President’s Toronto SUN Column: REALTOR® QUEST Bring 6,500 REALTORS® Together
Posted by: Toronto Real Estate Admin / Category: Toronto RealtorTREB President’s Column as it appears every Friday in the Toronto Sun’s Resale Homes and Condos section.
May 23, 2014 — Former International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield shared some the many insights gained throughout his remarkable career with Greater Toronto REALTORS® at the Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) annual REALTOR® QUEST conference held May 7th and 8th at the Toronto Congress Centre.
Colonel Hadfield, who touched on the subjects of goal setting, diligence and teamwork, spoke on day two of the conference, headlining an outstanding lineup of speakers and events chosen to exemplify the theme of excellence on which this year’s conference was based.
Day one of the conference featured a “What’s Next?” panel of real estate executives who offered their insights into the current state of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate market and its outlook.
Moderated by AM640’s John Oakley, the panel included Andrew Cimerman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Homelife; Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage Canada; Howard Drukarsh, Co-founder and Vice-President of Right At Home Realty; Brian Rushton Executive Vice President of Century 21 Canada; Gurinder Sandhu, Executive Vice President and Regional Director of RE/MAX Ontario Atlantic Canada; and Rick Taron, National Director of Franchise Relations and Business Development for Sutton Group Realty Services.
The panelists shared similar perspectives on numerous topics including the harmful economic effects of the municipal land transfer tax, the importance of global investors to the GTA, the likelihood of intensification in all parts of the city, and the overall positive outlook for all housing types in the GTA, including condominiums.
The panel was held as part of the association’s Spring Annual Meeting, which also included a number of award presentations. Retiring TREB CEO Don Richardson was presented with TREB’s highest award, the Award of Merit, in recognition of his many contributions to the association and the profession. He was also honoured in a moving video in which Past Presidents offered commentary about his contributions. Past President Richard Silver was also recognized, receiving the Honourary Life Award in appreciation of his service as President during the 2011/2012 term. The association’s Commercial Network presented its Merit Award to Member Graham Purvis. Arthur Caplan, Joe Panchyshyn and Mario Vitelli were recognized with the David Rossi Committee Service Award, honouring outstanding contributions to TREB Committees, and Claudia DiPaola received the Community Service Award for her dedication to a range of charitable causes.
TREB Members also demonstrated their commitment to fostering quality of life in GTA communities, voting for the seventh consecutive year in favour of participating in the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation’s Every REALTOR® Campaign. The vote allows the association to make a donation equivalent to $1 per Member, per month for a year to the Foundation, resulting in a contribution of approximately $470,000.
As part of the meeting, election results were announced for TREB’s 2014/2015 Board of Directors. They are as follows:
- President: Paul Etherington
- President-Elect: Mark McLean
- Past President: Dianne Usher
- Director-at-Large: Sandra Rinomato, Donald Patterson, John Lusink, Don Kottick, Shirley Porter
- Central Brokerage Director: Tim Syrianos
- Central Non-Brokerage Director: Larry Cerqua
- West Brokerage Director: Garry Bhaura
- West Non-Brokerage Director: Michael Collins
- East Brokerage Director: Rosalind Menary
- East Non-Brokerage Director: Michelle Makos
- North Brokerage Director: Joseph Shum
- North Non-Brokerage Director: Karen Gerrard
The meeting also included an update from TREB President Dianne Usher and CEO Don Richardson on recent TREB initiatives as well as addresses from Ontario Real Estate Association President Costa Poulopoulos, Canadian Real Estate Association President Beth Crosbie and Real Estate Council of Ontario President and CEO Tom Wright.
Renowned real estate coach and trainer Brian Buffini complemented REALTOR® QUEST’s lineup of expert speakers, offering two sessions at the conference in which he provided those in attendance with strategies for succeeding in a new era of real estate. Also featured through the conference’s complimentary Learning Quest component were sessions on TREB’s MLS® System: New Stratus, and its public records offering: propertyline™, as well as a seminar on issues surrounding the home inspection condition, offered by Mark Weisleder, LL.B.
The gathering of more than 6,500 TREB Members included its share of entertainment offerings as well. The OREA Centre Stage, which was surrounded by more than 200 exhibitors spanning 280,000 square feet of space, featured Mysterion the Mind Reader; a choral performance by students from Valley Park Middle School – a beneficiary of the TREB-sponsored Children’s Breakfast Program; and popular REALTOR® game shows: ‘TREBARDY’, ‘Is Your Price Right?’ and ‘Money Grab’. The trade show’s Health Quest section also returned, offering complimentary massages, an oxygen bar, interactive health screenings and golf swing analysis.
Plans are now underway for next year’s event.
Dianne Usher is President of the Toronto Real Estate Board,
a professional association that represents 39,000 REALTORS®
in the Greater Toronto Area.
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Article source: http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/market_news/president_columns/pres_sun_col/index.htm
Tags: Toronto Realtor