Celebrating 100 in 2012

Many Paved the Way

2012-02-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

It’s obvious so much about the real estate business has changed. The way transactions are handled, the speed of information, the access to data and so much more. While it’s easy to think about that in abstract ways, how often do we reflect on the people who ushered those changes? Change and progress doesn’t happen in a vacuum, someone – or many someones – have to drive change.

Have you ever thought about the firsts in this industry? The first woman to lead the Board, the first local leader to serve the national association, the first multiple listing service, the first lockbox system. Who were those people and who was behind those monumental industry revolutions? So many firsts with rich, powerful stories make the industry you enjoy today.

Beth Blake, our Centennial Chair,
flips through the pages of
MIBOR history.

We kicked off the centennial year by publishing the organization’s first comprehensive history. In book and video format the work, REALTORS®: Opening Doors for 100 Years, shows those stories in vivid detail through many first or secondhand accounts of how the ideas were sparked and who lead the idea into reality resulting in progress and thus a new way of doing business.

How much do you know about those who paved your way? Have you heard of Helen Hirt, Bud Tucker, Mary Binford, Bruce Savage, Dick Nye, Aileen Klaiber, James Cruse, Elizabeth Booth, or Bruce Savage? Looks like you have some reading to do…

How 'Hoosier Love' becomes a gift to the region...

2012-02-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

We've been talking about it a lot...the "Hoosier Love Video Contest" at www.hoosierlove.com. You've heard about it through e-mail, tweets, Facebook posts, this blog, and even on TV.

So, what are we doing?

We're asking citizens to tell us why they love central Indiana, and offering a grand prize of $5,000. We've received great responses so far, so we're boosting the competition by extending the deadline to Feb 27! The grand prize winner will be announced at the Central Indiana Housing Summit on March 13. (Register today!)

Why are we doing this? What does the Hoosier Love video contest have to do with the Central Indiana Housing Summit, and how does 'Hoosier Love' become a gift to the region?

Here's the plan:

When we announce the grand prize winner at the Housing Summit on March 13, we will also unveil a 30-second professionally-produced video, based on the winner's concept, that our economic development partners and community groups can use to promote the region. The finished product will be a creative gift to those who better our communities, bring more jobs, employees and economic vitality to our region, thus strengthening our housing market.

The finished product is our gift to the region, in celebration of MIBOR's centennial. It's a gift that can be used in a variety of ways, all focused on continuing to move central Indiana forward.

That is why we're asking members to refer clients to submit videos. We want to hear from the people you've helped establish roots in our region; the individuals and families who have chosen to live here. So be sure to tell you family, friends and clients about this opportunity! (Your referrals qualify you for a drawing for Indianapolis 500 Race Day Tickets!)

And that's not all that will happen at the summit this year.

The Central Indiana Housing Summit, on March 13, is also second-half of 'The Region is Our Product' discussion that began this past November through MIBOR's first webinar.

We'll focus on how central Indiana is positioned to compete in the arenas of community development, economic development and homeownership. We'll hear from a panel of regional experts including Todd Sears, Chief Financial Officer at Herman & Kittle Properties, Inc.; Drew Klacik, Policy Analyst with IUPUI's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment and Mark Miles, President and Chief Executive Officer with the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

Then we'll hear from two MIBOR Past-Presidents, Larry Mitchell and Pat Williams, who will highlight how this information is relevant to you.

You definitely don't want to miss out - register for the summit today, and keep spreading the word about "Hoosier Love"!

The Power of Collaboration

2012-02-15T08:10:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, I attended the opening of the Chase Legacy Center,the new community center on the campus of Arsenal Technical High School onIndianapolis’ Near Eastside. It’s one of the signature achievements of theSuper Bowl festivities. A crowning achievement, really, particularly for theresidents and future residents of a neighborhood that has never before beengraced with a rec center, YMCA or Boys and Girls Club.

As I stood listening to the Tech drum line bring the placeto life and the dignitaries comment, one after another, about the impact theplace will have on a neighborhood and its families, I felt pride (and a tear ortwo) to be there on behalf of REALTORS® and all the affiliated real estateprofessionals who know a thing or two about neighborhoods and families. It’strue that the Legacy Center is not part of MIBOR’s Centennial Building a Living Legacy project. Building a Living Legacy is about homesand the stability and security that comes from waking up each morning in aplace that allows you to know that anything good you want for your life isachievable. The Center is part of the package, however. Just like the Building a Living Legacy homes are partof the package. Each is part of this sense of place; a place that has been energizedand ignited because many people and many groups of people cared and then collaborated.

