NEFAR was one of five REALTOR Boards who were represented at Florida Realtors' District 1 Conference at First Coast Technical College in St. Augustine on June 22. The meeting was hosted by the St. Johns County & St. Augustine Board of REALTORS. Florida Realtors' District Vice President Berta Odom was the mistress of ceremonies.
After introducing District 1’s 2024 District Vice President Susan McQuillan of Gainesville, Odom recognized Vivian Browning of Vilano Beach as a new NAR Emeritus member. A member of the St. Johns County & St. Augustine Board of REALTORS, Browning is also a secondary member of NEFAR. As an Emeritus member, she has been active in real estate for more than 40 years.
The group also enjoyed three, half-hour “breakout” sessions taught by popular Florida Realtors’ instructors. NEFAR member Gonzalo Mejia spoke about “Understanding Expectations and Mindset.” Omar Capellan advised on “Leadership – S.M.A.R.T. Goals.” And Zola Szerencses shared several “Time Management Tips on Steriods.”
The keynote address, “How to be more interesting than a cell phone,” was given by Deedre Daniels. A former corporate America executive, Daniels grew tired of living a boring and uninspired life. During her talk, she explained how she took a leap of faith to leave her insurance career for perceived opportunities with a much smaller company. When she was let go nine months after she was hired, she decided to align her life with her values by founding two businesses – one to make money, and the other to give it away, with the goal of pushing positive energy into the world. Her nonprofit, The Big Fat Tip® delivers hope through giving surprise $1,000 tips to strangers. Her for-profit business is called, The Interesting Conversations Company® and it helps individuals stand out and attract more opportunities by using a unique three-part formula that encourages creativity and laughter as a way to build stronger connections with others. During her talk, Daniels provided several tips to help her REALTOR® listeners engage better in conversation.
Attendees also had an opportunity to meet two Florida Realtors® candidates, Jeffrey Levine and Cynthia Birge, who are running for secretary of the state association, and receive an update from Vice President Tim Weisheyer and Treasurer Chuck Bonfiglio of Florida Realtors®.
NEFAR member Mary Kathryn Levy of Iron Valley Real Estate North was the big winner of the numerous drawings that were held during the day. She won $1,000 in Amazon gift cards.
