The right thing to do

Texas REALTORS® stay busy year-round helping others, giving back to the communities that provide them a living.

by John Gormley   Across Texas, thousands of REALTORS® and nearly 100 local REALTOR® organizations are helping people in their communities. A comprehensive report on REALTORS® in community service would take several entire issues of the magazine, but here’s a brief collection of examples demonstrating how Texas REALTORS® are doing their part to help neighbors in need.

Houston REALTORS® provide lifeboat

Every American remembers Sept. 11, 2001. Yet another date, also from this year, is infamous among Houston residents: June 9, when an unrelenting rainstorm left entire neighborhoods and the first-floor of many commercial buildings underwater.

The Houston Association of REALTORS® acted quickly—sending $10,000 to the Red Cross and another $10,000 directly to Fort Bend and Houston families. In addition, Houston-area REALTORS® contributed another $16,000 to the cause, which HAR pledged to match.

"Houston REALTORS® did not hesitate to jump in and help families affected by the flood," says HAR’s Linda Bell.

Tyler’s the right habitat for service

Tyler REALTORS® built their first Habitat for Humanity home this July. The Greater Tyler Association of REALTORS®, Cornerstone Brokerage, First American Title Company, The Tyler Chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, and Landmark Title helped fund and build the home, which was sold to the participating family with an interest-free mortgage note.

"This is a dream come true for our family," says the new homeowner, Valerie Foreman. The Foremans put in the required 500 volunteer hours on the house—and then some. "We plan to keep volunteering with Habitat as long as we can."

The Tyler association also sponsors an annual dinner for policemen, firemen, sheriff’s department deputies, paramedics, highway patrolmen, FBI, and all peace-officer organizations in Smith and Wood counties. "This was started in 1995 as a means of letting the area peace officers know how much the association members appreciated what they did for the community on a day-to-day basis," says Mary Lou Whitham, association executive.

Association members cook everything for the dinner except the meat, which is catered. They also do all the decorating, serving, and cleaning. "And we have no problems soliciting door prizes from the local merchants," Whitham adds. "Once we explain whom we are honoring, almost all of them ask how many door prizes we need. It seems everyone wants to say thank you to these courageous men and women. This was especially true this year."

Temple-Belton ensures no one goes hungry

In October, the Temple-Belton Board of REALTORS® completed its 12th year of Friends Feeding Friends, a county-wide food drive that collected more than 151,085 pounds of non-perishable food items for families in Temple, Belton, Salado, Academy, Rogers, and Bartlett.

The food collected in each participating city is disbursed through that city’s local food pantry.

Dallas REALTORS® do their part

For the past 18 years, members of the Greater Dallas Association of REALTORS® have helped Dallas-area homeowners through GDAR’s annual Paint the Town program. This year, five teams of REALTORS®—in North Dallas, Southwest Dallas, East Dallas, Oak Cliff, and Far North Dallas—fixed up 13 houses.

"We work with the city’s housing department to identify homes that are owned by elderly or disabled residents who are not capable of painting or repairing damage to their homes," says Bill Roth, GDAR president. "We do the manual labor for them."

Willing and able in Waco

The Waco Association of REALTORS® keeps busy. For eight years, members have collected toys for the Salvation Army—and last year donated more than $10,000 worth of toys to the cause. The association also supports Children In Crisis, a local program in conjunction with police departments; Meals On Wheels, delivering two routes a week; and AngelCare, collecting and distributing clothing and household goods to area families.

Northeast Tarrant County takes team approach

The Northeast Tarrant County Board of REALTORS® has a community involvement team that sponsors several projects a year, including Penny Power, Operation Open Arms, and Cans For Caring.

The Penny Power program identifies then repairs, paints, and refurbishes the homes of seniors and handicapped residents. The association recruits contractors to help provide services, such as power washing the homes to prepare for painting, and materials. And REALTOR® volunteers do the bulk of the work.

