Just 3: Featuring Regina Jones

Today’s “Just 3” features thoughts from former REALTOR® Foundation President and current Carpenter, REALTORS® agent, Regina Jones:

Question: Tell us three jobs you had before being a full-time REALTOR®. What are a few lessons you learned from those positions you bring to real estate?

Answer: I had three jobs I had before real estate. I worked in the restaurant industry as a server, bartender, as a hostess and in management. I worked as a salesperson in the retail industry and I also danced professionally with dance companies and for NBA and NFL teams. When I danced professionally, I usually had a part-time job somewhere else. So that part of my life really taught me time management. The retail and restaurant industries really gave me insight into the importance of providing the best client/customer service possible.  

Question: You are in REAL this year, what has been the coolest part of being part of the Real Estate Academy of Leadership (REAL) so far?

Answer: The coolest part of being part of REAL has to be the opportunities we have been given to meet the people who are shaping central Indiana. I am really learning so much...much more than I ever expected. And of course it is wonderful to learn leadership skills when I’m with other real estate professionals.

Question: Lastly, what was the best part of serving as REALTOR® Foundation President?

Answer: The best part of serving as REALTOR® Foundation President was working with amazing people. To be able to work with people who give their time and talent to help communities and families in need is really wonderful. There is the Board of Directors, MIBOR staff, volunteers, committees and the service providers (grant recipients). They all come together with a common goal of helping those in need. I know I may sound sappy, but it was truly humbling and I am proud to have served as the 2010 REALTOR® Foundation President. 

Looking Forward...on Public Education

This year, as we celebrate our centennial, we have had the opportunity to look back on our years of service, on the evolution of the real estate industry, on economic development, neighborhood development and the overall growth of our region.  Through this blog, we have reflected on our achievements, on the challenges we have faced and on the role we have played in our communities.

However, we aren’t just looking back this year – we’re also looking forward. What will the next 10, 50 and 100 years bring? What will our role be as our region continues to grow and change?

A few days ago we launched the MIBOR Membership Survey, which is conducted twice a year and provides valuable member feedback on the services provided to members. We use the results to evaluate performance and guide resource allocation for each budget cycle. For the current survey period, we have streamlined the questions and have for the first time we’ve included questions about an important and timely issue – public education. The questions are focused on member opinions related to public education and MIBOR’s role in advocating in this area. We know that education is critically important to your customers and their housing decisions, and we are eager to know your thoughts.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to take the time to fill out the membership survey, which has already been sent to your inbox.

We also welcome you to share your thoughts by posting a comment on this blog. Below are two of the questions that are included in the survey.

1) On which sources do you believe buyers rely for information about schools? 

               1.  REALTOR®           4.      Co-workers / Employers

               2.  Family members     5.      Other sources

               3.  Friends                6.      DON’T KNOW

2) To what extent should MIBOR be involved in the area of education policy?

            1.      Extremely involved     4.      Not very involved

            2.      Very involved            5.      Not at all involved

            3.      Somewhat involved    6.      DON’T KNOW

Answer these questions and provide any other thoughts by clicking “comments” below!

Giving Back to the Community

On June 8, MIBOR members will team up with The REALTOR® Foundation for a volunteer day, in continued celebration of our Centennial. Volunteers will make a difference for several REALTOR® Foundation grant recipients and neighbors of last year’s Building a Living Legacy neighborhood, St. Clair Place. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., volunteers will focus on projects including painting, cleaning carpets yard work and organizing donations. Please join us! Contact Claire Belby at clairebelby@mibor.com and let her know where you would like to volunteer your time on June 8. Visit www.mibor100.com for a list of locations and more information.

Volunteerism deeply rooted in MIBOR history…

Volunteerism is not a new thing in our industry. Over the years, MIBOR members have showcased their civic pride in a variety of ways. When the MIBOR Board of Directors discussed forming the MIBOR Foundation (Now the REALTOR® Foundation) in 1984, they were driven by a desire to give back to the community.

