From the President Elect of the Lakeland Association of Realtors®

By Richard Dempsey, ALC
President Elect
The Lakeland Association of Realtors®
Lakeland, FL

I had the privilege of attending the FAR Convention in Orlando and the NAR Leadership Summit in Chicago. It was a very full week but I came away from those meetings challenged and proud to be a Realtor®. The meetings reinforced for me that as Realtors, we are a part of a professional organization that is committed to having the highest standards for all its members. More than that, we are a people that care about our communities! There were many opportunities to hear how we can be engaged in helping shape the way our communities are governed. We also heard about programs like the "School of the Future Student Design Competition" which is a middle school curriculum funded by NAR.

The FAR Convention is always a great opportunity to network with people from all over Florida. However, there were also an amazing number of seminars and training sessions to choose. If you have never attended the convention, I would encourage you to make time in your schedule next year.

One of the FAR highlights for me was the Board Leadership Forum. Listening to a panel of state and national Realtor leaders share their experience and advice was worth the trip. Florida is well represented on the national level with Moe Viessi as the 1st Vice President and NAR Past President Cathey Whatley. They were both on the Leadership panel and had major parts in the Chicago meetings as well.

I was also able to attend the RPAC and RPIC sessions and listen to updates regarding various political issues that will be impacting us. Candidates for Governor, US Senate, and Agriculture Commissioner addressed a couple of the meetings and really drove home the fact that as a group Realtors have an impact politically. On that note, you will want to come to the membership meeting September 17 to hear Ryan Houck from Floridian's for Smarter Growth discuss Amendment 4 (formerly Hometown Democracy). This issue has the potential to have tremendous impact on our State and profession.

There were many great speakers at the Leadership Summit. Alison Levine was the team leader of the first all woman team to climb Mt Everest. She had two heart surgeries before she was thirty and overcame that adversity to become an amazing leader. She made the point to keep asking questions and be persistent. Sometimes we stop too soon and settle for something less than the best. My favorite speaker though was Chris Gardner, the subject of the movie Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and his son. He is another example of amazing vision and persistence. Doing the right thing in spite of how difficult it might be. His new book "Start from Where You Are" is worth the read. Thanks again for the opportunity to represent you!

(Richard Dempsey, ALC is a sales associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland FL).