Francie Ryder will not be setting her alarm the evening of January 1, 2013. Instead, she’ll sleep in the following morning, and when she awakens, she’ll likely make a cup of coffee and then drink it on her screened-in porch while reading a newspaper. From there, she has no plans.
“My husband has been retired for a numbers of years. We want to do things together. And we have seven grandchildren. They’ll keep me busy,” she says.
Ryder last month announced her retirement on January 1, 2013 after 27 years with the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors. She spent 20 of those as the organization’s executive officer.
She reached the decision after much deliberation. “When you contemplate retiring, you question whether or not the time is right. You might think you have a point in time when you want to retire, but it doesn’t feel right. So I waited until I felt ready. I want to retire while I can enjoy it,” she says.
Ryder isn’t counting the days until she retires just yet, as she has five busy months ahead of her. During that time, a task force appointed by GCAR president Mark Hite will be working to select a new executive officer. Ryder says no one knows who her successor will be.
“The time has come for someone new. Until then, I’ll be here to help out in any way I can,” she says.
The association hired Ryder to be its computer operator in 1985. She had worked as a reporter, a preschool teacher and as a trainer for a commercial analysis software company, so she slipped easily into her new role.
Three years later, continuing education arrived on the scene, and the association promoted Ryder to education director. Next, she became the administrative vice-president. She served in that position until 1992, when her predecessor Jane Kempson retired and the association made her its executive officer.
“It’s been an interesting career. No two days have been the same as we’ve ridden the wave of the real estate market,” she says.
Ryder says she’s going to miss the people with whom she’s worked. “I love working with the members and the directors and the staff. Each president has taught me a lot, and watching them meet the needs of the organization has amazed me. I also have to give credit to the members. They’re optimistic and creative, and as a result, they embrace change,” she says.
Ryder has welcomed a lot of change in her years with the association. When the organization first hired her, it was changing from printing terminals to computers. Back then, the fabled MLS book was still the primary source of listing information; today, those details are available online. Technology has even changed the way Realtors unlock homes. Ryder remembers Realtors keeping house keys on pegboards in the office; now they utilize lock boxes they can open with a smart phone.
Despite all of the changes, Ryder says one thing has remained the same: What counts are the face-to-face moments between a Realtor and a client.
Ryder can measure the length of her career by more than the leap from printing terminals to iPads; she can also point to the move from the association’s former accommodations to its current facility on Amnicola Highway. She’s says the transition to the new building was one of the most memorable moments of her career as executive officer.
“Being a part of designing the building and creating the space we needed was exciting,” she says.
Ryder can also count the launch of the Multiple Listing Service subsidiary as among the efforts to which she contributed. The MLS originally operated as a committee, and in the early ‘90s became a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary with its own board. “Getting to that point was a big challenge,” she says.
Since then, the association has started sharing data with three nearby Multiple Listing Services. Under Ryder’s leadership, the MLS is now swapping information with Carpet Capital in Dalton, River Counties in Cleveland and with the Huntsville association.
Born and raised in Chattanooga, Ryder and her husband live in the Valley Brook Townhomes community in Hixson, Tenn. As she looks ahead to spending more time at home, she offers a bit of sage advice.
“One of the keys to a successful real estate career is cooperation. Joining forces with other Realtors will help you to succeed in this business. Also important is treating people like you want to be treated, which includes being responsive to your clients.
“And Realtors need to plan their work and then work their plan. I’ve seen people who have lived in Chattanooga their whole life come in here and say they want to be in real estate because they love houses and people and their friends said they would be good at it, and they lasted six months. I’ve also seen people move here from out of town and do well. It was all about how they worked their plan.”
Ryder sees a bright future for the real estate industry. She ushered in 21 Realtors at a recent new membership orientation, bringing the local membership to 1,400, and more and more data pointing to improvements in the market is coming to light. (See “How is the overall market doing” at the top of this page.) “I see good things coming down the pike,” she says.
Best of all, none of those things will require her to set her alarm.