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"The following article represents the comments, opinions, and information as provided by the author, Steve Alexander, and does not necessarily represent the comments or opinions of the Sussex County Association of REALTORS®, Inc. (SCAOR), its officers, directors, employees or agents nor has SCAOR verified or provided the information as contained in the article."
Dear Members: I have received on several separate occasions, as both a Board Member and as a REALTOR®, a list of concerns put together by Nick Carter, a REALTOR® and a member of our Association, who is opposed to the expansion, modernization, and renovation of our Association's current office space in Georgetown and I feel that I must voice my opinion and concerns over his notes of opposition. I will start with agreement on one of his points and that is when Mr. Carter asks members to "Get Involved" and, additionally, come to the meeting on January 10th at the Cheer Center in Georgetown, DE . No matter your position on the matters on the agenda of the General Membership meeting, it is crucial for members to attend and be heard. One of the proposed By-Laws changes deals with a change to the percentage of members to constitute a quorum - this request is being made because it has been, historically, extremely difficult to get 10% of our membership to participate in a General Membership meeting regardless of the meal provided or the issues to be discussed. Without a quorum being present in 2006, we would have been unable to approve the purchase and implementation of the Sentri-Lock program that has proven to be extremely successful and a great benefit to our membership. Further, I would commend Mr. Carter for asking members to "Get Involved" in that this is the only way that our Association can function. The members are the Association, and those of us that have elected to volunteer and serve, are also members. It is great to see the passion that has been stirred in so many who have hardly been heard from over the last several years, inclusive of Mr. Carter, who self-admittedly is "eager to be involved after 10 years of apathy". Our Association is not run by the Board of Directors, your elected officers, and the Staff at SCAOR, but merely stewarded by this group. The Association, rightfully so, is run by those members that care enough to be involved and donate countless hours sitting on Committees, serving on the Board, attending meetings that are open to all members, and to participate. The Association is not a closed society only available to a few, but open to all that seek to join. I look forward to working with all new converts to this reality as they will continue to bring fresh perspectives, ideas, and energy to our Association. I understand that it is not possible for all to give always, we all have other commitments in our lives, but to give to our Association in some way is all that can be asked. To the points of disagreement that I have with Mr. Carter's additional positions: Mr. Carter raises concerns about the "slanted" nature of articles published in our Association's e-newsletter, At a Glance, promoting the $850,000 expansion and remodeling of our office in Georgetown. I believe that the articles state facts about the project, presents a timeline of events that have caused us to arrive where we are, and gives a fair presentation of what is proposed and is to be presented to the membership for a vote and a request for approval. If there is any editorial material contained in the articles, one might claim the last paragraph stakes a position, but even that is relatively mild in comparison to the information put out by those opposed to this project. The information provided is not based in opinion or stated in the form of an argument - it is a simple reporting of facts that has been repeated verbatim for much of November and all of December in At a Glance. Because one holds a different opinion on whether the Association should be moving forward with a long planned project does not make the facts in this case "slanted". At a Glance is the main vehicle of communication within our Association that reaches out to all members and is not the exclusive mouth piece of our Board of Directors. At a Glance can appropriately be used as a forum for discussion on issues that affect all of us as individual members of our Association and I would hope that Mr. Carter will avail himself of this forum to share his opinions. Repeatedly over the past several years, solicitations have been made to the Membership to contribute to this publication with information and articles that will benefit all members. Mr. Carter's additional 16 points of opposition, as I interpret them, can basically be distilled into two categories:
To my first summation of Mr. Carter's arguments, I do understand the position that now is a bad time in our market, as it is generally across the Nation, and can understand Mr. Carter taking that the position he does in regards to the current state of affairs in the industry. My exception to his opposition is two fold: I believe that at some point in the future the market will turn around as it has time and again when faced with a downturn. I, additionally, believe that the Association is following a plan that has been in place for some time and is addressing a need that we have currently with a solution that looks to the future of our organization. The Boards that have served previously looked at the growth of our organization and realized that there would be a need for an expansion as we continued to increase in size and needs and have planned accordingly. The Association operates under a Strategic Plan which provides a road map for the organization even as the stewards continually change. This Strategic Plan is periodically reviewed and updated by both elected officials and members at large from our Association; the latest occurrence of this was last spring with the aid of Gar Anderson, NAR's VP of Leadership Development. As Mr. Carter was kind enough to allude in his argument, the Association has indeed saved the money necessary to provide full funding for the outfitting of both the renovations and the expansion. This is not based on anticipated but unrealized revenues, increases in membership, or any other proposed revenue plan - we have the money in the bank to complete this project. During each budget year, for the past several, the Board has put away reserves for technology, the building, and for operations based on the plans laid out in our Strategic Plan. Additionally, following the Strategic Plan, allows for a consistency of purpose and mission for our organization versus operating in a reactionary way to what is happening today and tomorrow, not next week, month, or year. For those that opt to participate in both the creation and execution of these plans, the current and future need for the expansion of our facility is clear. It is true that we are in a down market currently and we potentially will lose members over the next few years (interesting to note that the Board budgeted for a loss of 250 members in 2007 and we actually gained members while in 2008 we have budgeted for a loss of just under 300 members and have lost 60). This