Celebrating the Women Who Paved the Way...

As we near the end of March and Women's History Month, we have the opportunity to celebrate the significant contributions women have made to our shared history. Women in this country have made huge strides, fighting for equality because we believed in our capabilities.


Our grandmothers fought for their right to vote. Our mothers fought for entry into, and participation in, the workforce. And we have fought to break the glass ceiling, being recognized as equally capable and valuable as our male counterparts.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Indianapolis women REALTORS® began to make their mark on the industry, following the establishment of the first Women’s Council of REALTORS® in 1938. Indianapolis women realized what many other women across the nation did: real estate was a business in which they could break through the income cap placed on many other positions and reach success in the business world. 


Though it was not without challenge, Indianapolis women did just that. Helen Hirt, who organized the Indianapolis chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, was the first woman to receive the REALTOR® of the year award in 1970 and served as the first female president of the then Indianapolis Real Estate Board in 1973. Her daughter, Kaye Hirt Eggleston, carried on the tradition by leading the organization as president in the early 1990s. Now expanded to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS® (MIBOR), the organization celebrates its centennial in 2012 and I am proud to serve as President in the 100th year. 

Get YOUR copy of the entire 30-min DVD and hardcover book, REALTORS®: Opening Doors for 100 Years, by visiting www.mibor100.com today!

At our Centennial Celebration gala this January, in which we celebrated the 100-year history of MIBOR, the impact that women have made on this industry was striking. Interestingly, each of the six awards, given annually to real estate professionals who have made an impact in the last year to the industry and the community, was awarded to a woman. 


I am thankful to the strong women who preceded me and fought for my right to earn a living as a REALTOR®. They paved the way so that our daughters and granddaughters can choose to work as REALTORS® — or in other any profession they desire. 


Debbie Morris
2012 President 
Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS®


It's YOUR Turn: What do you think? Do you have any stories to share about contributions women have made in your profession and/or in this industry? Post a comment below!

Technology and Appraisals: Growing with the changes

As the local community and housing markets begin to stabilize and improve from the recent housing crisis, it is an opportune time to reflect on other critical events in the history of our profession.  Starting with the Great Depression, men and women in our industry banded together to create professional organizations that helped focus the members, the public and/or legislators on the importance of our work. 

Both the Savings & Loan Crisis of the 1980’s and the current housing crisis resulted in federal and state legislation which changed and strengthened our industries.   Federal initiatives such as FIRREA (Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989) and Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act helped define procedures and standards designed to enhance the integrity of the system.  

Throughout the last 100 years, basic principles of real estate appraising have changed very little but the data assimilation has changed dramatically. During the majority of the 20^th century appraisers relied heavily upon sales information gleaned from county records and the infamous MIBOR Comparable Books.  Technology allows appraisers to assimilate data for analysis in an efficient manner.  The ability to utilize technology to research and analyze large amounts of data provides today’s appraiser with opportunities few appraisers in the past could have dreamed of or ever experienced.

Technology will play an increasingly important role in the future of appraising.  Databases and on-line resources will provide more efficiency in the collection and analysis of data.  Having the skills to formulate and analyze the data sources and devices will differentiate the average from the good appraiser. 

Licensee legislation, member representation, and pertinent educational programs helped both the REALTORS® and appraiser groups play instrumental roles in the restoration of public faith in our professions.  But the new technology, the recent housing crisis, and the subsequent regulations have resulted in many appraisers leaving the profession.  The resulting shortage potential will lead clients to appraisers who will be more adept, sophisticated, and detail-oriented in their research and report writing. 

 

MIBOR has long recognized that communication and cooperation between  REALTORS®  and appraisers is an important key to the local success of our real estate industry.  Appraiser participation on the BLC® Listing Service committees and MIBOR’s Board of Directors ensures such cooperation in the coming years.  The future will certainly bring more change and I’m confident MIBOR will be at the forefront of any change which benefits all members.

Jason A. Tillema, SRA

Tillema & Associates

MIBOR Beyond 100…

Setting the Stage for 100 More Years

On Jan. 3, 2012 your organization had a Birthday. A milestone birthday! We turned 100! While we have been preparing for this celebration for some time, we are now relishing in what it means to be 100 years young. 

Not many organizations or companies make it this long, but I say 'young' because we still have work to do. And while none of us will likely see the organization's 200th birthday, we are destined to ensure that the generations to come are well equipped when that next milestone approaches. 

MIBOR’s Board of Directors has set goals that we know have relevancy beyond 100 years. Number one of those simple goals is to ensure a healthy, vibrant real estate market exists throughout the central Indiana region. That entails a lot of variables coming together. One way is to maximize the effectiveness of organizations whose missions it is to increase jobs, wages and labor force. 

