PROview - December 2008 - (Page 2) Chairman’s Notes Closing Out a Year as Your Leader by Pat Ivers, Chairman of the Board My year as Chairman of the Pinellas REALTOR® Organization is soon about to end. Amid a year of continued challenges, it’s been extraordinarily rewarding to see the strength of our members as they’ve taken the market forces in great stride. Now more than ever, we as REALTORS® have been looked upon as the source of knowledge and information. We have met that challenge by learning about transactions many of us may never have executed before. Many of us probably had not been through the process of working with a short sale, yet by the end of this year I’m sure most of our members are ready to take them on. Yes, it’s been a matter of survival, but it’s been more than that. Pinellas REALTORS® have committed themselves to additional learning in order to better serve their clients. For those of you who have earned an additional designation or attended classes to step up your game, I applaud you. 2008 marked the year when all of us had to complete the Quadrennial Ethics requirement. While keeping up with the ethics requirement is essential in order to keep your membership with NAR, FAR and PRO, the purpose of the mandated training goes much further than that. Adhering to our strict Code of Ethics is a way of life for us. It’s what shows your customers and peers your commitment to your profession and it gives them assurance that you will treat them fairly and honestly. If you haven’t taken the training by now, I urge you to do so before December 31, 2008. Our association has risen to the occasion and provided the resources we needed to pull through. Four Education Marketplace events, one of them an encore performance due to popular demand, were held in 2008, each offering classes on short sales, pricing, blogging and just about everything you need to know about the use of new technologies. Being knowledgeable about marketplace activities is crucial to all of us, and PRO continues to deliver a comprehensive statistics package you can use when communicating with your sphere of influence. During the year we 2 PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION moved to a new Tempo system and, in addition to the PRO created statistical package, both Tempo 5 and Realist have added statistical information available to members at a glance. A contract extension with Realist brought members added capabilities including interactive maps with aerials, birds-eye, labels and many other features. The ability to zoom in on a property and view it from all angles is an exciting addition to the Realtors’ tool kit. Behind the scenes, PRO has worked tirelessly to protect you against unfair media attacks and support us politically by working with legislative representatives. A new consumer website was created, providing a community-information based portal to Pinellas County real estate and REALTORS®. Go to www.MyPinellas.com to learn about all the diverse communities that make up Pinellas County, and view videos where members of various communities describe why their particular community is, as they say, “My Pinellas.” PRO offers you a multitude of benefits which I hope you take advantage of. Want to know more about what’s available to you? Go to www.TampaBayRealtor.com/ benefits to learn more. I want to thank the 2008 Board of Directors for their courage in their decision-making, their many hours of service and for their support. Our accomplishments were a team effort. It’s with great excitement I am turning over the Chairman’s gavel to Victor Adamo. I have the greatest confidence that Victor’s commitment to our profession and every member of our association will shine through every decision he and the PRO Board of Directors are about to make in the next year. Most probably know that Victor is a devoted Tampa Bay Rays fan and it wouldn’t surprise me if recent accomplishments by his favorite team will empower him to turn the real estate market from worst to first. I thank you for allowing me to serve you for the last year and I look forward to continuing to be a part of our wonderful REALTOR® community for years to come. December 2008 http://www.MyPinellas.com http://www.TampaBayRealtor.com/benefits http://www.TampaBayRealtor.com/benefits
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