Mobile Bay Real Producers | November 2022

This section has been created to give you easier access when searching for a trusted real estate affiliate. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the businesses sponsoring your magazine. These local businesses are proud to partner with you and make this magazine possible. Please support these businesses and thank them for supporting the REALTOR® community!

ATTORNEY - REAL ESTATE

LD Holt & Associates,

LD Holt 7581 Spanish Fort Blvd. Spanish Fort, AL 36527 (251) 937-4111 LDholt.com

ProComp Home Inspections

Billy Coley

P. O. Box 603 Loxley, AL 36551 (251) 367-3196 procomphomeinspections.com

Cornerstone Mortgage Solutions Bart Hare 12180 Ariel Way Spanish Fort, AL 36527 (251) 753-5105 choosecornerstone.com

PEST SOLUTIONS

E3 Termite & Pest Control Mike Adams 20040 Hwy 181 Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 850-7378 E3pest.com

ROOFING SERVICES

Professional Roofing & Construction (251) 680-7500 prorc.org

TITLE COMPANY

Springdale Title, LLC

CABINETS/CUSTOM

Jimmy Stocks Woodworks

James Stocks 10251 Gayfer Road Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 895-5524

FLOORING & DESIGN

Prestigious Flooring and Design LLC

Garrett Scarberry (251) 802-0363 prestigiousflooring anddesignllc.com

FOUNDATION REPAIR

MDH Foundation Repair

Shannon Reichart 108 5th Street Daphne, AL 36526 (251) 375-0565 mdhfoundationrepair.com/

GLASS & SHOWER DOORS

The Glass Guru of Mobile Wyatt Gerald

220 Portside Blvd. Suite A Mobile, AL 36695 (251) 287-1562 theglassguru.com

HOME INSPECTION

Home Boss of Mobile County

Riaan DuPlessis 323 De La Mare Ave, Suite 9 Fairhope, AL 36532

Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 230-9595 www.HomeBoss Inspection.com

Southern Inspection Services, LLC Mike Burchfield 1612 Chase Drive Saraland, AL 36571 (251) 404-0957

HOME WARRANTY

Old Republic Home Protection Todd Powell (850) 543-1512 x1 www.ORHP.com

Homespire Mortgage Corporation homespiremortgage.com

Mission 1st Mortgage, Inc. Bryan Dewberry 805 Church Street Mobile, AL 36602 (251) 583-4218 mission1stmortgageinc.com

Mr. Buggs Pest Patrol

Kenneth Kirby (205) 369-2205 mrbuggs.com

Proshield Termite & Pest Control Michael Hayes (251) 776-2362

HVAC SERVICES

Don Hembree Heating & Air (251) 259-4664 hembreeac.com

Movement Mortgage Richard C Hampton 4851 Wharf Parkway Suite D-228

HVAC/PLUMBING

Hansen Heating & Air Chad Setchell (251) 471-3047 Hansenair.com

Orange Beach, AL 36561 (251) 270-4482 movement.com/chad.hampton

MOLD AND ODOR REMEDIATION

Southeastern Exterminating Mike Hollis 25378 Profit Drive Daphne, AL 36561 (251) 402-0264

PHOTOGRAPHY

Stauter Contracting Lois Stauter 302 Riverbend Drive Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 230-7090 stauterbuilt.com

SIGNS & GRAPHICS Fast Signs Pauline McKean 4668 Airport Blvd. Mobile, AL 36608 (251) 279-0747 fastsigns.com

STAGE & DESIGN

Clear Title Lisa Walker 1680 West 2nd Street Unit A Gulf Shores, AL 36547 (251) 747-2550 x2517524181 www.getcleartitle.com

Fairhope Title Services, LLC Brian Britt 455 Magnolia Street Suite C-1 Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 928-9900 www.fairhopetitle.com

MLJ Escrow (251) 968-5586 www.mljtitle.com

Diane Brookerd 1501B Highway 98 Daphne, AL 36526 (251) 270-4500 springdaletitle.com