MIBOR is not just talking the talk, we are walking the walk as well and maximizing the ability to create and maintain jobs. REALTORS® have seats on the Boards of those organizations to help forge direction and strategies for success.  Investments are made in issues and projects that will be catalysts for improving the quality of life, the assets of our region. Investments in ensuring that planning for our communities is deliberate and inclusive. 

Stay tuned to this blog to see what MIBOR has been doing to reach goal No. 2 and what you can do to help!

Steve Sullivan

MIBOR CEO

A Generational Industry...

MIBOR’s 100th year has given us all a wonderful opportunity to look back and reflect on the real estate industry and how it has affected, and been affected by, the major events in Central Indiana over the past century.  As a third generation MIBOR member, a couple of thoughts stand out to me.

(L-R) Norm McClain, Gene McClain, Dave McClain

The first, and most obvious, is the current state of the market and the challenges it presents.  Having joined the board in the 1990’s, the market had never seen a decrease in my time as a member until just a few years ago. While we all freaked out for a short time (and for those of you who still are… you can calm down now… it’s getting better!) and many asked “should I stay in real estate?”... I never thought of leaving the industry.  This is what we’ve always done.  


So the market changed.  I thought back to all of the ‘war’ stories that my father and grandfather had told over and over and over again.  At the time I was so tired of hearing about assumptions and land contracts, however, those stories helped me to gain some perspective and to remember that you need to be creative and flexible to survive in this industry.  So, I dusted off some old training materials on land contracts and started to look into these weird things called ‘short sales’.


The other thought is that I have a deep feeling of responsibility to affect the future of the industry.  I have two sons who might decide to follow in my footsteps, just as I followed in my father’s and he in his. This has lead me to be more active within MIBOR and to try and make sure my voice is heard.  I would encourage any REALTOR® to do the same.  Get involved in R.E.A.L., RPAC and your division. It is our duty to leave the real estate industry in Central Indiana better than we found it, so get involved!


Dave McClain
RE/MAX Select

Honey...Stop the Car! - MIBOR Joins St. Patrick's Day Parade

For the first time in our 100 year history, REALTORS® marched in the city's Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Friday, March 16.

Dressed in green, we joined more than 80 other units made up of school bands, floats, Irish dancers, bag pipe and drum bands, Irish organizations, law enforcement, local media and celebrities marching through downtown Indianapolis. Members held sign riders, open house flags and bags of candy to pass out to children along the route. 

MIBOR Member, Kurt Simmons, talks with Channel 6
about his choice of attire, and MIBOR's
involvement in the parade.

Some members went an extra step in St. Patrick's Day spirit...enough to grab the attention of the local media!


“Throughout our centennial year, REALTORS® are celebrating the role we’ve played in the community for the last 100 years,” said Debbie Morris, 2012 MIBOR president. “We are excited to be part of such a fun and festive event alongside so many of our community partners.”


Be sure to check out our photos from the event! 


Want to join the Centennial fun? Visit www.mibor100.com for more information!

MIBOR Hosts 10th Annual Housing Summit During Centennial Year

Hundreds gathered yesterday for MIBOR’s 10th Annual Central Indiana Housing Summit titled “The Region is Our Product”. The event included a panel of MIBOR Past Presidents – including a surprise visit from the association’s first president James S. Cruse. 

Cruse, expertly portrayed by 2001 President John Creamer, joined 1999 President Pat Williams and 2009 President Larry Mitchell in honor of MIBOR’s Centennial. Todd Sears revisited research first presented during November’s webinar and the majority of the meeting focused on a discussion about regional assets and challenges that included Mark Miles, Aaron Renn and Summit regular Drew Klacik. The Summit was moderated by John Ketzenberger, President of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute and panelist for WFYI’s Indiana Week in Review. 

The materials presented and audio files from the event can be downloaded here. 

What's Love Got To Do With It?
The Summit concluded with a presentation of the three finalist videos from MIBOR’s Hoosier Love video contest. The $5,000 winner is (drum role please)…Jonathan Frey. You can see Jonathan’s video and the other finalist videos at www.hoosierlove.com. 


Several media outlets covered the Summit, click on the links below for the individual news stories.


WIBC 
WISH-TV’s Indy Style 
WRTV-6  


Thank you for making the Centennial Summit a memorable moment. 

Progress, and Leading the Way...

As I looked through and read MIBOR’s centennial book and watched the DVD, two thoughts kept coming to mind.  The first was how from 1912 to the present, the ever-present theme has been how to help real estate professionals, REALTORS® , do a better job and better serve their clients and the community.  Sometimes MIBOR has been on the very cutting edge and sometimes it has had to be pushed and pulled by visionaries, but over the decades it has made progress and more often than not, has led the way.

