Green with Pride?

I 100% enjoyed the OKCMAR Green Resource Council's first event. The council organized a recycling drive throughout the city. The drive was capped off on Earth Day 2010 with a networking "happy hour" with some of the best appetizers I have ever had and unique micro-brews and organic wines. The event was sponsored by Allied Waste (Thank you Allied!!!) and was held at the first LEED certified commercial building, Boldt Construction (Thank you Boldt!).


It was incredibly rewarding to see such a passionate group of REALTORS working together to help others- used cell phones were donated as 911 service is still available on these abandoned phones- & to do our part to keep OKC going green. Check out our new link to the OKCMAR Green Resource Council's facebook group page to see photos of the event. The Green Resource Council has a lot of fantastic opportunities to become involved in going green and is sponsoring the GREEN designation course at the September membership conference. I encourage everyone to follow this group on Facebook and become involved in ensuring the sustainability of our wonderful OKC market. I know the saying is Green with Envy (and I think most associations would be) but for me, I guess I am green with pride at this amazing group of REALTORS!

Greetings from Your Own Traveling Gnome!

I realize that I am not a gnome BUT I am short and pudgy and I do have a little bit of a pointy forehead so I thought the title of this post was appropriate. Here I am in the beautiful city of Quebec for the 2010 Association Executive's Institute (AEI). Being in real estate. I am literally blown away by the architecture. Married to a chef, I am enjoying the wonderful french food. Breakfast here is a little rough (they like strange things) so I have pretty much been substituting the meal with coffee only but the rest is absolutely wonderful.

Aside from soaking up the charm I have been soaking up knowledge! I have focused my time on the Quality of Life Track. I believed this was very appropriate as for three years in each OKCMAR strategic plan, the quality of life as a member and in OKC has been a primary driver. It is my goal and philosophy to ensure that each and every REALTOR receives absolute value from their $125 annual OKCMAR dues. Although, together, we have accomplished much in terms of various quality of life programs (Supporting MAPS, bringing in the Thunder, supporting the city in its purchase of the Tinker plant, building an entire Habitat House, participating in green drives and Susan Kohmen race, starting a green resource council, establishing a charitable giving program supporting 5 different charities that contribute, and a scholarship fund) I often feel that these acts do not have the impact in increasing the value of a REALTOR as they should. Like paint splotches all over a canvas but not a cohesive work of art. After attending multiple sessions this week I believe I have the tools to come back to OKCMAR and assist the various committees into creating a relevant piece of community art.

Speaking of relevance.... I attended a session called Remaining Relevant. Imagine my surprise and pride when in a room of 200+ association executives OKCMAR was featured NOT ONCE BUT TWICE as an example of remaining relevant. First our postcard responding to our very first survey was cited as an example of communicating that the membership needs were heard and addressed and at the end of the session 5 associations were cited as case studies in courage. The speaker talked about how remaining relevant requires that association leadership look forward to anticipate what the member needs before they need it and having the courage to implement programs that the membership will need to succeed. We were the last example and the home page of the ARCS' CIE website with our beautiful OKC skyline filled the screen, cited as an example of courage and vision! I was so proud of OKCMAR and its RCA at that moment! Great work OKCMAR!

CIE Launches Tomorrow!

Wondering what the OKCMAR/MLS Van is doing all around town? Staff and RCA committee members have been hosting informational round tables for the commercial practitioners since early February. In fact there is a presentation this morning with Cambridge Properties. The CIE has been a monumental 2.5 year project for staff and the RCA and it is with great relief and anticipation that all the hard work is finally a reality!

The OKCMAR Board and RCA have worked together to help solve the challenges faced by our commercial practitioners. Although soaring costs and decline in revenue is only one of the issues in the commercial market it is an issue that our visionary REALTOR leaders could directly address. Understanding that economic development is followed by home sales the two groups worked relentlessly over the past two years to bring an affordable and efficient CIE to OKC. In addition to affordability the CIE is locally owned and locally managed to ensure that OKC commercial associates and brokers have a system that is specific to the OKC market.

As we enter phase 3 of the far reaching ARCS (Allied Real Estate Commercial Services a wholly owned subsidiary corporation of OKCMAR) plan I would like to take a moment to thank the incredible leader-volunteers of this project and my staff who have worked many evenings to make the CIE a reality. Although so many have worked on this project I think it is important to specifically recognize the three leaders who have worked on this project since its onset and are greatly responsible for its success: Bart Binning, Karen Graves & Nancy Ice. If you get a chance to interact with them in business thank them for the hundreds of hours they took away from their businesses over the last three years to bring this incredible service to OKC.