VIDEO PRODUCTION/ DRONE SERVICES

EyeSky Video & Photo, LLC

Stephen Hinds 297 Beall Lane Daphne, AL 36526 (317) 727-2919 eyeskyvp.com

VIDEOGRAPHER

Adobe House Media Production

INSURANCE

Coastal Insurance Group, LLC Kurt Wielkens 3660 Dauphin Street, Suite A Mobile, AL 36608 (251) 344-9898 www.coastalinsgrp.com

INSURANCE AGENCY

Lynne Ernest Insurance, LC (251) 971-3622

LENDER

Clear Mortgage Kenneth Harter (251) 282-6894 clearmortgage.com

AdvantaClean Jimmie Newton 25421 Hwy. 181, Suite 103 Daphne, AL 36526 (251) 776-4669 advantaclean.com

MOVING SERVICES Griner Moving Services Mobile, AL

Alexandria Walter 2785 Macmae Drive Mobile, AL 36606 (251) 305-0178

Avera Design James Avera (251) 479-2545 averadesign.com

Deep South Focus Photography Jon Jeffress 233 Suzanne Circle Mobile, AL 36608 (251) 421-0517 www.deepsouth focus.com/

POWER WASHING

Prestige Power Washing John Lankford 14194 Sierra Court Summerdale, AL 36580 (251) 213-8313

Show Homes, Mobile - Baldwin Kim Odom 82 Plantation Pointe Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 622-5004

Lew Thomas 27940 Bay Branch Drive Daphne, AL 36526 (251) 454-0004 adobehousemp.com

Power Washing

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE

Welcome to Real Producers! Some of you may be wondering what this publication is all about, which is why we have created this FAQ page. Here, we will answer the most commonly asked questions from around the country regarding our program. My door is always open to discuss anything regarding this community — this publication is 100% designed to be your voice!

Q: WHO RECEIVES THIS MAGAZINE?

A: The top 300 agents in the Mobile Bay Area. We pulled the MLS numbers (by volume) from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021, in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. We cut the list off at number 300, and the distribution was born. For this year’s list, the mini mum production level for our group is $7 million in 2021. The list will reset at the end of 2022 for next year and will continue to update annually.

Q: WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR BEING FEATURED IN THIS MAGAZINE?

A: The process is simple. Every feature you see has first been nominated. You can nominate REALTORS®, agents, affiliates, brokers, owners, or even yourself. Office leaders can also nominate real estate agents. We will consider anyone you bring to our attention because we don’t know everyone’s story, and we need your help to learn more.

A nomination currently looks like this: Email us at robert.orso@realproducersmag.com with the subject line “Nomination: (Name of Nominee)” and explain why you are nominating the individ ual. Maybe the person has an amazing story that we need to tell, or perhaps someone overcame extreme obstacles, is an exceptional leader, has the best customer service, or gives back to the community in a big way. The next step is an inter view with us to ensure a good fit, and then we put the wheels in motion for our writer to conduct an

interview and for our photographer to schedule a photo shoot.

Q: WHAT IS THE COST TO FEATURE A REALTOR®, AGENT, OR TEAM?

A: Zero, zilch, zippo, nada, nil. The feature costs nothing, my friends, so nominate away! We are not a pay-to-play model. We share real stories of Real Producers.

Q: WHO ARE THE PREFERRED PARTNERS?

A: Anyone listed as a preferred partner in the front of the magazine is a part of this community and will have an ad in every issue of the magazine, attend our quarterly events, and be a part of our online community. We don’t just find these businesses off the street, nor do we work with all businesses that approach us. One or many of you have recommended every preferred partner you see in this publication. We won’t even meet with a business that you have not vetted and stamped for approval, in a sense. Our goal is to create a powerhouse network for the REALTORS® and agents in the area and for the best affiliates so we can grow stronger together.

Q: HOW CAN I RECOMMEND A PREFERRED PARTNER?

