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 Doug Covill  Monday, December 12th, 2011  Five goals – some specific, some far-reaching – have guided the leaders and staff of SAR this year as we all work to serve you, our Members. As you read through this brief review, you will see that we have accomplished a lot this year.
- Improve Communications
- Develop a Green Program
- Establish a 501 (c) 3 Foundation
- Increase Diversity in Participation and in the Leadership
- Continue Focusing on SAR as a Progressive, Evolving Organization
SAR’s new charitable foundation will be fully up and running in 2012. Kathy Fox led the task force and Charlene Singley now chairs the Foundation board. Kathy continues to serve as vice-chair.
SAR continues to be recognized for its charitable contributions. Allison Couchman and Jenifer Miller led the Community Outreach Committee. With fewer dollars to distribute, committee members shifted their efforts to developing relationships with the charities SAR Members support. Watch this newsletter every month to learn about the charities and how you can volunteer.
The CanTree Committee under Ilah Turner and Bobby Campbell put on the Crab Fest and Sip & Support and has just finished building two Can Trees. Twenty nine years and going strong! Thanks to their efforts, SAR has given more than $2 million to the Salvation Army.
Led by Sandi Burden-Bradley and Ted Williams, the Equal Opportunity Committee organized a highly successful Multi Chamber Mixer, with the numerous ethnic chambers of commerce in the Sacramento area. They also worked on strengthening our relationship with the Asian Real Estate Association of American, Realtists and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.
Continue reading: President’s Perspective – December 2011
Doug Covill Thursday, October 6th, 2011
When we talk about the value of your Membership at SAR, we usually focus on the tangible and intangible benefits. There are personal benefits, too.
Education, mediation, discounts on office supplies and political representation are just a few of the ways you benefit from your investment in SAR. If you want more detail, a complete list is at www.sacrealtor.org/benefits.
What is not on that list is personal benefits. For starters, every good business person really should give back to their industry and give back to their community. When you do, it makes you a better person. It also makes you a better REALTOR®.
The more we get out and do things for the community, the more helpful it is for all REALTORS®. We always want to be building our image, but we want to build our community too. We do more than sell homes – we sell community.
There’s a new column in this newsletter starting this month – “REALTORS® In the Community.” You’ve always been very generous with your time and money, and this column will highlight that.
We do so much work on the political scene for our industry too. Our lobbyists are always looking for the changes in laws and regulations that will affect your ability to do business, and that could be bad for private property rights and private property values.
Continue reading: It Pays to Get Involved
Doug Covill Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
We came back from the NAR Mid-Year meeting feeling a bit tossed around.
The housing market will not recover, and therefore the economy will not recover, until all creditworthy homebuyers can get a mortgage. For example, we don’t need to get rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We need to go to this time back before they got so loose. The pendulum has swung too far. Making it too hard to get loans won’t help the economy.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, said sales would rise 15-20 percent if FHA and Fannie and Freddie would return to normal lending standards.
We heard a lot of talk about requiring all buyers to put 20 percent down to buy a home. We all understand the value of buyers making a down payment. But that is no way to encourage home ownership. The crowd burst into applause when one speaker called that idea “lunacy.” Mr. Yun referred to such proposals as an attack on the middle class. He also calculated that, using average prices and salaries, it would take a buyer 14 years to save for a 20 percent down payment.
We all know that not everyone should be a homeowner. We also know that homeownership creates lots of benefits, including more education, less crime and better health. We also know lots of people who could and should be able to buy a home right now but are finding it very hard.
Continue reading: President’s Perspective for June 2011
Doug Covill Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Government relations is one area in which it would be very hard for you to do for yourself what your REALTOR® association does for you. Just the amount of time and expertise involved can be overwhelming.
Volunteers and state and federal lobbyists work all the time to protect your ability to do business, by looking out for private property rights and private property values. It’s not an exaggeration to say that our industry is under attack every day.
The work the association does here is so vital, and you may never hear anything about it. A problem may start when a regulator has what seems like a good idea, but does not understand the ramifications. This is where our two SAR advocates do such important work.
Caylyn Brown and Eric Rasmusson follow issues at the County and the cities of Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Carmichael, as well as other government agencies such as water, sewer and air quality. By developing and maintaining critical relationships with local officials, Caylyn and Eric are often able to deal with issues when they are still ideas, long before they are proposed as ordinances or regulations.
A good example of the behind-thescenes work they do occurred when Caylyn was reviewing the agenda of an upcoming council meeting of one of our suburban cities. She noticed a proposed regulation of “Open House” signs. One effect of the regulation would have been to limit open houses to Sunday afternoons only, which would have had a direct and detrimental impact on our Members’ ability to do business in that city. The city staff person didn’t realize that that’s what the regulation would have done. Diligent SAR staff and volunteer efforts took care of the issue before it went any further.
Continue reading: Working to Protect Your Ability to Do Business
Doug Covill Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
When we talk about SAR as “Your Bridge to Success,” you may think of education and networking.
Have you thought about the importance of community service to your success? Just about every good business person gives something back to their community. And thank heavens we don’t need the money or the clout of a Bill Gates to make a difference.
I hear from some REALTORS® – fortunately, not too many – who have no interest in getting involved at SAR. After all, their fellow REALTORS® are not potential clients and they want to hang out with people who can bring them business. They may be successful, but they are not making their community stronger.
Those of you who do give so much are building strong communities. Whether it’s raising money for the Salvation Army through CanTree or pounding nails for Rebuilding Together, or one of the countless neighborhood projects you do on your own with little recognition, you’re improving the image of REALTORS® while you give back.
Many of you are generous with your time and talent just because it’s the right thing to do. But it does contribute to your success in the long run. Several local elected officials who may not always agree with us see how much REALTORS® do for the community. They don’t have to love us, but being willing to listen is a huge gain. Our clients also see what we do. Giving back builds trust with our clients.
Continue reading: Building Strong Communities
Doug Covill Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
“Work-life balance” is one of those areas where many of us “say” better than we actually “do.” My wife would be quick to put me in the group of those who don’t always balance work and family as well as I would like.
What does our profession emphasize? Top producers. Our companies, our colleges, our clubs – to say nothing of our bank accounts – all glorify the top producers.
In my experience, however, the most successful REALTORS® are the ones who do take time off. Very successful REALTORS® take vacations and take off two days a week. I really admire some REALTORS® I know who’ve built their business to the point that they can bring in a partner and take breaks.
As we are all increasingly plugged in, when do our brains recharge? Do kids get bored on long car trips any more? They have movies, tunes, electronic games and probably a lot more I don’t know about.
Our electronics also make it increasingly easy not to be present. Do you text or email someone else when you’re face-to-face with someone? Bad if it’s a client, worse if it’s family or friend. This is one reason we are encouraged to put our phones away during meetings at SAR. If you spend an entire committee meeting on your phone, you aren’t fully present even if you’re in the room.
Continue reading: Work-life Balance
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