Real estate depends on a community’s educational system. While it might not be obvious, the relationship between the two is critical. The strength and curriculum of our schools draw people to our community.
Education is also a significant factor when companies look to relocate to or expand their operation in Chattanooga. Without quality education, our workforce and economic development suffer.
While not everyone chooses to pursue a higher education, many students feel they must in order to better themselves in certain career fields.
This decision is often weighed against one’s ability to balance life goals and their financial means. The time I spent at Ole Miss and in Oxford, Mississippi, was crucial to making me who I am.
While I completed only a few years of my collegiate studies, I found that my hands-on work experience helped mold my work ethic, and although I bypassed academia in my youth, the experience I acquired led me to where I am today.
As Sir Walter Scott said, “All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.”
That said, we as Realtors are committed to education, so I’m thrilled that Greater Chattanooga Realtors is starting a Community Scholarship Program. We established this fund to give back to our neighbors on behalf of our more than 2,500 members.
These scholarships assist incoming first-year college students attending an accredited university or trade school and living within Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ service area, which includes Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia.
Under the leadership of our 2020 president, Brandi Pearl Thompson, and 2021 president, Robert Backer, Greater Chattanooga Realtors began the process to establish the fund with an eye on launching the program in 2022.
All of us on the current board of directors are excited and dedicated to making this scholarship available for many years to come.
With so many deserving applicants, I’m thankful to rely on our Consumer Education & Scholarship Committee to vet the candidates. In addition, this volunteer-driven group is charged with facilitating programs throughout the year to educate young consumers about the homebuying process and careers in real estate.
Greater Chattanooga Realtors is accepting applications through the end of March and will announce the recipients in April. I encourage those interested to visit gcar.net/scholarship and complete the application.
Regardless of the industry in which you work, continually improving yourself through education and training makes us all the best we can be. We’re never too old to invest in bettering ourselves.
The Community Scholarship Program is just one more way Greater Chattanooga Realtors gives back to the community that has given all of us so much. Realtors love serving our community. 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 is one of approximately 600 MLSs in the country and services more than 2,700 users.