Interview with RAHB President

1.  Congratulations on becoming president of RAHB.  What made you want to be president?

To tell the truth, being president was never on my bucket list!  But three years ago, I decided to run for a seat on the Board of Directors because I believed I had a skill set in finance and business leadership that could benefit our members.  As a young REALTOR®, I married into a real estate family and have spent over 32 years knowing and loving our profession.  I’m proud to say that my daughter is now a third generation REALTOR®.  Some people may well remember my late father-in-law Harvey Medcalf who was instrumental in bringing the MLS® system we know today to our city. He always encouraged me to be involved at the Board – to give back to an organization that has done so much for me and for my family.  However, no one understands more than I do the time constraints many of our members face.  Juggling family and business can be a challenge and not everyone has the time to volunteer at the Association. There should be no shame in that and absolutely every single one of our members should feel confident that the Association is running efficiently and is there to support them in their unique needs.

As the 2015 President, I can say that I am ready and eager to lead our Association in “Empowering REALTORS® to Succeed.”  Our Members spend their professional lives working to assist buyers and sellers to achieve their dreams of home ownership; I want to help support our members to become ever more professional and successful on behalf of the clients they serve.

2.  Last year the Directors signed a shared services agreement to participate in a Regional MLS® system.  Is this the future of real estate — more sharing of services?

Truly, I believe that sharing information across jurisdictional boundaries is an idea whose time has come.  Buyers and sellers do not want to be hampered by incomplete information being readily available to their chosen REALTOR®, nor do they want to have to go to a different professional to consider properties which lie across an organizational border.  Our members don’t want to have to belong to more than one association. In the past, the technological hurdles made this difficult, but now we have the tools and the will, I believe, to come together as individual boards for the benefit of the consumer and member. This is a HUGE undertaking from an implementation point of view.  Just because the concept of sharing is simple does not mean that getting everything uniform with all participating associations’ systems is easy.  We are fortunate to have capable and dedicated staff able to make this happen.  We as REALTORS® will benefit from increased efficiency and economy and we are glad!  But we are even more pleased that our buyers and sellers will receive smoother and more comprehensive professional service than ever before.  Again, this is an idea whose time has come and who knows? There could be many other things associations could share that would benefit our members.  I could not be more excited about the possibilities!

3.  Every year brings its own challenges.  What do you see as the challenges facing members in 2015?

Technology changes, especially when they involve our MLS® platform, are always difficult, mainly because we find ourselves trying to figure it out on the fly. Regionalization will mean that we say goodbye to Fusion and hello to Matrix and we are going to have another change. However, Matrix has many incredible features and it’s 100% compatible with all our devices, so I think it’s going to be very well received by members.

Over the past three decades I’ve learned that predicting anything around real estate with any certainty is almost impossible. Just when we get use to the landscape, something changes. New real estate brokerage business models, new algorithms for searches on Google, new rules from our regulator and new regulations from the banks and various levels of government. There is a constant stream of change and I don’t think we should expect anything different in 2015.

4.  And the Association?

As I previously mentioned, the Real Estate profession, like most others, is changing at an ever increasing pace.  Our Association’s Board of Directors has the responsibility to not only deal with present challenges of service to our members but also look ahead at the bigger picture and position ourselves and our members for challenges ahead.  We need to have foresight, wisdom and flexibility.  In that regard, we are no different than any other business looking to move ahead into a rapidly changing future. At times I think a crystal ball would come in handy!

5.  Is there anything you would like to accomplish during your year in office?

Is this a trick question? My only true responsibility as president is being the spokesperson for our Board of Directors.  Since we’ve just completed our Strategic Planning session for 2015, I’ll share our top three initiatives.

First, we’d love to have communication between each member and RAHB’s leadership to be better than it ever has been before. My fellow Board Members and I are committed to clear and transparent leadership, giving confidence to each member that he/she is heard and valued.  We have recently completed a professional membership survey which has given us tremendous insights into the needs of our members.  The Board will be busy all year and beyond acting on the insights we’ve gained there.

Then, the implementation of a Regional MLS® system is a HUGE task—so many moving pieces!  So many member concerns and questions to keep in mind!  We know what the benefits are, we just need to put all the pieces together to make it happen.

Third, our Board of Directors is committed to a new and stronger consensus leadership for the benefit of our members.  We’re committed to making clear, well-thought-out decisions that will benefit our membership as a whole. It is exciting and I know it is going to be a great year for everyone involved.

6.  Do you have any last thoughts to pass on to the Members?

What a great question and thank you for the opportunity to speak to my fellow members on it.

Over my lifetime in this business, I’ve realized that all members may not have time to be involved in leadership and business decisions in the Association.  As I mentioned earlier, I understand that work and life responsibilities can limit how much free time we have.  I’ve been there and I get it.  I want each and every member to know that whether they sell one house a year or one hundred, they are all equal partners in this Association.
I recognize the great responsibility I have as your President.  I don’t take it lightly.  I don’t speak on my own behalf—I communicate the decisions of your entire Board of Directors.  I can tell you that you can be proud and confident of the leaders you have elected for the coming year.  I know that, together, we will serve you well and I count it a privilege to lead them.

During my term, I will still earn my living as a full time REALTOR® and at the end of my term, I will still be a member of the Association, one of 2,700 plus REALTORS® serving our community.  I’m hoping that my dedication, respect and love for this industry can help make RAHB more responsive to and valuable for each of our members.  If so, I will be proud of my contribution.