It’s already mid-November, but it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. The NAR Annual Conference and Expo in Orlando, followed by Election Day (the very next day), and the beginning of Installation Banquets around Missouri. Congratulations to St. Louis REALTORS ® on the celebration of their 140th anniversary, and to Barry Upchurch and Michelle Walker on their installations as 2017 President of the St. Louis and St. Charles County Associations of REALTORS®, respectively, and all 2017 leaders waiting to be installed in the months ahead.
Missouri was certainly well-represented in Orlando the first seven days of the month. Nearly two hundred Missouri REALTORS® and family members made the trip and enjoyed education and governance opportunities, a huge exposition of real estate products and services, many networking functions, and some of the many attractions of Orlando. Missouri REALTORS ® continue to demonstrate why we are respected throughout the National Association of REALTORS®. We are engaged, passionate, and advocate for the citizens of Missouri pretty darned well, which leads to …
Election Day resulted in many surprises and continuing debate, around Missouri and our great country. But, there is no debate about the success of Amendment 4. Missouri voters sent a clear message via a 57% to 43% vote that they wanted a constitutional amendment to forever prohibit the imposition of any new sales taxes on services. Over 1.522 million voters agreed that Amendment 4 was a great ballot initiative. Thanks to YOU and our Board of Directors, Missourians for Fair Taxation and its consultants, NAR and its staff/consultants and Missouri REALTORS® staff for tireless efforts in building coalitions that helped withstand the limited amount of organized opposition to the initiative.
Along with those mentioned above, Amendment 4 may not have succeeded without the incredible grassroots efforts of our thirty-four Local Boards/Associations and the 20,000+ REALTOR® members from around/across Missouri. You held rallies, put up signs, and spoke to local civic groups, friends, family and service providers for months. The education regarding the issues, and the need to vote ‘YES on 4’, were necessary to make this first-in-the-nation effort successful. Missouri REALTORS® staff is already fielding calls from around the country asking how we pulled this off, on top of the 2010 transfer tax initiative. My sincere thanks to everyone who worked so passionately to accomplish such a great victory. Always remember that things get accomplished starting at the grassroots level.
May you enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Travel safe, and we’ll all look forward to putting the finishing touches on 2016 when December rolls around.
Miles F. Noennig, CRB
2016 President
Missouri REALTORS®