2008 December Newsletter - Alaska Association of Realtors

News Bites from Around the
Anchorage
The annual meeting was held
on October 8, 2008 at Aladdin
Restaurant. Congratulations to
ART CLARK as REALTOR®
OF THE YEAR, and to KEL-
LY GRAWUNDER as REAL-
TOR® AFFILIATE OF THE
YEAR. The Board wishes to
retiring Board member Mark
Korting for his years of service
to the Anchorage Board of RE-
ALTORS®.
Welcome to the new Board members:
Connie Bates, Coldwell
Banker Best Properties; Kevin
Cross, Keller Williams Realty;
Erin Eker, Dynamic Properties
Girdwood; Laura Halverson,
Dynamic Properties; Charlie
Sandberg, Keller Williams
Realty; and Jennifer Toomer,
Keller Williams Realty.
The quarterly Brokers’ Forum
was held on October 24 with 8
in attendance.
ABR will offer the GRI series in
2009 at the BP Energy Center.
We are in the process of scheduling
PLE and CE marathons
during 2009, and again in January
2010.
The Annual Market Forecast
has been scheduled for January
7th at the Sheraton Anchorage
Hotel. AAR’s incoming president,
Russell Joyce, will install
ABR’s 2009 Board of Directors
at this event. Speakers include:
John Carmen, Homestate Mortgage;
Neal Fried, Alaska Department
of Labor; Colleen Harrington,
Alaska USA Mortgage;
Niel Thomas, Coldwell Banker
Best Properties; John Peterson,
Merrill Lynch; and Jeff Thon,
Jack White Commercial.
ABR conducted successful mediations
on October 3rd, October
14th and again on Novem-
The Anchorage Board is in the
process of developing a new
website. Stay tuned!
Fairbanks
In Fairbanks, we have continued
to run our PR advertising campaign,
which has been very well
received. We recently ran an ad
promoting the MLS featuring
the business signs from each of-
together for your Real Estate
News Miner partnered with us to
run this ad, and we really appreciate
their assistance in promoting
homeownership throughout
this year. Additionally, GFBR
was just recognized by Fairbanks
Neighborhood Services
Valley
ing
and busy time for the Valley
Board of REALTORS®. It started
in late-September with VBR
hosting the State Convention at
the beautiful and picturesque
McKinley Princess Lodge. The
4 day event was a great success
with national speakers, a record
number of trade show vendors,
top notch education, and
of course, memorable evening
events.
In October, we moved into our
new building! The new “VBR
na
Ave. in Wasilla is VBR’s new
home. We boast a beautiful new
and amazing views. In addition,
we have two commercial tenant
are currently available for lease.
We are very pleased with the
outcome of our new building.
cess
watching this concept come
to fruition. Our 2008 President,
Brad Cole, was the key player
in the building project. Not only
and land, he also acted as our
general contractor. For the tireless
time and effort Brad contributed
to the VBR Centre, the
VBR Board of Directors have
dedicated the building to Bradford
Cole.
In early November, three VBR
representatives attended the
(Newsbites, continue on page 18)
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