Community Service

How do realtors serve the community? For one, we help our neighbors fulfill their dreams by helping them buy their first home or buy into a larger or smaller home. We also help our neighbors by helping them sell the home they already own so they can move on with their goals in life.

We also help our community because real estate is local. We like to do business with people we know we can trust to do the job right. We do this because when there is a snag in the process, we know who to talk to to remove the snag. For instance, if our client requests a loan from a local bank, we know that mortgage officer. We know we can give him a call and say, Joe, what’s going on? And if there is a problem, Joe says, well, Cathy, its like this. You need to call your client and ask them to provide us with these three things. If that same client requests a loan from an online mortgage company, who would I call to resolve a snag?

When I provide a list of professionals to a client I’m linking my professional reputation to those names in my client’s eyes. I want my clients to see I am top notch. Because of this, I’m helping my community and here’s how. By helping my clients obtain the goods and services they need I am a community resource. If Sally calls George to build her garage because I provided Sally with George’s name and number, I’m keeping it local. That’s what all those bumper stickers are all about. Live, work and obtain your goods and services from local providers, your neighbors. This is one way to build a strong community.

Personally, I serve my community more directly, in addition. I also serve on two town boards. I was appointed by the town select board two years ago to serve my current term. I also am running for a position on the town planning board. The election is on the first Tuesday in May. When I was at the town dump a few weekends ago, four men declined to sign my nomination petition, they said “I don’t know you.” My first thought was “do you always know everyone you vote for personally?” I tried to convince them by asking them questions about their work and when one said “I’m a roofer” I said “oh, do you know Chris?” He said he did. I said I’d been speaking with Chris the evening before and that he was a friend of my spouse. It didn’t help, but I tried. Two women asked what political party I am. I told them, but, looking back, this being a non-partisan election, I shouldn’t have. Besides, knowing my party affiliation wouldn’t help much in my case anyway, in determining how I’d vote on the planning board. What is important for voters to know is that I’d vote to keep my hometown great. I’d have to know all the pros and cons of a certain issue before I’d be able to tell a voter exactly how I’d vote if I’m elected to the planning board. But I do know this: 1. I have a Master of Arts degree in public administration. This means I understand politics and administration and all the town issues from an academic perspective. 2. I live in my town. I like it as it is. I do not want to do anything that would make my town densely populated or raise my taxes or require the town provide more services. 3. I have been employed, in the past, as a federal agent investigator, a law-enforcement position. From that experience, I know all types of people, the good and the bad. It was my job to judge whether one person should receive a clearance to know our nation’s secrets or not. I think that experience makes me very qualified to make decisions based on what people say and also what their body language says. 4. I also have years and years of federal administrative experience. Because of this, I know how to make things happen, how to get past problems and keep the process moving to a conclusion. 5. I also grew up in a small family hardware store. My aunt still owns a small family health food store. I know how important business is to my neighbors. 6. I enlisted into the Navy Reserve and was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for my country and was honorably discharged after my service was complete.
7. I am a full-time, professional realtor. I am trained to know about and work with and know planning issues well as part of my job. The reason I am running for the planning board is to serve my neighbors by shouldering some of the needs of town administration for a while, if they wish to have me do so by voting for me.

I mention all of my experience above, to illustrate two things: 1. How realtors serve their community and 2. To help those who are considering voting for me in May for the town planning board to understand what I stand for so they can make an informed decision when they vote.