That’s what hit me the most on the day of the Legacy Center opening.REALTORS® have not only understood the need to help others, but the power of collaborationin order to achieve great things for others since the beginning of theirorganized history 100 years ago. The REALTOR® Foundation has been the leader inthat effort for more than 25 of those years, providing structure to the way thereal estate community helps others, but is was happening long before that.

Being part of the team that compiled the history for thebook and video that celebrate MIBOR’s Centennial allowed me to see in the earlycopies of the minutes and in so many photos that REALTORS® never really wantedto do it all themselves. They collaborated in those very early years and in allthe years since with builders, affiliates, chambers of commerce, government andso many others to create an industry that helps families and neighborhoods. It’sa great model that continues today. The power of collaboration is real andtangible. If you want to see an amazing example, drive through St. Clair Placeto see the renovated Legacy homes, new street lamps and sidewalks and stop bythe Legacy Center on Tech’s campus. You’ll see it around you.

Claire Belby
Communications Director, MIBOR

This week's Hoosier Love contest winner is...

2012-02-10T19:10:00.000-05:00

Tannika’s “Why I love central Indiana”!

Congratulations to Tannika for the being our first week’s Hoosier Love video contest winner! Tannika will receive a $500 cash prize for her “Why I love central Indiana” entry, and a chance at winning $5,000 announced at the Central Indiana Housing Summit on March 13, 2012 at the Indiana Convention Center.

We are looking forward to next week and expect the competition to become much more artistic, inspiring and innovative. So, what should you do? Continue to encourage your clients and friends to enter at www.hoosierlove.com! Closing on a deal? Encourage your client to make a video and submit it - they could win some extra cash to buy that great new TV for the new place!

Plus, we want to reward you too! Your referral makes you eligible for entry into a drawing for Indy 500 Race Day tickets! Members are also welcomed and encouraged to submit a video. You definitely know what makes central Indiana shine, so tell us! Please note, members are not eligible for the weekly or grand prizes.

Take a look at www.hoosierlove.com to see the contest submissions (including this week's winner!). We also have a playlist of "Hoosier Love at the NFL Experience" submissions - definitely watch those, they're great!

Tell us what you think about Hoosier Love on Twitter and Facebook. Help us push out the details to keep the momentum going!

By the way, save the date for the Central Indiana Housing Summit on March 13 from 9 - 11 a.m. Registration opens next week!

Now go out and show some Hoosier Love!

The Celebration Has Begun!

2012-02-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

More than 500 people turned out for the CentennialCelebration in January. That’s over 100 more attendees than last year. It’s evidencethat people are jumping on the Centennial bandwagon.

It was great see so manypeople enjoying themselves and each other at the event. Within the context ofthe sponsor video, one of the sponsors commented that the best thing about anevent like the Celebration is that with the business becoming increasinglyremote, digital and impersonal we all need that chance to reconnect with eachother.

The MIBOR Board of Directors and the REALTOR Foundation
Board of Directors join together for a toast to kick off the
Centennial Celebration and commemorate 100 years of opening doors.

That was definitely one of the goals of the event thatserved to kick off your centennial year. How do you think it worked? You knowthe saying, a picture isworth a 1,000 words.

REALTOR® Day of Service 2012

2012-01-23T12:52:00.000-05:00

What an amazing time to live in Metropolitan Indianapolis, especially with a Super Bowl, here, in a couple of weeks. It really is an incredible opportunity for our city to shine. It is our time to shine too. We should take this chance to show our community who we really are as well. It is our 100th Birthday after all, we deserve it.

This year we have a super opportunity on February 29th, Leap Day. We all have an extra day in our lives this year. An extra day….and personally, I don’t want to waste it. What should I do?

The answer is easy. REALTORS® have been selling homes in Indianapolis for 100 years, and they have also been serving the community for 100 years. Everyone has a project, cause, organization or group that they are passionate about! So we have decided to designate February 29, 2012 as REALTOR® Day of Service in central Indiana!

This year instead of having a planned event for REALTORS® and Affiliates to work on as a group, the idea was to let people choose their passion, and give back in a way that was meaningful to them. Your office may plan a group event; you might volunteer at your child’s, grandchildren, niece or nephew’s school. You may grab three co-workers and volunteer at a shelter, or soup kitchen. Your MIBOR Division might plan to volunteer at a local food pantry, or local school event. Or, since it’s the last day of the month, and time is precious, you may consider something less time intensive but just as powerful. For example, you can donate blood! MIBOR will host a blood drive at the MIBOR office on the 29th – it’s simple and takes minimal time. You can also donate items to a shelter (click here for a list of REALTOR Foundation grant recipients), the Salvation Army, Goodwill store or your favorite charity. Or take a walk down your street and pick up trash. Every little bit helps!

