Introducing the MIBOR Histories Council

Have you ever been so fortunate to have a meeting at MIBOR’s Past Presidents Board Room? There is an amazing mystique within these four walls! 100 men and women, leaders among their peers, are overlooking your every move. Though silent, you know they are there. Along the southwest wall are the legends. The ones who stepped forward to found a real estate board in 1912 for the betterment of the business, for the consumer and the practitioner, bound by a code of ethics, and created for the purpose of lasting long beyond the founders’ lifetimes. On the northwest wall, you will see Past Presidents who are known locally, and even nationally, for their leadership and service to others. There is no better setting for a group of people who were charged with the task of capturing our 100 years of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Realtors’ legacy and packaging it in such a way that it will not only come to life in your hands, but will serve as the official Centennial History document for future generations of MIBOR members.

Your MIBOR Centennial Histories Council had its first official meeting on
September 9th of 2009. We shared the multi-year timeline of the Centennial. Furthermore, if we were going to have a book available on January 3, 2012; we needed to get to work, and that is exactly what this outstanding group of men and women did. Ideas started to flow. How and why was the board created? How did we contribute to the growth and prosperity of Indianapolis? Who are the Real Estate Titans, our leaders who laid such a great foundation? How did our membership and leadership handle various societal issues that dealt with women’s rights and racial equality? There were probably another nineteen items tossed into the mix, but this is how we began.

The people were incredible! Our Centennial leadership team headed by Past President Beth Blake had already considered author candidates. Fortunately, Todd Gould had been chosen. When you are holding your own copy of this book, REALTORS: Opening Doors for 100 Years, you too will be amazed at his ability to organize and express the thousands of facts and opinions that were conveyed by the Histories Council. The Council was an All-Star Cast. 

Bill Brennan, Jack Carr Boyd, Past President Kaye Hirt Eggleston, Delores Kennedy, Fred Kortepeter, G.B. Landrigan, Joyce Scotten, and Robbie Williams. As Co-Chairs, Past President John Creamer and I know that we assembled a passionate group of professionals who contributed to the content of the book through their own experience as well as five of us are multi-generational descendants of real estate leaders in Indianapolis. Steve Sullivan, CEO at MIBOR has assembled a tremendously supportive staff. Our MIBOR staff connection has been Claire Belby. Her dedication and commitment exceeds that of any project manager that I have ever worked with, whether at the board or through-out my nearly 34 years in this crazy business. The staff at Hirons & Co. Communications pulled it all together. Beautiful design, layout, and publication. Our thanks to Samantha Cotton, Susan Decker, Deana Haworth, Amanda Murray, and Emily Potter.

 One of the special days was the “Remembering Our History” event on December 2, 2009. Past Presidents, Realtor Emeritus members, and dozens of Realtors with many years of experience came to enthusiastically share memories. In addition to the individual comments that were made to the group and recorded for author reference, Todd Gould was able to capture many video interviews and arrange for additional video interviews at Channel 20 the next month.

I would call this project a labor of love. Love for our industry, love for our community, and love for the legacy. It just makes sense that the MIBOR Past Presidents Board Room would be the best setting for the organization, the creativity, and the often entertaining discussions of your MIBOR Centennial Histories Council. 

Brad Osborne
Co-Chair of the MIBOR Histories Council
www.mibor100.com