Text Box: Shannon Hill, 2009 Association President

Text Box: June, 2009

Text Box: Volume II Issue vi

Text Box: Banquet Center Update   Dear Polly   Dear Polly Back-Stories   Education   Legislative Update   MLS News & Notes   MLS Stats   MLS Charts   MLS Tip   New Members   Right Tools, Right Now   Board of Directors   BCAR Staff     Text Box: Summer has arrived and as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our country, my husband and I are preparing to celebrate the birth of our little boy.  Thank you for allowing me to take the month of June off from our newsletter to focus on my nesting urgencies.  We seem to have most everything in order now and hope to be sending you a notice soon of his arrival.   We didn’t have a scheduled BOD meeting in May, but did have the opportunity to finish on many important items during our June meeting on the 25th.  We met with our auditing firm and received finalized reports for the 2008 year and our CPA also confirmed our 2009 YTD through the end of May figures.  This took longer than expected as there were significant portions of 2008 financials that had not been input, calculated or analyzed when we took over this task.  We know there have been lots of questions about our financials and we simply haven’t had completed figures to share with our membership.  As approved from our May BOD meeting and stated in our May Newsletter, we will be issuing a quarterly financial report starting in July or August when we have the first half of the year approved.  Hopefully that will answer some of the questions that each of you have as well as remove the fear that we have some shroud of secrecy over the business that we are conducting at BCAR.  Your BOD was also in agreement for the Executive Committee to hold several informational sessions with our membership to give you a better idea of where we are and how we got here.  Tough economic times abound but we are all dedicated to navigating our way through this.  Be on the look out for announcements on the informational sessions soon.   In June we held our annual Media Luncheon and combined it with our Legislative Impact Forum.  We had great press coverage receiving multiple positive articles from the Sun News and The State Port Pilot.  Presenters Mary Ann McCarthy, Steve Candler and NAR Representative Chris Gosselin presented our local market conditions, legislative challenges and approved national stimulus packages related to housing. (Click here to see Steve’s Legislative Report for updates on the Coastal Insurance fight.   For further local exposure, we will be hosting the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours” event on July 23rd.  Be on the lookout for upcoming announcements and please be sure to join us for networking, food and fun.  We need as many ambassadors for our banquet facilities at BCAR as possible.   Our August General Membership Meeting on the 11th is rapidly approaching.  Ken Fears, Senior Economist with NAR, will be attending and presenting information on the housing industry to our membership.  It is a rare opportunity that we are able to capitalize on such notable speakers.  This is part of NAR’s “Right Tools, Right Now” program and comes at no charge to our membership.  Staff is also busy researching the possibility of holding a foreclosure seminar in conjunction with NAR, later, as part of the same program.  In addition, we hope to have available at the GMM proposed changes to our Bylaws to allow for online voting at our annual election.  It has currently been approved by your BOD and has been sent to the Bylaws Committee for change and revision recommendations.  Any bylaw change must be approved by the General Membership before it takes effect.  Please don’t miss out on this important meeting to allow your voice to be heard.   As you can see, your BCAR Staff, Board of Directors, and Committees have been hard at work to bring you the best opportunities available in this challenging environment.  I can’t thank them enough for the long hours of dedication that they have given and sacrificed for the betterment of our association.  Hopefully each of you will take the time to thank them for working in all of our best interests as well.  

Text Box: Is coming to BCAR! Check our “Education” link for details on this course and many other fine offerings, including Seminars, CE and more! Text Box: REALTOR® Store

Text Box: Brunswick County Health Department   REVISED FEE SCHEDULE   Effective July 1, 2009

Text Box: Habitat for Humanity FUNDRAISER SUCCESS SUCCESS!