Editorial
Front Page - Friday, January 1, 2010
Brackett and Tipton working hard to serve Realtors in Chattanooga
David Laprad
Temp services sometimes get a bad rap, but the truth is, they’re a treasure trove of talent. Take Marie Brackett and Denise Tipton, staff members at the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, for example.
Both women came to the association through a temp agency. The organization liked their work so much, though, it hired them into full-time positions that were anything but short-term: Brackett has been with the association nine years and Tipton is just a couple of months shy of a decade of service. And the shoes they fill are, to say the least, vital to the operation of the organization.
“My official title is billing services,” Brackett says. “I acquired this job through an accounting temp company. I’d just been laid off and was looking for work, and this position opened up, so I was in the right place at the right time. I’ve been here ever since.”
Brackett’s responsibilities include making sure members of the association have paid the correct fees and that the charges have been processed. This makes December one of her busiest months, as the association has entered a new membership cycle. Fortunately, Tipton provides a helping hand.
“Since I’m the one who’s up front, I’m the first person a Realtor sees, so I process the applications and collect the money,” Tipton says.
There are several benefits to being a member of the association, Brackett says, such as the right of a real estate agent to call himself a Realtor. “As soon as an agent joins the association, he becomes a Realtor,” Brackett says. “That means he has to abide by a code of ethics.”
Other membership perks include discounted items at the Realtor Store, lower prices for classes, clearance to attend association functions, the right to work on committees and free MLS classes.
Tipton does more than provide support for Bracket; she also manages the Realtor Store. Located at the association, it serves as a one-stop shop for marketing tools and other products Tipton says are indispensible to success-driven Realtors.
“We’ve got your ‘homes for sale’ and ‘open house’ signs. We also have closing gifts and other items that can help Realtors get their name out there,” says Tipton, who has run the store since 2000. “We also provide Realtors with things that can help them with their business. For example, certain houses might be hard to find, so a Realtor can use our directional signs to lure in buyers.”
The store doesn’t offer customized materials, so pictures with names and photos are out. However, its products are relatively inexpensive, so a Realtor whose signs end up missing suffers less of a loss, Tipton says.
“She also has a lot of trademarked items with the Realtor ‘R’ on them,” Brackett says . “For example, you could get a notebook for writing up contracts so your clients could see they’re working with a Realtor.”
“It’s a marketing tool,” Tipton says. “You could have a mug with the Realtor ‘R’ on it and someone might ask you if you’re a Realtor. You never know.”
When Tipton isn’t busy taking membership information and collecting dues, she orders items for the store, stocks the shelves and keeps track of sales. She also prepares brochures for passing out during classes held at the association.
“We do have people come in because they need a sign or a brochure holder, but the store makes most of its money through the classes,” Tipton says. “Before each one, I place a brochure at each seat.”
From hats to shirts, the store has plenty of items with the Realtor “R” on them, and new products come in monthly. The most unique item was a toaster that cooked the “R” into a piece of bread. Unfortunately, Tipton has sold the last one and can’t get more. “That was one of the most talked about items in the store,” she says, laughing.
“It was a sad day when we sold the last one,” Brackett says.
“It was like a funeral,” Tipton says.
The two women joke around, finish each other’s sentences and fill in the blanks for one another, which is understandable, given how long they’ve worked together. Like Brackett, Tipton was initially dubious of working with all women, but the staff at the association won her over. “This is like home instead of work,” she says.
“I love it here. This is the best job I’ve had,” Brackett says. “We’re a closely knit family, and because we spend so much time with each other, we know a lot about each other’s lives and are always there to lift one another up.”
Brackett and Tipton are just as complimentary about the Realtors they serve. Brackett says she’s made “some really good friends” since she’s started working at the association, while Tipton says Realtors helped her through the “scary” process of buying her home. For those reasons, and for the sake of the association, they’re glad the sun appears to be dawning on a brighter day in real estate.
“We’re expecting the best in 2010,” Brackett says. “We’re looking for the market to turn around. The agents I know are selling more and listing more, and a few of them even said 2009 was the best year they’ve had since they’ve been in the business.”
Because of their work in the association’s membership department, the pair was also among the first in Chattanooga to notice another trend that speaks well for the future of the city’s housing market.
“We have a lot of out-of-town Realtors coming here because they see the potential, especially with the arrival of Volkswagen,” Brackett says. And more members means more work for her and Tipton.
They can handle it, though. Like Cagney and Lacey, Laverne and Shirley and Lucy and Ethel, Bracket and Tipton have been together for a long time and have a great working relationship. “If I need help, I can depend on Denise, and if she needs help, she can depend on me,” Brackett says. “I know her job and she knows mine. We take care of each other.”
And Bracket and Tipton help to take care of the hundreds of Realtors in Chattanooga who rely on the association for its support as they strive to succeed in a fast-paced, competitive and energetic industry
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