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Let’s start with some well wishes and gratitude, shall we? First, Happy New Year to you all! May 2024 be filled with good health and prosperity for all our RASCW Members!
I would like to extend an enormous thank you to last year's President, Melissa Bjerke Markgraf, for her unwavering dedication to our incredible Association. Her leadership has been inspiring and I am grateful for the opportunity to have served and learned under that leadership.
Thank you to Jean Armendariz-Kerr (Past President), Monique Olson, Andrea Potterton, Nanci Caflisch and Brandon Grosse for your service to the Board as outgoing Directors. Your dedication to the Association and willingness to step up and serve is very much appreciated.
And finally, we welcome our new Directors: Matt Doyle, Cheryl Mortvedt, Ian Carter, Shawn Pfaff and Sara Whitley. Thank you all for stepping up and offering your time and talents to help move our Association forward.
The industry sure has changed a lot since I started in 2001. But believe it or not, it is for the better. Think about it...how efficient was it to thumb through a book of listings (or search Maestro), drive to an office and pick up a key, only to have to go back again to drop it off before handwriting an offer (maybe on the hood of your car), feed it through a rolled-paper fax machine, drive back to the office at 8pm to retrieve the counter offer from the fax, drive over to your client’s house to present it, go back to the office and send the accepted counter back to the listing agent through said rolled fax machine, and then call the listing agent and sit on hold while they wait for the accepted counter offer to come through on their end. And hopefully there weren’t five counter offers. See, BETTER, right?
One thing is for certain, change is perpetual in this industry. And for 2024, expect more of the same. As always, those that embrace it will likely find the easiest path to success. As President of the Realtors® Association of South Central Wisconsin in 2024, I will embrace it. Our Board will embrace it, and we pledge to work hard to help ensure we come out of the changes as a better Association.
I believe to effect change we must be held accountable. Considering that, I would like to share some of our 2024 priorities. We look to fill our open CEO position, identify and implement a plan to adjust for the impending changes the NAR lawsuits will have on our industry, increase professionalism, identify new leaders, and perhaps most important, advocate for our industry and our customers and clients at the local level to help improve the availability and affordability of housing.
And speaking of advocating, I would like to encourage you to get involved in the Association. If you haven’t done so, consider joining a committee to help bring fresh ideas to the table. And attend the many events these committees work so hard to put together. Member involvement is a cornerstone to the success of our Association and believe it or not, it can help improve your own business.
I look forward to a positive and successful 2024 with all of you.
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