Realtors® Mike and Betsy Owen: Humanitarian Aid to Those in Need
A picture is worth a thousand words: Mike and Betsy Owen, shown here giving polio immunization drops to children in slums in Chandigarh, India, or helping polio patients at a hospital in India. Also pictured, Betsy Owen helping to plant and replenish hardwood trees in Africa, on land donated for the effort near Dar es Saalam, Tanzania.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – At an age when most people are slowing down and considering retirement, Mike and Betsy Owen with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Boca Raton decided to work harder than they’ve ever worked before in Khao Lak, Thailand—a place devastated by the tsunami of 2004.
Read More »Realtor® Cathy Whatley: Leading with Heart
A former president of Florida Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®, Cathy Whatley shows she is as adept at speaking to a group of colleagues as she is at taking care of business at Jacksonville-based Buck & Buck Inc., Realtors®, where she is broker-owner and president.
“The most important thing we do as real estate professionals is to best represent the buyer and seller to ensure the transaction will close,” says Whatley, broker-owner of Buck & Buck Inc., Realtors® in Jacksonville. “There are times when I will take on responsibility and not receive compensation for doing it and that’s OK, because what I’m doing is in the best interest of the buyer or seller.”
Read More »Realtor® Mary McCall: A Compassionate Caregiver
TAMPA, Fla. – Mary McCall, CRS, GRI, isn’t what you call a born salesperson. In fact, the broker-associate with RE/MAX ACR Elite Group Inc. in Tampa, says, “I never really liked the idea of selling anything, but I had two teenagers and college costs looming, so I started working as an office manager for a real estate firm.”
Realtor® Kristina Vavrek: Singing about a real estate career
OCALA, Fla. – Der Gemütlichkeit. It’s a German phrase that means “well being and happiness enjoyed with good friends and good times.” And Kristina Vavrek, a Realtor and broker with Harmony Homes Realty LLC in Ocala, says it’s the essence of the Swinging Bavarians, a German Bavarian polka band in which Vavrek is a member.
Read More »Realtor® Tricia Carlisle: Champion for Children’s Health Care
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. — In the summer of 2005, Realtor® Tricia Carlisle met Tyler.
“I was volunteering at an after-school church outreach program and fell in love with this darling child who had a mouthful of misaligned teeth and whose family lived below poverty level,” she says. “He was small for his age, yet became a real bully. I wanted to help him, so I arranged for him get free braces, and I saw his attitude change. All of a sudden, he realized that there was a community out there that loved him,” says the broker-owner of Stellar Properties & Investments in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
Read More »Realtor® David Hall: Advocating for Young Adults
Realtor David Hall (pictured far right) is passionate about helping kids find their way after aging out of the foster care system. Several years ago, Hall took his son Jack (left) to Tallahassee to advocate for children’s issues during the Florida Legislature’s Children’s Week and to meet with then-Gov. Charlie Crist (center).
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Realtor® David Hall receives a phone call from a teen asking him to meet at the Driver’s License Bureau and lend him money to get a photo I.D. A few minutes later, another teen calls to see if Hall can take him to lunch. Such is a normal day for David Hall, a broker-associate with Coldwell Banker Residential in Port St. Lucie.
Read More »Realtor® Eric Sain: Dancing Through Life
Realtor Eric Sain transferred his passion for dance to the real estate profession.
Photo courtesy of Florida Realtor® magazine
PALM BEACH, Fla.– Eric Sain, a sales associate with The Corcoran Group in Palm Beach, Fla., transfers the passion he once had for dancing to real estate.
When he was 5 years old, his mom enrolled him in a beginner dance class. “I laughingly accuse my mom of using the dance class as a babysitter since my sister had a class at that time as well,” says Sain.
Read More »Realtor® Connie Johnson: A Passion for People and Animals
BRANDON, Fla. – When Connie Johnson, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Brandon, Fla., gets involved, things get done.
“I always want to be the best at whatever I’m involved in, and now I’m passionate about helping others achieve their goals as well,” she says. And that drive doesn’t just apply to real estate sales, it applies to her charity work as well. After all, the year she became president of Rebuild Tampa Bay was the same year the Super Bowl came to Tampa – 2009. “I wanted to shake it up a bit and instead of rebuild homes, I wanted to transform a community,” she says.
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