A: If you have a recommendation for a local business that works with top real estate agents, please let us know. Send an email to robert.orso@realproducersmag.com.

event sponsor recognition

By Robert Orso

Provisions

Sept. 13, 2022

We had another great event on Sept. 13 at Provisions in Fairhope. This time we held the event at lunchtime because many of you said that was a good time for you. The turnout was great! I want to recognize and give a shout-out to our event sponsors. Without them, the event would not have been possible, so I encourage you to reach out to them with your thanks and give them an opportunity to help you with your business and client needs.

Our lead sponsor was Southeastern Pest Solutions, and our gold sponsors were LD Holt & Associates and Deep South Photography.

Thanks to all supporting sponsors. These are great and proven ser vice providers who can make your closings better and satisfy your clients’ needs whether they are selling or buying a new home.

By Dave Danielson Photos by Kayley Robinson, Deep South Focus Photography

keara real producer

Keller Williams

THE IMPACT OF INTEGRITY

Getting the job done is obviously an essential part of success in this busi ness when it comes to helping your clients buy or sell their properties.

But the way you do it is just as important … knowing that you did things the right way … and also knowing that your efforts will result in a continued, strong bond with your clients for their future needs. That’s one of the areas where Keara Hunter excels and focuses her energy, as well.

Lasting Impact

As a team leader and REALTOR® with the Keara Hunter Real Estate Team with Keller Williams Alabama Gulf Coast, Keara exemplifies the powerful impact that integrity has on the world around her.

“ I always want people to know that no matter what, I am going to do the right thing. Am I perfect? No. But if I make a mistake, I will work my hard est to fix it,” Keara emphasizes.

“It’s important for me that people know they can trust that I’m going to take care of things on their behalf.”

Making Moves in Life Keara was born and raised in Virginia. After high school, she went on to Virginia Tech.

Once her collegiate career was complete, Keara moved to Michigan, where she worked for a large hotel.

“At my very first job, a huge part was prospecting to generate more busi ness for the hotel,” Keara recalls.

“It was difficult. But looking back, it was a blessing in disguise because it taught me how to keep in touch with people, how to set reminders and all of the other skills that were involved, which are basically the same tech niques that I use in my real estate career today.”

The Start of Her Entrepreneurial Spark

Keara credits her parents for helping to foster her entrepreneurial spark.

“I grew up with that mentality. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and my dad is an accomplished entrepreneur who worked hard his whole life. All along the way, I remember hearing my dad sharing quotes that helped to instill confidence in myself and knowing that

I could be successful,” Keara remembers.

“Through time, my husband has been encouraging me for years to get my real estate license. After we moved here from Atlanta — in fact, on the day we moved here — I started real estate school.”

Passion Each Day

Keara has an undeni able passion and spark for her work in the business.

“I love jumping out of bed every morning between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., having a cup of coffee and

setting up my day so that my day doesn’t run me … I’m in control of it,”

Keara says.

“I love my clients and protecting them through the process … finding

out as much informa tion as possible to help them reach their real estate goals.”

Serving with Communication Keara has built a strong reputation for getting things done the right way. Through that, a big part of her pro cess is her extreme focus on ongoing communications.

“When you’re buying and/or selling a house, there is so much plan ning that goes into it, with packing, moving, organizing the kids, etc.,” she says. “So I try to make it as seamless as it possibly can be.”

A big point of pride for Keara is her team. She beams as she talks about the group of professionals she has the honor of working with each day. Her team includes a marketing director, a buyer’s agent, a commercial real estate agent and trans action coordinators.

“There is no way we could pull in numbers like we have without this powerhouse real estate team. It takes a village. I am incredibly thankful for them every day.”

The results of their combined work have been remarkable. In fact, in 2021, Keara and her team recorded over

$36 million in sales volume and are on track to surpass that number in 2022.

Family Fulfillment

Keara cherishes time with her hus band, Jamie and their two children: Logan, 6 and Brynn, 4.

