Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Hi guys, I originally wrote this post for Conference Live last week, but it bears repeating on Veterans Day. It hits close to home for me with a brother who served two tours in Iraq, then bought a home via DVA loan last year. Thank a Vet. Help a Vet. It’s the least we can do.
There are, as of October 2010, over 39,000 disabled veterans of the Iraq War in the United States. Of those, 20 percent suffer from brain and spinal cord injuries, and 30percent from mental health disabilities. With those sobering statistics, the Equal Opportunity Forum at NARdiGras 2010, kicked off. Those veterans are not only part of the biggest Fair Housing protected segment in the country, but the fastest growing emerging market for REALTORS®. Every state is affected by the military and their veterans, guys, so it’s time we step it up!
Get acquainted with va.gov – and search “SAH” or “Specially Adapted Housing.” Grants are available for folks to build housing, plus retrofit and adapt current housing – even pay down mortgages. Get to know the DVA loan program while you’re there!
Part of NAR’s Game Changers Program is the Heroes Welcome Home program. As a member, this program is an incredible benefit; as an association, it’s a value-add. Free to use, it’s the hub for all things “Heroes” for us REALTORS®. Use it to your advantage!
These returning vets deserve the best that we can provide. Be mentors, not only in housing issues, but in credit, mortgage, and lifestyle issues as well. It’s the least we can do, for so many who gave so much.
Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.
More than 500 career-driven real estate professionals from around the country came out to network, exchange business ideas, and party at the Young Professionals Network’s exclusive Fire & Ice NARdiGras Reception on Friday, Nov. 5 at The Foundry in the city’s colorful Warehouse District. The 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo event was sponsored by HouseLogic’s REALTOR® Content Resource, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Kodak, and DocuSign.
One of the evening’s highlights was the announcement of YPN’s Chapter of the Year Award. The 2010 honor went to the Houston Association of REALTORS®’ NextGen group, recognized for it’s well-organized membership process and its success in getting young REALTORS® involved in leadership. The other bright spot of the night: The Center for REALTOR® Technology’s annual Spotlight Awards, which brings attention to four leaders in real estate technology. Those winners were: Brian Copeland of Village Real Estate Services Inc. in Nashville, Tenn.; Ben Martin of the Virginia Association of REALTORS® in Glen Allen, Va.; Mark Flavin of the Bay East Association of REALTORS® in Pleasanton, Calif.; and Brad Nix of MaxSell Real Estate in Woodstock, Ga. –Kelly Quigley, REALTOR® Magazine
Photos by Kevin Berne
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN manager
Okay, so you’ve registered as a YPN member through REALTOR® Magazine’s Web site, joined your local and state YPN Chapter, and “Friended”/”Liked” YPN REALTORS on Facebook (if not, make sure you do all of the above). Well, now we have one more item to add to that list: You can now designate yourself as a YPN member in NRDS. For detailed instructions on how, please check out the how-to video prepared by YPN’s 2011 Chair Brian Copeland here: http://bit.ly/at7Zzb.
What’s the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately point? Well, it is the National REALTOR® Database and having the YPN designation in there makes you that much more officially YPN. We’re hoping to draw future e-mail lists from this database and it will take you less than one minute to do. Who knows, maybe we will require this designation to attend YPN events at the Midyear and Annual meetings and you wouldn’t want to miss what we have planned for New Orleans!
So if you are passionate about YPN and want to make sure you are up to speed with everything YPN, please follow Brian’s instructions and designate yourself in NRDS. And if you haven’t registered for NARdiGras, make sure you do so: http://www.realtor.org/convention.nsf/. See you in The Big Easy!
Bobbi Howe
By Bobbi Howe
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock and hadn’t heard, NARdiGras 2010, the REALTORS® Conference & Expo is being held in New Orleans November 5-8. Personally, I cannot wait for NARdiGras to get here as a) I’ve never been to New Orleans; and b) I love getting together with my fellow REALTORS® to network and learn.
As excited as I am for NARdiGras, I am even more excited about an event that will be taking place the 2 days before NARdiGras officially kicks off. I’m talking about the REALTORS® Volunteer Build Days November 3-4. Working in conjunction with the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together New Orleans, we will be working to rebuild and restore homes for deserving families in the New Orleans area.
I would like to personally invite every single member of the YPN family to come out and join us. Let’s come together and do something for the greater good. Experience what’s it like to work side-by-side with your YPN friends and fellow REALTORS® and give back to a community that has had so much taken from them. Our communities are the heart of our business. Let’s show this community what they mean to us. To register, just follow the simple instructions in the link above.
I look forward to seeing you all there! You’ll recognize me with the big smile on my face!
Bobbi Howe is a second-generation practitioner with Coldwell Banker General Properties in St. Joseph, Mo. She currently serves as outreach chair on the YPN Advisory Board and is a co-founder of the Missouri YPN chapter. @bobbihowe
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN manager
This year’s NAR conference and Expo is going to be one for the ages. I haven’t even been to New Orleans and despite all the talk of oil leaks and Post-Katrina Syndrome, I’m still very excited about this trip to the land of Bourbon Street, beads, and body shots. Here are a few reasons why:
- It’s Home to the Super Bowl Champion Saints…and Drew Brees. Considering everything that’s happened to New Orleans in the past few years, how can you not be a fan of the Saints? And now I have a connection who can possibly introduce me to Saints QB Drew Brees: YPN Subcommittee member Rogers Healy, Drew’s REALTOR®.
While that has a slim chance of happening, wishful thinking never hurt anybody…and I still get to hang out with Rogers.
- One Word: FOOD. I’m looking forward to finding a nice, sweaty oyster bar and eating unlimited oysters, shrimp, and crawdads (I believe that’s the local term for them).
Continue reading »
By Allison Fitch-Markham, Marketing Director, NAR Conventions Division
10. Face it, you’re just not going to be able to sample fried catfish, shrimp po’boys and sautéed alligator at home.
9. Your childhood dream was to meet Mary Lou Retton and you took out your mum’s favorite vase when you tried to vault the coffee table.
8. If you win, you’ll be famous. Certainly not as famous as Regis Philbin but maybe more famous than Rogers Healy.
7. You can brag about your trip after you learn how to create your own blog at WordPress Camp.
6. You’ll be one step closer to attending the YPN Networking Reception (special note: winning the contest does not guarantee entry to the YPN Networking Reception – you’ll still have to bribe Rob Reuter for that).
5. You know the words to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” – and can prove it. Continue reading »
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