Editorial
Front Page - Monday, April 13, 2009
Finding the perfect career almost by accident
Ethan C. Nobles
Special to the Daily Record ecnobles@att.net
How did Conway Realtor Velda Lueders choose a career in real estate?
“Actually I didn’t,” she said. “Pam McDowell Brooks — one of the owners of Pam McDowell Properties — came to me in the fall of 1995, said she was opening a company and wanted me to work for her. I said, ‘I don’t know anything about selling real estate.’ She said, ‘I’ll teach you everything you need to know.’”
Lueders was working as a reading tutor with the Conway Public Schools System at the time and went to work for Pam McDowell Properties in December 2005 as the office manager. While not at the office, Lueders went to real estate school and became a Realtor in March.
Since then, Lueders has been the president of the Faulker County Board of Realtors and is on that group’s board of directors and is the chairwoman of the board’s Professional Development Committee. She is also a director of the Arkansas Realtors Association and has served on the state level as the current vice chair for the Professional Development Committee, former chairwoman of the Public Relations Committee and as a current member of the Convention Committee.
She has also been the Faulker County Board’s Realtor of the Year.
Lueders, in other words, has made the most of the opportunity presented to her by McDowell.
“She’s been a great mentor,” Lueders acknowledged.
Lueders said part of her success as a Realtor has to do with her tendency to share her love of Conway with people thinking about moving there. She’s not, however, a native of Conway. Lueders grew up in Michigan, graduated from high school in Evansville, Ind., and moved to Conway in 1976 after visiting and “falling in love with
the town.”
She said Conway has a lot going for it. Since it is home to three colleges – Central Baptist College, Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas – there are plenty of cultural programs and athletics for people to enjoy. Also, Lueders said the cost of utilities is incredibly low for the area.
“People don’t believe me when I tell them how low utilities are,” she said, adding that the convenience of having everything from cable television to water on one bill is a novelty that impresses people new to town.
Furthermore, the growing economy has brought in people, retailers and restaurants.
“There’s something for everyone in Faulkner County,” Lueders said. “I don’t have to shop in Little Rock.”
When you add a great public schools system to everything else Conway has to offer, Lueders said you’ve got a town that appeals to a wide variety of people.
Lueders, having worked in the school system, knows a little something of the quality of the education offered in Conway. Her husband of 16 years, Barry, knows a little something about it, too. He’s a teacher at Carl Stuart Middle School and coaches football in the seventh and eighth grades. He also coaches baseball at Conway High School.
Lueders also has two grown daughters from a previous marriage – Catherine and Elisabeth.
In spite of not initially being drawn to a career in real estate, Lueders said she’s glad McDowell talked her into coming to that profession years ago. One of the things she enjoys most about the career is the sense of accomplishment when a home is sold.
“It’s knowing you did all you could for that buyer or seller and the project is completed,” Lueders said, adding that she enjoys coming in contact with bankers, title agents, appraisers, inspectors, other real estate agents and all the other people it takes to close a transaction. “Sometimes, you wind up making new friends that way.”
Of course, there are things about every career that people don’t enjoy.
“The biggest part of real estate I don’t like is when people don’t follow the Golden Rule,” Lueders said. “I am hard core on ethics.
“Ethics are ethics. You are either ethical or you’re not. You don’t have a set of ethics that just work for business.”
In a relationship building business like real estate, Lueders said ethics are particularly important. Following a solid set of ethical guidelines safeguards Lueders’ most important asset in her career – her reputation.
Lueders said good ethics translate into solid customer service and longevity in a real estate career. Customer service, too, is important and she’s tried to provide that to her clients.
“It’s personalized. I don’t have a team,” she said. “It’s just me. I’m pretty much a down-to-earth person. ... I work well with a wide variety of ages and income levels.
“I like people and I could talk to a stump. That part comes easy.”
The ability to deal well with people and look out for their interests, Lueders said, is one of the reasons she’s been successful in real estate.
“My goal has always been to just to be the best I could be and treat everyone fairly and be honest with people. To make sure they’re satisfied with what they’re buying and they’re satisfied with me.”
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