Jared James
EDITOR’S NOTE: The 50 finalists will not be revealed until March 26 at www.realtor.org/realtormag. Good luck to everyone who applied!
By Jared James
One of my favorite times of the year has come yet again. It is voting time for REALTOR® Magazine’s annual Web Choice Award, where we select our favorite REALTOR® among the 50 finalists for the 30 under 30 issue. I had the great honor of winning this award just a few years ago and can truly say that it had a profound impact on me because it is one of those amazing achievements, similar to a college diploma. It is yours forever once you get it.
Voting for this year’s Web Choice Award starts 8 a.m. EST Saturday, March 26 and runs through 11:59 p.m. EST Sunday, April 3. You can access the voting through REALTOR® Magazine’s homepage at www.realtor.org/realtormag starting March 26.
Since winning the award myself, I’ve gone on to write a book and keynote real estate events all over the world. While I am not naïve enough to believe that this is all because of the Web Choice Award, I also recognize that it didn’t hurt to get my foot in any door early on. I was able to start off my introduction with the sentence, “By the way, I was fortunate enough to be voted by the readers of REALTOR® Magazine, with a circulation of over 1.1 million people, as their readers’ choice pick among the finalists for their 30 under 30 issue.”
I can remember the nerves I felt as I waited to hear if I was one of the top 50 finalists. When I got the news that I made it, I was elated to say the least, but I immediately started thinking about the 30 under 30 and went right into action getting everyone I knew to vote for me. At one point I believed my odds were very slim at winning the vote when a gentleman that I had sent to the site to specifically vote for me called and said, “Man. It wasn’t easy. You are nowhere near as good looking as some of the ladies you are up against.” To this day he promises that he did vote for me, but I am not convinced. Continue reading »
By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
In 1999, former REALTOR® Magazine Senior Editor Robert Sharoff gave birth to the idea of showcasing talented real estate pros under the age of 30. Thousands of applications and hundreds of profiles later, the 30 Under 30 program is thriving.
The 2010 edition will mark the 10th anniversary for this feature. REALTOR® Magazine has been accepting applications for this program, and will until Jan. 31. Don’t miss your chance!
For the big anniversary, we’ve created a new application with more questions (though each answer needs to be under 750 characters). In the meantime, if you have any questions about the process, please feel free to write me at ktarbox@realtors.org.
Every year, the editors pore over hundreds of applications to select 30 people who showcase something extraordinary in real estate. That’s the secret to being named a 30 Under 30. Over the course of the year, I field several calls in which I explain this is not strictly a numbers game. While closing $10 million in sales is a remarkable professional achievement, it doesn’t guarantee a slot in the feature.
In fact, last year the editors were greatly impressed by NP Dodge’s operations director Robert Wiebusch, who produced just under $1 million. However, he also cut more than $500,000 in annual spending for his brokerage and increased Internet traffic to 1.5 million views each month.
Past honorees have included Kendra Todd, who went on to win season three of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” and now hosts “My House is Worth What?” on HGTV. She recently joined the Keller Williams Realty Greater Seattle market center and heads up their luxury-home division. Shannon Williams King, ABR®, GRI, founder/broker of TriBella Realty in Austin, now serves on the NAR’s Strategic Planning Committee and is advisory board chair of REALTOR® Magazine’s Young Professionals Network. Active Rain founder Jonathan Washburn established a virtual network of almost 160,000 real estate professionals.
Readers should take a look at last year’s profiles to understand what the 30 Under 30 program is about: talented young professionals who bring passion, dedication, innovation, and hard work to the field of real estate.
Over the years, several people have asked why we only bring attention to practitioners under 30 years of age in this feature. The answer is that this specific program is designed to recognize the future faces of NAR and initiate a dialogue with our younger members. We also ask our applicants to talk about mentors who’ve guided them in their careers.
Even if you don’t want to apply this year, you also should consider joining our Young Professionals Network (YPN), which grew out of the 30 Under 30 program. The group is quickly growing and membership is free!
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN Manager
For those of you who will be attending the 2009 REALTOR® Conference and Expo in San Diego, there’s going to be a really exciting and valuable forum entitled “Diversity, Youth and Politics” on Friday, Nov. 13 that you’re not going to want to miss. The forum will address how Millennials and Gen X’ers have impacted political campaigns, have influenced American culture, and are changing our organizations and the way we do business.
The forum will feature Heather Smith, executive director from Rock the Vote, and Pete Leyden, director of the New Politics Institute think tank and strategy center. The forum is being co-hosted by NAR’s YPNs. And our very own Keith Kanemoto, 2005 “30-Under-30″ winner and past president of the Longmont, Colorado Board of REALTORS®, will give his views on involving younger REALTORS® in our associations’ work now rather than later, and incorporating fresh, technologically-savvy ways younger members prefer to do business.
The last half of the session will be an intergenerational, town hall discussion. We will discuss how we can collaborate as an organization to involve younger members, Rock the REALTOR® Party and make your voice heard on legislation impacting the real estate industry.
RSVP now and read more about our speakers: http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/ypn
“Diversity, Youth and Politics” will be held on Friday, Nov. 13, from 8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m., in the San Diego Convention Center, room 4, upper level. Plan to arrive early, as seating will be limited. We hope to see you there!
By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
In 1999, former REALTOR® magazine Senior Editor Robert Sharoff gave birth to the idea of showcasing talented real estate pros under the age of 30. Thousands of applications and hundreds of profiles later, the 30 Under 30 program is thriving. The 2010 edition will mark the 10th anniversary for this feature. REALTOR® Magazine is now accepting applications for this program.
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