Just over one year ago, I opened up the envelope and read:
"Congratulations! You have been selected as one of thirteen REALTORS to participate in the NVAR Leadership Institute"
Last week, I graduated from the program.
The picture may be a little fuzzy. In case you can't tell, I'm the good looking guy with the pink shirt and pink tie, third from the right.
Throughout 2010, I participated in 12 different sessions, the highlights of which were the following:
- a bus trip to Richmond, Virginia to meet with members of the Virginia State Legislature and see the General Assembly in action. We had the opportunity to learn how the lobbying process works and to discuss real estate issues with our state representatives.
- a leadership luncheon and several leadership sessions at the National Association of REALTORS Mid-Year Meeting in Washington D.C.
- a trip to MRIS Headquarters (our local MLS system) in Rockville, MD to learn more about their operations and see a sneak preview of changes to the system as well as new analytical tools to help better analyze the real estate market.
- the annual real estate press conference at the National Press Club in D.C. with the opportunity to speak with several reporters regarding the real estate market.
A PHENOMENAL DAY
Far and away, the best session we had was the amazing opportunity to spend an entire day training and working with Ron Phipps, the 2011 President of the National Association of REALTORS.
Ron travelled from his hometown of Warwick, Rhode Island to spend a day in Northern Virginia training us on talking with the media. During the day, each of us participated in mock media interviews in front of the class, where Ron would ask us questions about real estate and we'd have to come up with answers on the spot. After each person, we'd work as a class to evaluate how each participant fared. Not only was this a great educational and practical experience, but it was great to be able to spend the day and personally connect with the top leader within the nationwide REALTOR community!
It's no surprise and no coincidence that in 2010, I appeared in the media (including newspaper articles and television) talking about real estate no less than 10 times!
And, my first appearance in the newspaper for 2011 is this article in the Arlington Sun Gazette detailing our graduation from the NVAR Leadership Institute: Local Realtors Graduate from Real Estate Institute.
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Kudos, Brian! Learning and growing in this industry keeps us on our toes.....and it does not get any easier with age
Brian, congratulations! That is such an honor. I love it!
That's great to hear Brian! And it sounds like a great designation for you (yet another...)!
Must have been a hard class as only 9 of the 13 graduated. Wow, that's a drop-out rate of over 30%. ;>)
Congratulations Brian. I'm sure you will be continue to be a great leader not only for your agents but for our industry as a whole.
Congratulations Brian! The sky is the limit!
Congratulations Brain!!! Picture may be fuzzy but you are easy to spot :-).
Way to go Brian! Excellent commitment to your career. I would like to do this too someday. Congrats again!
Congratulations on the honor! Sounds like a great program and I'm not surprised you were one of the "chosen" ones.