2006 Equal Opportunity Committee Report

Equal Opportunity Commitee -- again, off to a great start!

By Terry Bryant  and Mike Troutman, Co-chairs
Equal Opportunity Committee

This year is off to a very good start for the CBR Equal Opportunity Committee. To-date, the committee has:

n Awarded grants to 2 new agents
n Conducted standing room only mentoring sessions
n Will co-sponsor NAR's At Home with Diversity Fair Housing Training Class

The Equal Opportunity Committee is charged with keeping members abreast of fair housing issues, developing and enhancing opportunities for multi-cultural and diverse real estate agents through education and financial assistance.

In order to achieve the objectives listed above, the committee has developed an approach featuring the following program components:

1. Mentoring Program: The Mentoring Program gives newly licensed REALTORS® an opportunity to chat with seasoned agents and brokers about sales, marketing and problem-solving tips. The mentoring session will be held 11 times this year and topics discussed include:

n January 19  -- Tax Planning and Budgeting for Newly Licensed Agents
n February 16 --  Prospecting: Innovative Ideas/Power of Networking
n March 16 --  Working the Investment Property Market
n April 20 -- Successful Listing Presentations
n May 18 -- Introduction to Commercial Real Estate
n June 15 -- Successful Open Houses/Safety Issues
n July 20 -- Becoming Technically Competent
n August 17 --The Art of Negotiating, Conflict Avoidance & Resolutions
n September 21 - Legal Issues/ Fulfillilng your Fiduciary Objectives
n October 19 -- Learning to live as a commissioned-based independent contractor
n November 16 -- Writing a Successful Business Plans

All mentoring sessions are held the third Thursday of the month, 9:00 to 10:30 am at CBR.

2. Grant Program: The grant program provides financial assistance for newly licensed real estate agents to help with start-up cost.

Thus far, this year, the committee has awarded two $500 grants to the following recipients: Eulaunda Jones, Coldwell Banker King Thompson and Vanessa Simmons, HER Real Living.

The $500 is placed on account at the board for the recipients who can use the funds to pay dues, purchase business cards, flyers, etc. The Multi-Cultural Grants are funded in January and July. The deadline for the next funding period is June 30, 2006. Click here for the application.

3. Grant Fundraiser: The primary sources of funding for the grant program have been raffles held at Awards Night (this year set for April 19) and Sales Associates Day. Other fund raising projects will include hosting a Wine Tasting reception and creating a REALTOR® Cookbook.

4. Career Night and Job Fair: The Equal Opportunity Committee and Columbus State Community College have formed a partnership to host quarterly Real Estate Career Night Programs at Columbus State. For the past couple of years, the career nights have been getting standing room only crowds.

The quarterly career nights are held at Columbus State. Several real estate company representatives are on-hand to discuss career aspirations with prospective new agents.

5. Special ? first time ever offered here is NAR'S At Home with Diversity Training Course -- is set for Tuesday, April 18, 2006, 9a-4p, CBR Membership Headquarters This six hour award winning certification course was developed by NAR to empower REALTORS® to serve an ever increasingly diverse population. Issues of diversity, fair housing and cultural differences will all be addressed. The civil rights portion of the program satisfies the state of Ohio requirement. Cost is $60 (lunch is on your own). For details, see the Education insert in this magazine. To register, visit ColumbusRealtors.com.

It is hoped that you can see that the committee has continued to take on ambitious projects and with your help will have another successful year!