In her free time, Keara loves yoga and being on the water with her family. If I am not with clients, then I am probably on a boat with my husband and kids somewhere to refuel and rejuvenate.

When it comes to giving back, Keara also likes to be plugged in and engaged in the community in a variety of ways, including sponsoring local school events, local athletic teams and supporting local businesses.

With each step Keara takes, she remembers the lessons she learned watching her parents working hard and doing right by those around them. Today, she continues that legacy for her clients, team members and community … exemplifying the true impact of integrity on the world.

For questions or comments about this article, contact Keara at 703-9192632 or kearahunter@kw.com.

LEWTHOMAS

Adobe House Media Productions

partner spotlight

By Brian Amend Photos by James Avera, Avera Design

Focused on Photography, People and Their Stories

Growing up with a desire to learn how the world works, Lew Thomas would walk through the woods taking pic tures of plants and wildlife around the small New Mexico town of Paguate on a Native American reservation: “I spent a lot of time in the wilderness and nature trying to understand why things are the way they are.”

Today, Adobe House Media Production, Lew’s veteran-owned business, operates in the Mobile, AL, area and Albuquerque, NM, with the same kind of admiring but objective

interest: “I like interacting with people because everybody has their story ... That’s a major thing for me — to understand the client.” As with his study of the natural life he grew up around, Lew’s interest in people does not settle on superficial appear ances but on the inner workings of his subjects: “Even if it’s a 12-year-old kid, finding out what they like and identifying with them, telling them stories. He may be a football guy, and you tell him that you played football

and that you identify with him, and it comes out in the pictures.”

An engineer by training, Lew also came to his business by being fasci nated with the inner workings of the camera equipment: “I’m a real science guy and a mechanical person, so the camera, the mechanism itself, is what got me into it, the inner workings of a camera, the optics and the actual machine and exploring what you could do with it, realizing that I’m mastering

it to produce some of the art that you can make with a camera.”

The most rewarding part of the business of photography for Lew is coming up with ideas of what the client might want and delivering it. Even better is when he brings them a product and hears, “This is not what was in my head, but this is better.” To achieve this, Lew follows the advice he would give to people starting out in the business, to listen to the client and use some of the photographer’s own experiences to fulfill one’s obligation to the client and deliver a product that is above and beyond expectations.

Thinking about photography not just as a hobby but as a possible business first occurred seren dipitously when Lew was working for a defense contractor in Seoul, Korea, when student riots broke out. “A buddy and I decided we were going to grab some cameras and go out and photograph the student riots, and we just happened to be in a great location, and we came across some news reporters, AP photographers, Time Magazine

photographers, and they weren’t able to get the shots, so we showed them what we had.” This was back in a time when pictures were caught on film rather than on digital devices. The people rep resenting those news agencies liked the photo graphs, bought them, and contracted Lew and his friend to produce more of them.

Although that was the nascence of Lew’s photogra phy career, it would look different before it took its current form. Although he still took pictures and sold them, he started getting repeated invitations to events and get-togethers with a request to photo graph them. “When I moved to Daphne, my current location,” Lew recounted, “People would ask me, ‘Hey would you take my picture.’ They would say I’ll pay you a couple of bucks. I figured I might as well make it a business — there are so many people asking that I might as well make some money at it. That’s how it started.”

Adobe House Media Productions, which Lew runs with his two sons Evan, age 39 years old, and

Jonathan, age 38 years old, now offers content production (video and photography) for social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as personal, business, and media websites. Adobe House is a veteran-owned business because Lew served in the U.S. Marines, as did his son Evan. Adobe House can produce corporate training videos, product premier videos, as well as drone videography and virtual house pre sentations for real estate and other companies. Adobe House recently completed for a pool company a six-month time-lapse video of a large pool’s construction. They stationed GoPro cameras in weather-proof cases that took pictures of the pool’s various stages of construction. These photographs were then edited into a 10-minute film that demonstrates the myriad aspects of the undertaking.

