Fall means many things to many people. For most of us, it means cooler temperatures, falling leaves and college football. For many Realtors across our state, it’s also the time we gather to celebrate our achievements and survey industry challenges.
We also honor our colleagues who have served in leadership roles and elect leaders to help guide our state in the coming year.
More than 300 Realtors attended last month’s Tennessee Realtors Fall Conference in French Lick, Indiana. With the opportunity to participate in more than 40 classes and events, we gained valuable insight and learned from nationally renowned speakers.
But it wasn’t all work. I was thrilled to celebrate two of our own Realtors – Paige Batten and Mike Purcell – becoming our newest graduates from the Tennessee Realtors Academy of Real Estate Advancement (A.R.E.A.) class.
A nine-month commitment, Realtors apply for less than 20 spots to partake in A.R.E.A., which empowers them in their leadership roles, whether in service at the local or state association level or in their volunteer roles outside the real estate industry.
Great job and congratulations to Paige and Mike!
We also honored those who have served in a state capacity in 2022, including four from the Greater Chattanooga area: Jennifer Grayson (Convention Advisory Group Chair), Steven LaMar (Residential Forms Chair), Kathy Tucker (Risk Management Forum Chair) and Ellis Gardner (Young Professionals Network Forum Chair).
I appreciate these hardworking individuals who made time in their busy schedules to help lead this profession. Thank you for all you do!
Also, Geoff Ramsey was elected 2023 division three vice president. I can’t wait to see the great things Geoff will do for our area. Thank you for serving, Geoff!
I know I speak for all of our local members when I say we’re very proud of our own Travis Close, who served as the president of Tennessee Realtors this year. Under his leadership, our state has added several member benefits, including last week’s announcement of a new health insurance plan for Realtors across the state.
We also had a productive Governmental Affairs Committee meeting and update. A few items from last year’s agenda will carry over into 2023 and Tennessee Realtors will be taking a few new issues to our elected officials in Nashville on our annual Day on the Hill in February.
The board of directors also passed the 2023 budget and voted to approve a few bylaw changes.
In his year-in-review, Close noted that our statewide membership has grown to an all-time high of 36,151. That’s an impressive number that reflects the ever-present need for service by local Realtors at the state level to keep our industry moving forward and protect private property rights.
I’d be remiss to not mention the efforts of our state leadership in launching a GoFundMe to raise money to purchase toys for the tornado victims in Dresden and Samburg in December 2021. Close, Alex Bynum of Dresden and Katie Townsend of Parsons worked with a wholesaler to purchase a semi truck of toys at cost so the children of the area were able to have Christmas.
Santa Claus was also brought in to visit with the families and help with the delivery of the toys just days before Christmas and after most of the families had lost everything.
Tennessee Realtors raised over $40,000 dollars in donations in less than 48 hours!
I’d also like to include Will Sliger of Morristown as he was integral in mobilizing the trailers and volunteers, taking time away from his real estate business and family to help others.
After missing out on these in-person meetings for so long, it was incredible to see old friends and make new ones as we all share our passion for real estate. Whether consumers are looking to sell or purchase, they can rest assured that the real estate industry is being led by some very capable folks.
Realtors serve their communities and clients all year long. That’s Who We R.
Founded in 1912, Greater Chattanooga Realtors is a regional organization with more than 2,500 members servicing Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. The association is one of approximately 1,100 local associations and boards of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. Greater Chattanooga Realtors owns and operates a multiple listing service that’s one of approximately 600 MLSs in the country and services more than 2,700 users.