As your ABoR & ACTRIS President, I am declaring 2023 as our Year of Connection. As you know, one thing about our business is that it’s all about cultivating connections and strengthening relationships with our clients, colleagues, and community. We should never lose sight of how important it is to find time to connect with one another.
A great place to start connecting is at ABoR. Now more than ever, leveraging the benefits provided by ABoR and ACTRIS keeps you in the know and gives you the opportunity to better serve your clients. Getting plugged into our Association and learning about issues affecting our industry has made me a better professional and ultimately allowed me to serve my clients at a much higher level.
As I was thinking back over how I became involved at ABoR, I remembered ABoR’s CEO Emily Chenevert coming to speak at one of our brokerage sales meetings. She talked about the importance of advocacy, why it was essential to our business, and how we could get involved in the decision-making that impacted our business. There are so many opportunities to make industry connections. From events like Coffee with a Council Member to REALTOR® Day at the Capitol, ABoR Advocacy gives you a direct line to connect and engage with key decision-makers in Central Texas. Over the years, my business has thrived, and I largely attribute my success to my involvement on the Legislative Management Team, TREPAC, and other advocacy opportunities at ABoR.
If your calendar is already overflowing with appointments, one easy way to give back to your community is to invest in your industry, especially through TREPAC or the ABoR Foundation. Both opportunities positively impact the real estate industry right here in Central Texas, whether it's protecting property rights, promoting homeownership, or providing resources for housing, education, and disaster relief.
I challenge you to get involved with the Association, TREPAC, ABoR Foundation, ABoR Global, or other organizations right here in our backyard. As REALTORS®, we are uniquely positioned to care for and be ambassadors for those who live around us. Take the time to learn from your colleagues who have long been in the business, call on a mentor, or write a thank you note to someone who has impacted your personal or professional life for the better. Communication, connection, and community are the keys to personal and career success.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this Year of Connection, it would be to reach out to each other, lend a hand, bridge the gap, introduce people to each other, and ask members to join us. We are stronger together when everyone has a voice and is represented. I will work hard alongside our Boards of Directors to create opportunities for members to have a seat at the table and join the conversation at the local, state, and national level. So, how will you get involved and stay connected?
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This article previously ran in RealtyLine Austin's January edition here.