Whew! I am barely keeping my promise to update my blog once a month. And that's because July has flown by with lots of stuff going on. Earlier in July, your Strategic Planning Committee met and spent an intense two days working hard on the plan you will be seeing in September. Lots of research and debate went into the stew and I think it will be pretty tasty.
Last week we participated in the Region IX Ride for the American Dream raising RPAC dollars and having a blast. I rode on three different bikes...with David Rogers, former MAR President, Kenny Parcell, current NAR Vice President, and last but not least Sean Moore...riding down the beautiful Arkansas State Route 7. We took off from Branson and ended in Hot Springs at 2013 NAR 1st Vice President Chris Polychron's home where he and his wife Janice hosted a BBQ they prepared for the fifty of us. Check out the photos on Facebook. Video to come and some of it is fairly embarrassing..in my opinion. Big thanks go to Jim Gamble and Elizabeth Mendenhall for planning this event...our first ever of this kind. And, to all the hard work Erin Hervey, Jill Malharek and Adam Davis did in pulling this off.
In just a couple weeks we will be launching our Summit at Lake of the Ozarks with the Larry Crookshanks golf tournament on Aug 13 and The Summit on August 14. Check this link to see all that is planned. There are just a few spots left so hurry! One of the most exciting segments will be a panel featuring company leaders from REALTOR.com, Trulia and Zillow discussing the future of online real estate. It is your future so don't miss this event. More details and to register click here.
On the national scene please pay attention to what is going on in Congress regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some sort of government involvement in guaranteeing the secondary mortgage financing market is essential for home ownership and critical to our livelihoods. The newest bill passed out of committee in the House is a disaster for us. Please learn all you can on this topic through Missouri REALTORS' Chief Lobbyist Sam Licklider's posts and videos and through REALTOR.org. Make sure your Congressperson and Senators Blunt and McCaskill know how important this is to us and all Americans.
And the next big thing, as they say, is our September Business Meeting and Installation. Jim Gamble will be installed as your 2014 President at the installation dinner with a big after party at the Power and Light District. If you know Jim, you know he knows how to have fun! And we will also install 2014 WCR President Randi Bishop. The whole business meeting is a packed event including a scavenger hunt, the awards ceremony, and of course our Board of Directors meeting. Please plan to attend any Output Group that you think may interest you. Most are open for anyone to attend so you just have to figure out what times you have open and pick one to check out. You can see a schedule of events here. Remember you do not have to be a member of the Output Group to attend unlike our former committee format where you were selected as a member in order to have a vote. Now you can be a part of any group in which you have an interest. You can read all about it and register here.
And that is just some of what is going on at your Missouri REALTORS.
The market has picked up lots of speed...rates are still low...we just need inventory. So go out and list something!!! Enjoy this fleeting summer and see you somewhere soon.
-Sharon