Updates from your board of directors

WinnipegREALTORS® strives to maintain open communication between its board of directors, its committees and the general membership.

Here is a summary of the actions your committees are diligently focused on.

Member Services Committee — Catherine Schellenberg, chair. Member services is deep into planning a progressive and informative annual conference to stimulate your thinking and build your potential for even greater success. This year’s conference, coined “REALTOR® Reset,” is scheduled to be held at the Victoria Inn and Conference Centre on October 19, 2017. Significant format and layout changes have been imagined by the conference committee and are sure to make the day a powerful opportunity for you to engage, learn top marketing and technology tips, and build your brand. Once all of the hundreds of small details are completed, this high performing committee will move on to the sit -down dinner plans for the new format President’s Gala (replacing Awards Night). More details on this event will be forthcoming, but we think you should know we have booked the Danny Kramer Dance Band. So practice busting those moves like Jagger so you can impress your colleagues and associates!

MLS® Committee — Catherine Schellenberg, chair. There is no doubt from our digital analytics that mobile audiences are engaging with our sites around the 50% mark. Understanding this means we must think and grow our digital technology capabilities. To support advancement in this regard, one of our preferred suppliers, Prospects, presented their newly released mobile GoAgent app, which accesses on-market MLS® properties, effectively acting as an MLS® system you carry in your pocket. Further consideration of the app was discussed at the 2017 Strategic Planning Session.

IRBM Presentation — At the August 31 meeting of the Board of Directors, Lynda Bowman, IRBM president, and Kourosh Doustshenas, IRBM vice president, presented to the assembled directors, proposals to increase cooperation between the two organizations. Only through mutual collaboration on reciprocal issues, coupled with common shared knowledge and resources, will both groups flourish and benefit their respective members. The IRBM counts among its members 48 broker-owners, with its membership more than doubling over the last two years. They can boast of maintaining an excellent speakers program, plus experiencing a camaraderie that occurs from sharing similar business models, practices and clientele. By establishing a functional bilateral model, the IRBM can provide for its members increased participation and advocacy with respect to situations that affect the industry as a whole, enhanced education and member enrichment, and greater accountability to the association and fellow members. WinnipegREALTORS® President Blair Sonnichsen echoed similar sentiments, offering assurances that the Board is sensitive to IRBM’s core focus and will endeavor to maintain the mutual cooperation necessary to benefit all represented members.

MREA presentation — David Salvatore, Manitoba Real Estate Association CEO, and Chris Pennycook, Manitoba Real Estate Association president, were present at the August 31 Board of Directors meeting to discuss on-going strategic priorities that affect the entire real estate industry, including recent changes to the RLE program, changes resulting from the implementation of RESA and the regulations to Bill 70, advocacy, relationship building and economic development. Further details and refinements to the on-going Let’s Pay Fair campaign and the upcoming commercial land transfer tax were recounted for the board. It was reinforced that greater partnership between MREA and WinnipegREALTORS® must be undertaken to renew the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that exists between the two organizations.

The Government Relations, REN/PR, and Technology committees did not meet over the summer, nor did the Commercial Division council and the SDEC. These groups are looking forward to reconvening in September and digging deep as they finalize their current projects and files such as Keystone 2.0 and CPIX® powered by Catylist, and start preparing for next year’s strategic objectives.