The more I write about this the more excited I get. Think about it, a day I haven’t had for 3 years and won’t have again for 3 more years. I want to make the most of it, don’t you? Take this opportunity to do something you are passionate about, and make a difference in someone else’s life.

Lastly, please tell us what you have planned at www.facebook.com/MIBOR , and your charity could win a $500 donation. We want to celebrate your great work in our communities, and thought there was no better way than to give back, in your name, to those in need.

If you need more ideas on how you might participate in the 2012 REALTOR Day of Service visit http://www.mibor100.com/dayofservice.html.

Introducing the MIBOR Histories Council

2012-01-13T11:08:00.002-05:00

Have you ever been so fortunate to have a meeting at MIBOR’s PastPresidents Board Room? There is an amazing mystique within these four walls!100 men and women, leaders among their peers, are overlooking your every move. Thoughsilent, you know they are there. Along the southwest wall are the legends. Theones who stepped forward to found a real estate board in 1912 for thebetterment of the business, for the consumer and the practitioner, bound by acode of ethics, and created for the purpose of lasting long beyond thefounders’ lifetimes. On the northwest wall, you will see Past Presidents whoare known locally, and even nationally, for their leadership and service toothers. There is no better setting for a group of people who were charged withthe 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 inyour hands, but will serve as the official Centennial History document forfuture generations of MIBOR members.

Your MIBOR Centennial Histories Council had its first official meetingon
September 9th of 2009. We shared the multi-year timeline of theCentennial. Furthermore, if we were going to have a book available on January3, 2012; we needed to get to work, and that is exactly what this outstandinggroup of men and women did. Ideas started to flow. How and why was the boardcreated? 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 dealtwith women’s rights and racial equality? There were probably another nineteenitems tossed into the mix, but this is how we began.

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

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

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

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

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

We're Ready for a SUPER 2012!

2012-01-11T11:59:00.000-05:00

January 3rd marked the official date for MIBOR to begin celebrating its 100th birthday! What a historic event! How many organizations do you know who have celebrated their 100th anniversary? We have something to shout about!!! Seems like only yesterday that we were in the planning stages for the historic event and now it's really happening.

Last week we kicked off our centennial celebration with the release of our commemorative book and DVD at our video release party at WFYI.

Our next big event is the Centennial Celebration coming on January 21st at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. Lots of special things are in store for attendees, so don't miss this "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

No project this large gets accomplished without a hard working team behind it. Such is the case with the Centennial Committee. We began working in 2008 under the direction of Claire Belby and our historian/author Todd Gould and the results have been overwhelming! A core group consisting of six hard working, innovative thinkers produced tremendous results culminating with our commemorative book, interactive website and special events planned throughout 2012. Major kudos to co-chairs Brad Osborne, John Creamer, Amy Englert, Kurt Simmons, Sue Applegate and Pam Aguirre for a job well done. Also, special thanks to the individual committee members who contributed so much of their time and talent to the centennial planning.

Combine all these efforts with the Building a Living Legacy project in conjunction with Super Bowl XLVI and you've got a winning combination for a SUPER 2012! Enjoy the excitement! You're a part of history!

Beth Blake

Centennial Committee Chairman
www.mibor100.com

Happy Birthday MIBOR!

2012-01-03T10:28:00.001-05:00

We have been counting down the days, and we're finallyhere! This is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of MIBOR's Centennial. It’s a celebration of the vital role our membersand this organization has played in the lives of countless homeowners -families who have achieved the American Dream of owning a home. Each oneassisted by a professional, a counselor, and a guide to the most importantfinancial decision they may ever make.

Moreover, the real estate community has helped shapecentral Indiana — its economy, its landscape, its character. We are proud ofthe footprint REALTORS® have left in the last 100 years, but we have only justbegun. You see, our Centennial Celebration isn't just a birthday party. It’sthe start of something lasting; a legacy of contributions REALTORS® have made and willcontinue to make in our community.

Our plan is to post 100 blogs in 2012. We have a lot ofgreat things to share with you. You’ll hear from special guest writers, you’llsee photos and videos and much more. We’d love to hear from you as well! Let usknow if you have any industry stories or fun facts to share. Post yourcomments, thoughts and ideas here. Here’s to a year of celebration…the best isyet to come!