The second thought was my profound sense of gratitude and humility that for a short time I was blessed to be a part of this great organization we know today as MIBOR -  the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS®.  Even more important to me, are all of the wonderful, talented and dedicated individuals who shared a part of their lives with me and who enriched my life. There are too many to name, but I am the richer for having walked with them.

Dick Nye

Dick Nye served as MIBOR Executive Officer for 10 years (1980 - 1990) before moving on to lead the Indiana Association of REALTORS®


You can learn more about our industry's history by purchasing your own copy of REALTORS®: Opening Doors for 100 Years at www.mibor100.com, or in the REALTOR® Store at 1912 N. Meridian St.

More Than Just Opening Doors...

The official Centennial Celebration, i.e. The Ball, is over but the celebration and remembrance of the past 100 years continues.

  

I love MIBOR’s Centennial slogan, REALTORS®: Opening Doors for 100 years, however, our members have been doing so much more than just opening doors.  They’ve been appraising, inspecting, mortgaging, insuring and cleaning them.  They have built and supported communities and continue to strive to make Central Indiana the best place to call HOME.

The real estate industry has experienced a lot of change in 100 years from wars, depressions, recessions, civil rights and more.  We have faced our own challenges and will continue to do so.  

The “.com era” has brought with it new technologies and opportunities that have enabled the real estate industry to be more efficient than those before us ever dreamed possible.  This era has also brought along new competitors and business models…also challenges that those before us never dreamed of.

As I said in my speech at the Centennial Ball, 'change often breeds fear, however, it also brings opportunities…opportunities to challenge us and force us to be better.  When we embrace change and challenge ourselves, life really begins!'

As leaders of our companies, communities and industry, I urge you to not be afraid of change, but rather embrace it and the opportunities that come with it.  

Get involved. Take pride in where we've come from and embrace the fact that YOU are a part of our industry's future, and the future of our region. 

Together, we will make 2012, our Centennial Year, a year to remember!

Debbie Morris

MIBOR President, 2012

www.mibor100.com

www.facebook.com/MIBOR

www.twitter.com/MIBORBoard 

REALTORS® Made a Difference on Leap Day

Thank you to our members for volunteering your time, service, donations and blood during our February 29th REALTOR® Day of Service!


We encouraged you to use Leap Day as an opportunity to make a difference, and you showed central Indiana that REALTORS® recognize the importance of giving back to their community. 


Twenty-one units of blood were collected by the Indiana Blood Center at the blood drive held at MIBOR – a significant impact as the Blood Center faces shortages this month. 

Monika Mueller and a group from RE/MAX Metro helped the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF) move their food pantry to a new location. HVAF was also the lucky winner of our $500 drawing.


“We were so excited to have this opportunity,” said Mueller. “Since they’re located only a block from our office, it’s nice to be able to make a difference on a hyper-local level.”


Volunteers from Carpenter, REALTORS® helped the Gennesaret Free Clinic stuff, lick, stamp and prepare a mailing of 1,000 invitations to their “Arts for Beds” program, a huge fundraiser for the organization. 

“We shared stories about things we have done besides sell real estate and discussed current events,” said Pat Williams, MIBOR member and past president. “It seems like such a small thing, to offer our morning to help, but it was a great time for all of us and saved the clinic a lot of time.”


Cindy Marcum and Dianna Grindean from Prudential Indiana Realty Group volunteered at Shepard Community, helping in the kitchen and sacking groceries for families.

“They do so much for inner city families, including feeling the children at their center who come for pre-school through 3rd grade, after school care and summer camps each year,” said Grindean. “They are a wonderful organization and we sure enjoyed volunteering there today.”


Additionally, several agents from Keller Williams Indy Metro North devoted time to raising sponsorship dollars for the Del Mi Boy Scout Council of Indianapolis. 


Member, Bill Hacker, and volunteers from RE/MAX Legends Group helped paint rooms and corridors at the Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis. 


Patty Morton with Prudential Realty volunteered at Second Starts, a not for profit charity whose mission is to help the homeless start over again. 


Affiliate member, Mary Abella, volunteered at Catholic Charities’ Christmas store.  


Member, Sue Cory Bowers donated and volunteered at Sanctuary of Shelbyville (S.O.S), a home for abused and homeless women.


Member, Debbie Hines, donated and volunteered at Covenant Foods Pantry.


Member and past REALTOR® Foundation President, Regina Jones, volunteered at Ben Davis Christian Church, helping with spring cleaning projects.


We know that numerous other REALTORS® and Affiliates volunteered their time, service and donations yesterday. To everyone, we say thank you again for making a difference!