President’s Message

How quickly the year has passed and how quickly our lives have changed.

With a slowing economy and a "high tech recession", the 2001 real estate market was in a state of flux entering the 4th quarter, but nothing could have prepared us for September 11th.  However, our country and industry is stronger as a result. Many of you may be unaware, but two days after the tragedy, GWCAR's Board approved a $5,000 donation to The REALTOR^® Relief Fund. The National Association of REALTORS^® initiated this fund for the purpose of providing assistance to families who were affected to defray mortgage or rent costs.  To date, over $8 million has been collected with over $7 million dispersed. An even more remarkable statistic is that NONE of this money went to cover OVERHEAD.  It is a truly remarkable feat of which all of us should feel very proud.

Our accomplishments this year pale in comparison to the Relief Fund, yet we had another banner year. Membership is up more than 7%, all of our events were extremely successful, we are recognized as a political force and our cash position has once again increased at year-end. None of these could have been accomplished without the tireless efforts of your Board and the amazing staff that we are blessed to have on our side.  My deepest thanks go out to each and every one of them. While we were successful in many of our endeavors, there are a number of things on which we are working on your behalf that will carry over for the next few years - many of which you will soon hear about.

As I hand the reigns of our organization to Phillip Thomas, I would like to congratulate him and ask for everyone's continual support.  Phillip has been actively involved in the public policy arena this year and I know that he is very interested in keeping GWCAR in the forefront of the issues that are confronting our industry.

I cannot thank all the people that have made my year as President a very smooth one, but all the Board members who volunteer their time and the GWCAR staff's dedication are unparalleled.  My year as President and my past years on the Board have been truly rewarding experiences, and I strongly encourage your participation in GWCAR. Our organization is our voice and the more voices that we have embodying the membership; the louder that voice can resonate in arenas that will allow our industry to continue to flourish.

Thank you!

Scott Johnston

2001 President