The biggest challenge in such a busi ness is keeping up with ever-changing technology. Adobe House has sold DVDs, but that media is becoming less ubiquitous as computers are designed without them, and more and more people move toward streaming their media experiences.

When not engaging in his business, Lew and his wife, Kenya, enjoy traveling. They recently sojourned the Highway 90 Yard Sale, which stretched from Pensacola to Jacksonville, FL, along said highway with yard sales all along the way. He also visits Albuquerque, NM, once or twice a year, driving his way there and “taking a different route each time.”

For questions or comments about this article and business, contact Lew at 251-454-0004 or lew@adobehousemp.com.

I figured I might as well make it a business — there are so many people asking that I might as well make some money at it. THAT’S HOW IT STARTED.

By Dave Danielson Photos by Kayley Robinson, Deep South Focus Photography

A Warm Welcome Home

Dynamic Drive

The drive that Michelle has for her work is easy to see when you talk with her.

“For me, it’s about helping others and providing for myself and my family. What motivates me is when someone calls me and trusts me to help them,” she emphasizes.

Life is fulfilling for Michelle. And that starts with her significant other, Jamie Brown, who owns J.A.B. Construction Inc.

She also honors the influence of her parents (her father, Jody Kelley and her mother, Tammy Kelley) and her brother, Corey … the people in life who she credits with giving her a strong foundation in life.

Michelle also has deep faith in God and gratitude for those around her.

“I am thankful to God for putting clients and agents in my life to help me grow,” she says. “I also owe a lot of my success to my teammate, Tracie Sweat, who is the qualifying broker at Wise Living Real Estate Orange Beach. She has been nothing but a great friend, mentor and teammate. The skills and talent I have learned from her have allowed me to grow so much as an agent.”

Active Pursuits

In her free time, one of Michelle’s favorite activities is spending time with her dog — Jase. She still has fond memories of her other dog, Taz, who recently passed away.

Away from work, she also enjoys yoga, as well as time spent at their church — City Hope Church.

Making a Difference

One of her favorite parts of support ing her community is giving back to

Kingdom Builders and projects that the church takes on to build schools and pro vide bibles to people around the world.

Those who have the chance to know and work with Michelle appre ciate her kind, caring nature and her commitment to their needs today and tomorrow.

“When clients meet me, I want them to know they can trust me and look to me as a friend,” she says with a smile.

“If they need me to help them, they know they can count on me to be there for them. I’m a very loyal person.”

Congratulations to Michelle Kelley for the ongoing and powerful impact she makes in the lives of those around her.

Whether she’s helping her clients buy or sell a home or she is sup porting a need in her community or around the world, she provides the care and effort that gives peo ple a warm welcome home.

For questions or comments about this article, contact Michelle at 251-979-3560 or michelle@ findgulfrealestate.com

Ongoing Impact

Bo & Sondra

BLACKWELL

LOVING THE REAL ESTATE LIFE

“I can’t visualize our future with out being involved in the real estate industry—we just love it and love helping others realize their dreams and goals,” Sondra Blackwell stated. The associate broker at Blackwell Realty, Sondra shares the brokerage with her husband, the qualifying broker, Bo Blackwell. Married for 33 years, they opened Blackwell Realty in 2015. Sondra started selling real estate before Bo’s 2006 start in the field; her parents had been in real estate when she was growing up, and she decided in 2000 to get her license and begin selling real estate. “It was something I fell in love with immediately,” she remembered.

brokers in charge

By Brian Amend Photos by James Avera, Avera Design

Bo, who retired from the Alabama National Guard with a rank of major, decided to get his real estate license in 2006 after he had worked in a specialized field of sales. “Previously,

I had worked in the water treatment industry,” he recounted, “doing water treatment all over the U.S., traveling a lot. I needed to stay closer to home and focus on things” different from “helping everybody else out all over the entire U.S..” In addition to his travels as a water treatment special ist, the National Guard had stationed Bo in the nation of Turkey during the Second Gulf War (also known as Operation Enduring Freedom) as a logistics officer. Becoming a REALTOR® allowed him to keep his work travel closer to home.