“For a lot of us, we felt that there was something missing in our Board activities. But we could not quite put our finger on what it was…when it came to our relationship with the community, we would often enjoy the benefits of our relationship with our community, in terms of sales, profits and success in the industry,” said Don “Pooch” Hunter former Foundation member. “In order to keep that flow going, we needed to cultivate a relationship in which we could also give back and strengthen the very community that helped strengthen or organization. It was reciprocal.” – Excerpt from REALTORS®: Opening Doors For 100 Years

Even before the MIBOR Foundation was formed, our members regularly engaged in volunteer activities.

“The Board organized a number of activities designed to improve communities and strengthen neighborhood development including neighborhood cleanup projects, small home-improvement initiatives, tree plantings, and playground installations. In the early 1980s the Board developed a project called “Operation Cooperation.” Members worked with residents in the Forest Manor development to clean yards, paint homes and plant flowers and shrubbery around the neighborhood. To celebrate the Board’s 75^th anniversary in 1987, the Foundation focused on cultivating an ongoing partnership with New Hope of Indiana, a medical treatment facility for mentally – and physically-handicapped children in the region. The Foundation also worked with the Indianapolis Parks Foundation to help raise money to renovate parks throughout the city.” –Excerpt from REALTORS®: Opening Doors For 100 Years

REALTORS® have continued to give back to the community in recent years as well. Just this past year, MIBOR members donated $500,000 to lift up an emerging neighborhood through the Building a Living Legacy Centennial Project. MIBOR worked in partnership with the John H. Boner Community Center, Indy-east Asset Development Corp, and other partners for more than three years to renovate and/or build 32 homes, which (the number selected to represent 32 NFL cities) to house 32 families coming out of, or on the verge of, homelessness. Each home provides permanent supportive housing on a continual basis with vital social services provided by the John H. Boner Community Center. Throughout the project, members have spent a lot of time in the Building a Living Legacy neighborhood, cleaning up trash, planting flowers, laying down mulch and more – a true testament of the commitment made to this project.

As we look forward, there is no question that the philanthropic giving and volunteering will only continue to grow within our industry. Have you played a part? If you’re interested in getting more involved, please connect with us. 


Lacey Everett
MIBOR Communications Specialist

It’s a People Business…Have you Heard that Before?

Working on MIBOR’s centennial history book provided a series of “awakenings” for me. I have been a staff member of MIBOR for the last 10 years.  While that length of service pales in comparison the amount of time many members have devoted to the industry and the association, by today’s standards of employment, a decade is a decent run. With that tenure, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the heart and the feel of the place. What I learned while helping compile materials for the history project was that I was both right and wrong.

How was I wrong? It’s always good to get that out of the way first, right? Namely, I thought the history would be boring and, frankly, a little predictable. WRONG. I didn’t expect the stories and the people to be as dynamic, colorful and transformative as they turned out to be. I had often heard stories about Bud Tucker and Helen Hirt and others and I knew they were important leaders that ushered in decisions and policies for the business of the board. What I didn’t think about was the impact they had on the way people think and act. Bud instituted a philanthropic and community development spirit that many people say led to the REALTOR® Foundation and MIBOR’s significant economic development focus. Helen turned the “old boys club” upside down by being as tough and shrewd as the best of them. She did it all and ultimately broke the glass ceiling making it possible for women to play the prominent role they do today. And those are only two examples of many others.

The book published to honor the centennial, REALTORS®: Opening Doors for 100 Years, contains countless stories that illustrate the people who have shaped this region and industry. Reading this book and watching the companion video is time well spent to understand not only how we got to this point, but – most importantly – who got us here.

That’s where I was right. It’s about the people, then and now. In the last ten years I have been continually amazed at how much time and energy members put back into the association on top of the crazed, unpredictable work lives they lead. It may have started 100 years ago, but it’s still true today. There are plenty of you who jump in with both feet, push for change and make the industry – and everyone in it – better.  

