November 2002 - President's Perspective

Wow! October was one busy month!        Let me share with you highlights from the Board...   Lynda Long President

Broker/Manager Day
On 10/02/02, CBR hosted its annual Broker/Manager Day. Eighty-eight of our brokers and managers turned out for a CBR and MLS update followed by an excellent core law class “Staying ahead of Legal Curves” taught by Peg Ritenour, OAR VP of Legal Affairs.

Thanks to the Broker/Manager Day Task Force: Jeff Murray, Jane Nipps, Connie Salts, Linda Whiting and Lucy Hadley.

Legislative Reception
On 10/10/02, the CBR Governmental Affairs Committee hosted its annual Candidates Night. Seventy-eight CBR members (which included Officers, Directors, Committee Chairs, members of the Governmental Affairs Committee, and Area Association Presidents) were able to converse, almost one on one with 72 of our local legislators.

Kathy Kerr, Senior Advisor to Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, Lynda Long, Carol Prigan

Sandy Schupp, Franklin County Treasurer Wade Steen, Chris Reese

Kevin Strait, Larry Metzger, Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa, City of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Greg Hrabcak

Sales Associates Day
On 10/24/02, we hosted one of our biggest events of the year - Sales Associates Day. We had record vendor participation and record Member turnout! During the Annual Business Meeting, we addressed many of the programs and projects that have occurred during 2002. Although the space of this article does not allow me to be thorough, I'd like to offer a few informational highlights from the meeting...

As of September 30, our membership has grown to 5,684! So far this year, we have 707 new members compared to the 475 new members we had during the same period last year.

We have added several member services this year including the new on-line autofill package for CBR standard forms. Additional new services can be found on page 22.

Our New Member Mentoring Sessions have become very popular with our young Realtors® (agents in the business for 2 years or less). These programs are offered monthly and also noticed on the New Member page of the magazine (page 25 of this issue.)

The Columbus Board of Realtors® is receiving national recognition for our Affordable Housing Programs. NAR President-Elect Cathy Whatley referenced our Affordable Housing Committee and its programs in a speech she gave during NAR's Leadership Summit in August. Our programs were featured in an article for NAR AE magazine, a publication that goes to all Realtor® board executives across the US. Our board has also received requests for information from Realtor® Associations in Mississippi and California. And, the Ohio Association of Realtors® has discussed developing a program modeled after our Certified Affordable Housing Realtor® certification program.

Under the leadership of Bruce Massa and Barbara Lach, the CBR Foundation Fund has been very active this year etching out a framework with which to make our Foundation Fund an active and effective means to support housing related programs. (For more info, see page 13 of this magazine.) Also, I want to draw your attention to our involvement with the Adopt A Child Foundation.

Gary Turner - Adopt A Child Foundation; Lynda Long, Megan Stevens - Franklin County Children Services, Larry Metzger

We are selling raffle tickets for the Three Tenors concert, the proceeds from which will support printing 10,000 calendars featuring 14 children in need of adoption. The calendar front is on the poster in the picture (right).

Our Commercial Investment groups have also been quite active this year. Of special note has been the excellent education programs and luncheons provided by the C/I Education Committee.

The CORPAC duck made an appearance at the meeting. As you've already determined by the cover, they are closely on the verge of setting a new CBR record at $100,000. This is really incredible! Kudos go to a multitude of people but specifically to Co-Chairs Lynne Wittman and Jim Coridan, their dedicated committee members and, most importantly, to YOU for your financial commitment to such a vital program. See page 7 for more info.

And last, but not least, we have two more exciting MLS enhancements we expect to provide yet this year – the CMA Wizard and Report Editor.