Bo and Sondra met in college at Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama) and grew up near that location, Bo in Linden, AL, and Sondra from Butler, AL. Bo grad uated from Livingston University with a bachelor’s degree in biology; Sondra

from the University of North Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. They share a passion for conducting real estate business “one transaction at a time,” with an emphasis on the client experience and on training both

experienced and new agents who come on board to be “well-rounded” REALTORs®: “We want to make sure that they understand the ins and outs of real estate, what does it take to be a real true and tried real estate agent, not just a buyer’s agent, not just a seller’s agent, not just a rental agent, because I truly believe that if a person has a license to sell real estate in the State of Alabama, it’s important that that person become well rounded,” Bo related. He compares this style of mentoring agents to “teaching a person how to fish,” so they can eat not just for a day but for a lifetime. Bo underlined that he and Sondra are “always making ourselves available to our agents” so that not one of them is “just a number”: “We sell real estate, but we’re

there. All of our agents, if they have questions, they call us, and we’ll answer the phone. They text us. Sondra will give them the answer while I’ll make them tell me the answer. Two different leadership styles, achieving the same, but it works.”

Two agents working with them are Camp Blackwell, their 32-year-old son, and his wife and their daughter-in-law, Chelsea Blackwell. Their 14-year-old daughter, Ava, is a freshman at Bayside Academy and enjoys playing tennis and

spending time with her friends. Sondra reports that she and Ava are able to help “all kinds of charities” as a mother/ daughter team via the National Charity League and that they help with the Children’s Art Tent for Daphne Arts & Crafts. Bo and Sondra also support their local church, Fairhope United Methodist Church and organizations such as Ransom Ministries, whose various programs help break the cycle of poverty. Members of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce and the Daphne/Spanish Fort Rotary, they can support charitable works through those organizations as well as the ministry of JH Outback.

Although they share so much in common, Bo reports that they do have “two different client bases”: “Sondra works more of the higher end. I work more in the military community all the way up to the high end. No matter if it’s a $90,000 house in Mobile — I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve sold one of those this year — to a $1,600,000 house on the bay, we continue to do the best for our clients.” When asked about numbers, Bo and Sondra agreed that they place more emphasis on their own continuing education, their passion for mentoring new and experienced agents,

and their ability to “take care of every single person like they’re the most important person in the world,” as Sondra worded it. They pride them selves on being a “relationship-based business”: “We do most of our business based on previous clients.” Bo agreed: “Some things that are important to me are that the people we do business with in our past lives are really important to us and are our fan base.” Their empha sis on continuing education shows in the designations they have earned, Bo having the designations of certified residential broker, CRB; seller repre sentative specialist, SRS; and military relocation professional, MRP; Sondra having the designations of certified res idential specialist, CRS; and certified

international property specialist, CIPS. Such designations and their sales numbers are less of a priority than the client experience. “Obviously, we’re looking to make a living and are very fortunate and blessed to be able to do that,” Bo explained, “but the sales are not that important. It’s the client at the end of the day and whether the trans action and everything went smoothly.”

Bo emphasizes that success is “one transaction at a time,” and Sondra considers it a “good balance between your work life and your home life and all of those good things.” Although she admits this is a work in progress, she states that it’s important to take a step back from one’s business and

realize who you’re doing it for. To that end, they enjoy spending time on the water with friends and family, boating and fishing. Bo himself likes “hunting, fishing,” and “any type of outdoor sports.” They enjoy Daphne not only because of their connections to its community through their busi ness and their charitable activities and memberships but also because it affords “lots of opportunities” for the outdoor and water-born pastimes they enjoy.

For questions or comments about this arti cle, contact Bo at251-454-4825 or bo.blackwell@outlook.com.