potential loss of members does potentially decrease demands on the office as it currently is outfitted but we are overcapacity as is. For those that sit on any of the Committees, participate on hearing panels, or participate in classes at the office, you are aware of the number of times that these meetings must occur off site because another group is using the space or classes are full because we can only accommodate a fixed number. Members of the office staff currently sit in what once was a copy room and the copier sits in our foyer - a nice professional image and greeting to any guests that might come to visit the office. I respect Mr. Carter's historical perspective when he refers to his days in California in the 90's and I do not posses a crystal ball to say that we will or we will not face some of the same hardships or trials that he did then, but I do believe that ultimately the market will return, as it has time and again historically, and that to delay the building until that happens will create hardships for the organization and continue to hamper the growth of our organization when the good times return. To my second summation of Mr. Carter's argument, I am in opposition to the supposition that the $850,000 can be put to better use by the Association at this time or in the future as is proposed by Mr. Carter and his "ground swell" of supporters. I think it to be a mismanagement of our member dues to propose that we orchestrate a "blitz marketing" campaign to counteract the attack of mainstream media. Of any of Mr. Carter's proposals, the only one that seems plausible, though I am not in agreement, would be to continue to invest the money that we have and reap the returns based on performance. The current and historical status of our Association's marketing: In 2005, 2006 and for most of 2007, SCAOR employed a PR/Marketing Agency, Aloysius, Butler, & Clark, to coordinate a public awareness campaign. AB&C placed articles every other week in local publications as well as at other local events. Additionally, we ran a 6 month campaign in local newspapers that coincided with the NAR Awareness Campaign. In June of 2007, the Board felt that AB & C was not bringing measurable value and that a member driven initiative may be more successful. A Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) was formed and Members have been repeatedly encouraged to participate including Mr. Carter. Since June of 2007, members have been leading the charge with articles and promotional activities as well as paid print that coordinates with efforts put forth and ads produced by NAR. To this end, we have also used print and radio to promote REALTORS® throughout Sussex County. Additionally, on several occasions during 2007, we called for members to contribute by writing articles or helping the PR/Marketing Advisory Group to accomplish the goal of Awareness of Sussex County REALTORS® and our marketplace. To Mr. Carter's point, we might be able to hire another "advertising agency or marketing consultants" to come up with a slick professional campaign to promote our market to those that we want to buy and rent here. My concern, as I had with AB&C, was how do we measure the return on our investment? Many of the common barometers don't apply - revenue growth, increased customer loyalty & perceived value, return on investment, market share gains, brand value or equity, increased profitability, sales conversions, or a myriad of determiners that I might use when approaching my personal expenditures for my own marketing campaign. How will each member know that their dues have been effectively spent? Though I am in agreement with Mr. Carter that the media is no friend to the real estate industry, locally or nationally, I think it is unrealistic to believe that, even with $850,000, our Association and our membership dues dollars will do much to change the tide of public opinion, as supported by those in the media, that the real estate industry is mired in a downturn from which we may never be extracted. Historically, SCAOR has not engaged in marketing of real estate specifically. Through your NAR dues and special assessments, you support a nationwide public awareness campaign that promotes the idea of using REALTORS® in all real estate transactions, even though in Sussex County, we already have an extremely high rate of participation in most real estate transactions. We have relied on the programs and resources that we all pay for from NAR rather than duplicate the effort. To market real estate in Sussex County effectively, one must also determine to which areas one might appeal. Is the REALTOR® that primarily operates in Seaford or some other Western portions of our county as interested in investing our advertising dollars in the suburbs of New York City, New Jersey, or Washington, DC? Or does this investment service the needs of the Member that primarily does business in 2nd homes at the Beach? How does the Association effectively and fairly service all of our Members' needs in this campaign? Equally important, any proposed money Sussex County spends in advertising helps all REALTORS®, not just SCAOR. Many of the vehicles used in the past to cover our marketing area also cover Kent County, Wicomico County and many other Associations' market areas. This expenditure will potentially provide a great bonus to those Associations around us without participation from them. Essentially, the Board has felt that spending our Members' resources to help promote all REALTORS® statewide or regionally, again with no measurable results, regardless of Association affiliation was not the best investment. Finally, I believe it is critical to understand that once the $850,000 is spent on the proposed "blitz campaign", the money is gone. If this proposed campaign is to take place, we could very easily and quickly spend our reserves and have nothing left to meet Members' future needs. Bricks, mortar, and technology are a tangible and obtainable investments for Members and the future of the Association that will increase in value as the years pass. In closing, I appreciate Mr. Carter speaking out in opposition to the proposed building plan and commend his new found interest in participating in the process. It is critical to have discussions of this nature to find the right path as we make our way into the future. If the majority of the Association feels that Mr. Carter is correct in his position, then that is how we move forward. At the same time, my hope and desire is that the Members will look at this issue and come to the same conclusions that I have - the Building Project will positively serve the Association and is a responsible use of our assets at present and for the future. As stated earlier, our Association is only as good as our members make it - each of us has a responsibility to participate and, hopefully, contribute to the greater good of our industry and the communities in which we work. Best regards,
Steve Alexander
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© Copyright 2008 Sussex County Association of REALTORS®
23407 Park Ave., Georgetown, DE 19947, USA Phone (302) 855-2300 ~ Fax (302) 855-2319 ~ info@scaor.com ~ www.scaor.com |
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