, I get some time in the evenings after I put the girls to bed, but I am usually so spent that I either watch some Netflix or just go to bed early. When I remember to, sometimes I use that time to meditate, which usually leads to sleep.
This Sunday I was home alone with no appointments, no kids and the only plan I had (a contractor to measure my floors for new flooring…separate post to follow) had cancelled on me. With hours of unscheduled time ahead of me I made a choice….I was going to take my book (non work and non parenting related) to the pool and I was going to have some time to myself. I was going to soak up a little sun, paddle around the pool, drink a beverage and RELAX.
I live in a condo in Westfield, MA and it is a community pool on a gorgeous weekend day, so imagine my surprise when I arrived and no one was there. I had the place to myself! As I floated around the pool and looked up at the sun-drenched trees, I was brought back to those early years spent in the Southwick woods. I realized how long it had been since I had just been with myself in total solitude and I decided that it was delicious. It was decadent and special and so rare as a prized jewel and I was going to soak up the solitude and convert it into serenity.
Real estate is hectic (and I am NOT complaining, trust me!) and being a mom to a 10 and 13 year old and a step mom to a high schooler is a crazy schedule, also (not complaining about them either…they are outstanding) so I know I won’t get a lot of that solitude business, BUT I know this….when I get those moments of solitude in the future, it won’t stress me out and I won’t forget to thank the universe and all that runs it for that precious gift.
Thank you universe for the moment to recharge and re-evaluate. I needed that.
