Editorial
Front Page - Monday, October 12, 2009
ARA swears in new president, honors current one
Ethan C. Nobles
Special to the Daily Record ecnobles@att.net
During the week of Sept. 27, the Arkansas Realtors Association swore in its new president – Realtor Mike Henry of Fayetteville – and honored its current one, Bob Walker of Cabot.
Henry’s inauguration was held at the Hot Springs Convention Center during the ARA’s annual convention. He will take over as ARA president on Jan. 1. Walker said the down market made this year a tough one, but he is proud of some things that have been achieved during his presidency.
“Probably one of the most important things – as far as I’m concerned – is we got the (Realtor Building) finished and moved into it,” he said. “That affords us greater opportunities – when it comes to educational offerings – to save our members money.”
The 9,000-square-foot Realtor Building cost around $2.5 million and is located at 11224 Executive Center Drive. The ARA moved into the building in January and the facility has enough classroom space for 100 people.
Walker said he also concentrated on visiting with Realtors about honing their customer service skills in a declining market. Customer service, he said, is key to survival in tough times and a good number of Realtors who took care of their clients are in business today whereas some other agents are not.
“It’s amazing to me that there were agents I know that were producing $4 million to $5 million in revenue two years ago but they’re out of business now,” Walker said, adding the fundamental principals of selling real estate are as effective now as ever.
Walker said he is also proud that the ARA’s communications efforts with the public expanded to include a new blog, located at www.arkansasrealtors.com/blog. He said the information on that blog about the first time home buyer tax credit, housing market statistics and other vital pieces of information helped both the public and Arkansas Realtors.
That information, he said, helps Realtors in their day-to-day business. If it’s easy for them to find statistics that explain what is happening in the market, they can pass that information on to their clients.
Walker will remain on the ARA Executive Committee as immediate past president in 2009.
Realtor of the Year
The Realtor of the Year program was also held at the ARA convention. This year, 28 of the 37 local boards nominated Realtors that have been outstanding to the event. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Realtor of the Year program.
The agent named statewide Realtor of the Year is Laurie Rushing, president of the Hot Springs Board of Realtors and an agent with Trademark Real Estate in Hot Springs.
The central Arkansas Realtors nominated by their local boards are:
• Jerry Williams – Benton/Bryant
• Joy Howell-Rickett – Conway & Perry Counties
• Phillip M. Dayer – Faulkner County
• Nick McDaniel – Little Rock
• Denise Cunningham – North Pulaski
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