If you ask RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe what he’ll be doing when he retires, you’ll be told in no uncertain terms he isn’t retiring – he’s pursuing other interests.
That may be, but Ross is officially retiring from the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington on August 31, 2015.
Ross joined RAHB as CEO in 2001 and brought with him a wealth of experience from all facets of the real estate industry. He owned a real estate brokerage in Mississauga for 26 years and was involved in residential and commercial real estate, real estate development and property management.
His time in Organized Real Estate saw him as President of the Mississauga Real Estate Board in 1987. From there, he became involved on the OREA board, on which he served as president in 1994, and the CREA board, on which he served as president in 2000. In total, Ross spent 18 consecutive years as a volunteer in three levels of organized real estate.
Just at the time Ross was considering other business opportunities, he became aware of the opening for a CEO at RAHB. As a businessperson who understood both the business side and member side of real estate, he believed he would be a good fit for the position and the selection committee obviously agreed.
In his years at RAHB, Ross’s primary focus has been member service. He has overseen two major member service projects – the move from the legacy MLS® system to MLXchange and, more recently, the creation of a regional MLS® System and the move to Matrix. Ross has also been instrumental in establishing closer relationship with other real estate boards and associations coast to coast (and beyond), and with other organizations which are leaders in the Greater Hamilton-Burlington area. Ross’s work to foster relationships with service providers resulted in superior technologies and services being offered to RAHB members.
Ross’s special passion is the Home Ownership Affordability Program, or HOAP, a unique program to help families in subsidized housing move into their own homes, with assistance from RAHB and its partners in the HOAP program. To date, 12 families have become home owners under the HOAP banner.
Ross is the recipient of the prestigious W. Frank Johns Award in recognition of his “dedicated leadership, contributions and support … in developing the professional role and status of executive officers.”
We hope Ross will enjoy many more meetings in the green board room come September. We know his active involvement in Old Timers hockey will have him in top shape for when the Maple Leafs call him up to their starting line up!
As Ross moves on to new adventures, we all wish him well.
