On Thursday, when I was installed as the 2016 GCAR President, I shared with our membership my five goals for 2015. It’s important for the public we serve to know what GCAR stands for and the work we do for our members and the Greater Chattanooga community. Here’s a recap of my five goals for GCAR in 2016:
Unify the profession: Real estate is based on cooperative competition. In most cases, it takes two Realtors from different firms to bring a deal together for buyers and sellers. In recent years, Realtors have allowed our competitive nature to overshadow the work of GCAR. This attitude bleeds over into real estate transactions. Our clients prosper when Realtors work together to make a sale happen rather than hinder a sale with our egos. It’s time for Realtors to pull back together, stop dividing, and start working collectively again. To help in this regard, 2016 will offer numerous member-wide events for Realtors to network. As a result, Realtors and GCAR will be better equipped to be a community partner for Greater Chattanooga.
Improve member engagement: What GCAR offers Realtors and consumers is much more than just a multiple listing service (MLS) of properties available in the local market. GCAR provides tools to help our members’ business. GCAR protects the real estate industry and serves our community to give Realtors good rapport within the community. GCAR leaders sit with city, county, and state leaders on your behalf. Talk with your Realtor and ask them how they are involved at GCAR. I encourage all Realtors to get on board – join a GCAR committee or task force and be involved in these conversations. Together, we can make a difference.
Provide member value: With regular membership breakfasts planned for 2016, my goal is to bring in speakers who can help our members provide better service to our clients and customers. In addition, we have a great line-up of education classes this year – some of which are offered at a greatly reduced cost. My hope is that everything members do at GCAR has value to our members. By providing value to our members, GCAR will help grow relationships among Realtors. This unification will enable Realtors to better engage and serve the public.
Maintain the integrity of the MLS: This year, the real estate industry will see many changes, including how listing data is collected and made available to buyers and sellers. Consumers rely on this data to make one of their biggest investment decisions of their lives. It is GCAR’s responsibility to ensure the data is timely and accurate.
Ensure a highly effective governing board: Past GCAR leadership has done a tremendous job in getting us to 2016. GCAR has been in existence for more than 100 years serving Greater Chattanooga’s real estate needs. As we continue our work, I envision GCAR leadership getting things done on your behalf. I see well-run meetings, and GCAR doing good things. When we are effective in our leadership roles, we can give our community value.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,500 members, and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee, and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. For more information, visit www.gcar.net.