Claire Belby
MIBOR Communications Director

REAL to Past President – Larry’s Ride

They say the REAL classes are used to identify future leaders of MIBOR. But that doesn’t mean me, right? I am a relatively new member and an appraiser so they obviously don’t mean people like me when they say that, right? Well, as I found out the road starts with a single first step…

I applied for REAL with very little understanding of what MIBOR does, let alone what was included in the REAL program. In what I am sure was a case of charity to the lonely appraiser applicant, I was selected to be part of the class. I spent most of the sessions saying things like “I didn’t know MIBOR did that…” and “I have lived in Indianapolis my entire life and didn’t know that was there…” and “Wow, that is really cool!” At one of the sessions the moderator (aka the person running the show, your coach, mentor and all around great person) asked our group if anyone was interested in applying for the MPAC Board of Trustees. My response was “What is MPAC and why do they need a Board of Trustees?” Oh, that is the political action committee. Well, I like politics, right? So I said I would be interested. Little did I know I had just taken step two.

So now I am on this MPAC Trustee thing with nothing in my skill set except my good looks!! Oh, and I had been through REAL. It was then that I realized how much the REAL program gave me the skills to be a productive part of the group. When the trustees discussed issues, I would invariably start my comments with “Well, in REAL, we did/discussed/heard…”  There I was with all of these veterans of MIBOR collectively possessing a Fort Knox worth of experience and knowledge. But I was holding my own because of REAL.

Now I have been through REAL and sat on the MPAC Trustees for a year. Time to retire, right? Time to hang up the cleats and retire the jersey. This good ole boy has reached the apex of his talent limit.

Wait… What?? There’s an opening on the MIBOR Board of Directors? What does that have to do with me? You think I might be a good candidate? Why? Because I was did REAL? Oh, well that makes sense, I guess.

I remember from REAL these Board of Directors people set the direction of the organization. Now I am one of them. This group must be crazy allowing me in the room. But look, there are several of my REAL classmates on the Board with me. I know these guys! This is fun! And you know what, that MIBOR staff actually gets things done. This isn’t a waste of time. In fact, this is the only professional organization I have been involved with that actually sets goals and gets them done. What’s that, Heather (my wife)? Yes, I do talk a lot about MIBOR these days. It is fun because we actually get things done! Okay I will try to talk about something else. Did I mention you have pretty eyes? Silence…

Now it is REALLY time to retire. REAL, MPAC and now the Board!!! Look ma, your boy did good! He soared with the eagles. What are those guys whispering about? Do I have something sticking out of my nose? Yes, I need a haircut, but you don’t need to stare at me. Executive Committee? No, no, no. You have confused me with someone else. I must have had too many cocktails because I think they just asked me to run for Secretary/Treasurer – Elect. Well, I like serving on this Board and four more years of it would be cool, but I really need to work on other topics to talk to Heather about!

On the big stage giving a speech at the Ball as incoming President. Good thing those bright lights keep me from seeing the audience. I need to blink my eyes. What? My year is over? Now I am officially a Past President? My picture goes on the wall with all those giants of organization. Doesn’t seem real. The one thing I still want to do is be the Moderator (remember the coach and all around good guy) of REAL. Which happened. My REAL class was good, but this class will be great! Not because of my influence, but because I learned when leading great people, the best move is often to get out of their way.  

What a ride. All I did was fill out an application for REAL. I took that first step. I put myself out there into a world I knew very little about. It was more than a little scary. And I wouldn’t change the ride. If asked, my advice is run, don’t walk, run your REAL application to MIBOR. You may not have the same ride as me, but you might. And that is worth the time to fill out the application. 

Larry Mitchell
Mitchell Appraisals
REAL Moderator, 2011-2012
MIBOR Past-President, 2009