Operation Open Arms is a program and shelter for women and children in abusive situations, providing transitional services to help them become self-sufficient. Members of the association raise money for children’s clothes purchases, and Wal-Mart provides a 10% discount to help stretch the budget. Association team members collected more than $15,000 in 2000 for 43 children and, so far, $14,000 in 2001 for 30 children currently in the program, with more to come.

Cans For Caring is an annual canned-food and supply drive conducted either in November for Thanksgiving or December for Christmas. In 1999, the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth received all canned-food goods collected in the drive. Last year, Christ’s Haven for Children in Keller was the recipient and, this year, the Community Enrichment Center in North Richland Hills gets the nod.

The American Society of Association Executives has chosen Northeast Tarrant County’s community relations team for three years running for the nationwide Associations Advance America Honor Roll. NETC also gives $1,000 scholarships to 13 area high schools each year.

Preserving history in Permian Basin

The Permian Basin Board of REALTORS® has its own unique story to tell. It involves something familiar: buying a house. Only this was not your normal deal. The association decided it would preserve a piece of history by orchestrating the purchase of President George W. Bush’s childhood home in Midland.

"We are very proud of our community and new president, and wanted to ensure that both he and his childhood home were appropriately honored," says Jana Tucker, board president.

The Permian Basin board closed the sale of the property at 1412 W. Ohio St. back in April. Since transfer of the title to George W. Bush Childhood Home Inc., a massive community fundraising drive has been under way to restore the property built in 1940 and occupied by the Bush family from 1951 to 1955.

"Midland and the Permian Basin will be forever grateful to (seller) Mark Edmiaston for his great community spirit," Tucker says. "His decision to place the property in the public domain for its historical significance, rather than seek personal monetary gain, is to be commended."

Corpus Christi walks the talk

The Corpus Christi Association of REALTORS® Walk With Pride program has provided more than 5,000 pairs of shoes to needy children. "I hate to see a kid go without," says Walk With Pride founder Val Valentine, a 71-year-old member of the association. "Most of these kids’ parents are working families…just people having hard times."

Valentine started Walk With Pride back in 1984. Since then, the program has raised nearly $70,000 for new shoes. The local office of the Department of Human Services recommends kids for the program, and the kids and their parents are invited to Payless Shoe Store a few days before school starts each year to pick out their shoes. If the shoes are less than $9, the children can choose two pairs. The children also receive a grab bag of school supplies.

Walk With Pride, which has been adopted by REALTOR® associations in Abilene, Kingsville, and elsewhere, furnished 531 pairs of shoes to Corpus Christi children this year. "It’s all worth it to see the kids smile—when they get the shoes they want and they’re so proud of them," Valentine says.

Lubbock REALTOR® a good neighbor, too

Doris Attebury of R/E Professional Consultants in Lubbock is one of only five recipients nationwide in this year’s Good Neighbor Awards, an NAR program that honors individual REALTORS® who make exceptional contributions to improve the quality of life in their communities. Attebury is the only Texas REALTOR® so far to make this elite list, although the Good Neighbor Awards are still relatively new, having just completed a second year. Attebury and the East Lubbock Special Angels gather donated materials—such as food, clothing, and furniture—and distribute them to needy families in their community of Chapel Hill.

Many of the donations come from Attebury’s real estate clients. She says that people appreciate that their items are not sold—they like the fact that the families in need directly get the items contributed.

Attebury and the other four Good Neighbor Awards winners from across the nation received $5,000 grants in the name of their community projects, plus travel expenses to attend NAR’s REALTORS® Conference & Expo last month in Chicago.

There just aren’t enough trees in East Texas to publish all the ways individual Texas REALTORS®, real estate firms, and associations contribute. The important point is that REALTORS® don’t just buy and sell houses in a community—they live there, too. Through their involvement, they make others’ lives better. And that’s what being part of a community is all about.

John Gormley is director of communications and marketing for TAR.

Photo © PictureQuest.

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