Good morning, Wisconsin REALTORS®! I am honored to serve as your chairman of the board for 2012-2013. In the upcoming year, I am pleased to have a great leadership team supporting me, consisting of Steve Lane, Chairman-elect; Dan Kruse, treasurer; and directors Paul Schieldt, Peter Sveum, KC Maurer and Erik Sjowall. And we have an outstanding team on our board of directors as well.
I must give a big “thank you” to former chairman Rob Keefe for his leadership in 2011-2012. Last year in Wisconsin was a year filled with political unrest and recall after recall. During this time of unrest, Rob fearlessly led our organization with great passion. The WRA was extremely fortunate to have him volunteer his time on behalf of the association and its members in his role as chairman. I have learned from the best!
Also last year, the association said “goodbye” to longtime WRA president Bill Malkasian with his transition to the National Association of REALTORS® as the vice president of political strategic planning. Senior WRA staffer Mike Theo took the post as the new president and CEO, and the association is certainly in great hands since Mike has worked with the WRA for over 25 years. Mike continues to think outside the box instead of conducting “business as usual.” Thank you, Mike, for your enthusiasm, dedication and direction!
And thank you to all who attended the fall convention last month! Over 800 attended the “Mission Possible: Mobile Revolution” event held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in downtown Appleton. Many of you completed your CE courses; many of you attended educational workshops; many of you witnessed the WRA flash mob at Opening Session; and many of you attended the “Connections Carnival” and the “LinkedIn After Hours” parties! Congratulations to Otto Bytof for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, and congratulations to the other convention award recipients: Distinguished Service Award recipients Della Rancourt, Barbara McGill and Rob Keefe; Instructor of the Year Tracy Rucka; and CRS of the Year Eunice Beekman — what a group of true professionals honored at this year’s convention. I hope that you felt inspired by our keynote speakers, gained new information and knowledge from technology workshops, and left the convention feeling excited and ready to succeed in your real estate practice. Thank you for visiting my stomping grounds in the Fox River Valley. I loved hosting the group!
Three key goals will be my focus in the year ahead as your 2012-2013 chairman:
1. Legislative agenda
We will create an aggressive and proactive legislative agenda that addresses not only the needs of today’s REALTORS® and homeowners, but also strategically positions the WRA to meet the needs of REALTORS® and homeowners over the next decade and beyond.
2. Female involvement
A personal mission of mine is to engage more members, including women. It is hard for me to believe that I am just the seventh female chairman in over 100 years of WRA leadership. Thank you, H. Sue Wiskowski, Nancy Schmelzer, Jan Edwards, Joyce Bytof, Joan Seramur and Kitty Jedwabny, for blazing the trail! In the upcoming year, I will ensure that the WRA creates systems that ultimately provide a better reflection of female association membership within WRA leadership.
3. Technology
I encourage each of you to push yourself when it comes to technology. Countless great programs are available that help us and our businesses. As your 2012-2013 chairman, I guarantee that the WRA will continue to be on the forefront of technology and will ensure that all members are aware of and fluent in emerging technologies that impact our industry and profession.
Your leadership team will be visiting many local board installations, and we look forward to the opportunity to meet with all of you. It is great to talk with you and hear your opinions. If you would like one of us to attend your meeting, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
I look forward to serving you in the upcoming year,
Renny Diedrich, WRA Chairman