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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
2021 Year End Presidential Insight
It is that time of the year again when the chief elected officers of REALTOR® organizations across the country look at the past 12 months and ask themselves, what was accomplished, where did the time go and how is our organization better than it was the year before? My initial response, which I suspect reflects that of many of my peers, was to ask how did the year pass so quickly? Did I accomplish everything on my list? Is Greater Tampa REALTORS® a better organization as a result of my presidency, and are we ready to meet the challenges of 2022? By any measure, 2021 for GTR was a year of innovation, experimentation, and achievement. As our member brokerages, agent teams and agents themselves struggled to adapt to the pandemic and historic market conditions, we were thankful that GTR could offer support, data and analysis, and practical solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic affected every aspect of our industry and marketplace. GTR quickly shifted its energies and efforts to ensure programs and services remained relevant, and it helped manage the effects the pandemic had on members, their business and careers.
Every member of the GTR leadership and staff spent significant time and energy working with members and helping them understand the forces, trends, and disruptions affecting their industry and marketplace. Frustration levels grew when ordinary efforts to move forward encountered these forces, and yet GTR adapted. I want to extend my appreciation to the entire GTR staff who learned to co-exist and collaborate in a remote environment. They did an extraordinary job. GTR CEO Dennis MacDonald is the right person in the right place. The GTR leadership team is proud of Dennis and the GTR staff’s efforts. The GTR leadership team also rose to the occasion. Implementing our new business plan midst pandemic, resulted in closer working relationships among our directors. We had level-up our knowledge and create a more focused approach to the unique challenges the pandemic presented. This more seasoned leadership team is now fully prepared to exceed the challenges of 2022. It was a privilege and an honor to work with them over the past year. The now famous “hot” market also made the year unique. Our members faced situations, circumstances and client demands never before encountered. By all accounts it appears GTR members handled the characteristics of the “hot” market with flair and professionalism. We can all be proud to be associated with 15,000 committed and motivated real estate professionals. Our year, and industry, was further challenged by a third force: the organic transitions caused by massive venture capital investment, exploding new technologies, the continuing emergence of the millennial consumer, and the phenomenon of institutional investment for rentals, all of which played a role in changing the nature our market. Every GTR member brokerage and agent today is in a very different configuration on a new future course. Further, 2022 promises to be yet another unique experience and your GTR organization already is preparing to meet those challenges and exciting opportunities. The entire GTR community learned a lot about themselves, their market and their consumers in 2021. They were challenged by not one but three distinct forces that might have toppled a lessor group. But GTR persevered, adapted and overcame. I am looking forward to 2022 and the leadership of President-Elect Ruth Bryson who brings to the GTR podium what I believe to be the perfect combination of leadership knowledge, skills and experience. Ride on Ruth - we are all behind you. The lessons learned by GTR were wonderfully articulated by the following language from a Pew Research Center study released earlier this year. When pandemics sweep through societies, they upend critical structures, such as health systems and medical treatments, economic life, socioeconomic class structures and race relations, fundamental institutional arrangements, communities and everyday family life. This indeed is what happened in our Tampa Bay marketplace. Oh, and about those questions I posed at the beginning. I think we had a great year and I believe that your GTR is fully prepared to assist its members to succeed and prosper moving forward. But it did take a village.
ELLIE LAMBERT 2021 President Greater Tampa REALTORS®
GREATER TAMPA REALTORS® CORE VALUES
MEMBERS FIRST
We consistently serve our members with passion and purpose to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations.
TRANSPARENCY
We maintain open lines of communication, striving to do what’s right with integrity.
PROFESSIONALISM
We are the face of Greater Tampa REALTORS® and exemplify professionalism at all times.
UNITY
We support, respect and appreciate others, and embody principles of collaboration, diversity and inclusion.
INNOVATION
We encourage creative and inspirational ideas that challenge the status quo. Volume 5 | Issue 6
tamparealtors.org/magazine
813.879.7010
2021 OFFICERS
President: Ellie Lambert President-Elect: Ruth Bryson Vice President: Jay Quigley Treasurer: Tom Scaglione Secretary: Joe Perez Immediate Past President: Darlene Davenport CEO: Dennis MacDonald
2021 DIRECTORS
Dao Alderman, Ashley Christie, Marie Gregorio, Adam Grenville, Connie Johnson, Sherman Milton III, Annette Newkirk, Melanie Norris, Jack Rodriguez, Ann Thompson and Tammy Kiehl
EDITOR/DESIGNER
Kimberly Chin, Communications/PR Manager
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Lisa Brosky, Director of Communications & Marketing
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Jennifer Lalji, Communications Coordinator Parker Lewis, Marketing Manager
ASSISTANT DESIGNER
AJ Hlavac, Creative Content Coordinator
The Greater Tampa REALTORS® Inc. (GTR) is the largest Tampa Bay-based professional association of real estate brokers and sales associates conducting business throughout the Bay. GTR provides educational programs, ethical guidance and other services that enable licensed real estate professionals to help people buy and sell homes in the Greater Tampa area. For more information, please visit tamparealtors.org.
REPRODUCTION
Tampa REALTOR® magazine is published bi-monthly for members of GTR in the interest of informing, promoting, and improving the real estate industry. With the exception of articles and materials from other publications reprinted in this magazine, members and affiliate members of GTR are hereby authorized to reproduce articles appearing in this publication, provided each such reproduction gives the following credit:
Reprinted from the Tampa REALTOR® magazine,
Greater Tampa REALTORS®.
GTR retains Platinum designation for global business leadership
Greater Tampa REALTORS® has earned the Platinum Global Achievement Award presented by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) for the fourth consecutive year.
The Global Achievement Program is designed to recognize and reward the most active associations in global business. Each applicant is reviewed by a 10+ person NAR staff review team.
GTR’s Global Business Council “set the bar” among 130 global business councils nationwide, according to Lisa Calarco, Manager, Global Programs and Outreach/Engagement for NAR.
The Tampa Bay Global Business Council is committed to providing members with the necessary education and tools to conduct real estate transactions with foreign buyers and sellers. As part of the Council, GTR members have opportunities to broaden their knowledge of international tax and immigration laws, discover the latest international trends and opportunities for business and expand their referral base through networking with local and state and national entities. GTR welcomes our new Marketing Manager, Parker Lewis. Parker is a graduate of the University of Tampa, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations. She brings a wide range of experience from account management and writing to social media, content development, and much more. Parker loves visiting her family in Naples, FL where she grew up, and exploring the Tampa Bay area with her friends.
Please join us in welcoming our new Programs & Sponsorships Coordinator Deeanna Davalos. Deeanna is a St. Pete native but recently moved across the bay. Her background includes data analysis, administrative work, and prior to this position, a membership liaison role working with REALTOR® and Affiliate members at another association. In her free time, she and her husband love going to Disney World as well as Universal Studios, trying new food spots, and going to the movie theater on Saturday mornings. Deeanna is a cat mom to an orange and white fluffball named Fonsworth, who is also a bow tie connoisseur.
GTR welcomes Isabel Lomba as the new Events Manager. Isabel is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing. Previously, she was the Director of Sales & Special Events at Avila Golf & Country Club, where she led many wonderful events including one of our own Installation parties. Her background includes over 10 years of experience in planning and designing special events for Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Edward DeBartolo and Derek Jeter, among others. Isabel resides in Tampa with her husband, Rhett. In her free time, she enjoys going for walks on Bayshore, spending time with family and friends, and traveling.
OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ARE EXTENDED TO THE FAMILIES OF:
Michael B. Preston (Preston & Farley Inc.), 75, who passed away on July 13. Michael was president of GTR in 1988. He also served as District Vice President of the Florida Association of REALTORS® . Ronnie Wingate (Wingate Properties Inc.), 72, of Dover, FL, who passed away on October 20. Ronnie was in real estate for over 35 years.
Congratulations to our CEO Dennis MacDonald for receiving his Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification. This credential covers developing policies and strategies, overseeing the execution of HR operations, analyzing performance metrics, and contributing to the alignment of HR strategies to GTR's organizational goals.
✓ National Association of REALTORS® Director positions awarded to Adam Grenville, Annette Newkirk and Mari Colgan. ✓ Move forward on trial basis utilizing Daniel Villazon as general counsel. ✓ Move forward with Responsive Technologies proposed infrastructure upgrade at a cost of $6,800. ✓ Oppose the City of Tampa Rental Certificate Expanision program and request council to drop the current program. ✓ Adopt the 2022 Budget as presented.
✓ Forward the Florida REALTORS® Legal Action Refund Application to the Florida REALTORS® legal services department with a letter of support pending review and approval of our general counsel.
