A unexpectedly amazing start to 2020 - honored by the Sacramento Association of Realtors as the "Realtor of the Year"

I was really excited for the 2020 Sacramento Association of Realtors Officers and Directors Installation event this year, because after serving 8 years on the Board of Directors, this year I stepped up to serve the association at a higher level as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board. What I was not expecting was to be the recipient of the 2019 "REALTOR of the Year" award.

This is the highest honor given by the association. An Awards Committee selects the recipient and the criteria is quite rigorous -- things like sustained participation as an association volunteer, effective leadership and an ability to generate participation by others in association activities, charitable and public service outside the association, etc. The association gives this to one person each year. As of December, the Sacramento Association of Realtors had over 7,500 members. And this year I was given the award.

I was shocked and humbled to say the very least. And so thankful that my brother and his soon-to-be wife were in attendance at the installation event.

It feels a little strange to get an award for efforts I find so personally gratifying in so many ways. I initially got involved with the association in 2008, a few years after getting my real estate license in 2005. Since then, I have done a long list of things such as serve on or chaired committees, forums, task forces, was President of the Masters Club, and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the community. I truly love our great organization and my fellow association members who all advocate for the same causes and volunteer to make our Sacramento community a better place. Walking into any committee meeting, event, or forum, I’m surrounded by friends and I’m forever grateful for that.

On a personal level, my 2019 was a pretty emotionally trying year with the loss of my mom to lung cancer in the spring. For 2020 I had been hoping to be able to have an emotional reset of sorts, and to kick things off in this way was an unexpectedly amazing start to the year.

Re-elected to a 4th term on the Sacramento Association of Realtors Board of Directors...

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will already know that in 2010 I was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Association of Realtors...since election to the 2011-2012 term, I have been re-elected to 2013-2014, 2015-2016, and as of this week I was re-elected to serve my fourth term 2017-2018. I love being able to serve the membership of the association at that level. Per SAR's bylaws, a director can only serve four consecutive terms without either moving up to a higher position (like Secretary/Treasurer for example), or sitting out a term. I can tell you I have no plans to sit the next term out...I look forward to great things to come!

Voting opens for the Officers and Board of Directors Election at the Sacramento Association of Realtors...

Voting in the Officer and Board of Director Elections for the Sacramento Association of  REALTORS® begins today and runs through August 15th. My "candidate statement" is available online to members of SAR to read before they cast their votes, however for any of my Realtor friends from other associations, the public or my clients who may wish to read it, I have cut and paste it below. I take my current role on the board very seriously and hope to continue my volunteer service to the association at this high level.

"Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am very excited to be running for what will hopefully be my second term on the SAR Board of Directors. I was licensed at the end of 2005 and began my full-time real estate career in 2006. My initial involvement at the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® began almost five years ago, when another REALTOR® asked me to attend a Young Professionals Council (YPC) meeting and join the Committee. Until that meeting, all of the time I had spent at SAR consisted of sporadically attending classes or purchasing MetroList lockboxes. I really had no idea what function our Association served. Through my participation in YPC, and in the very first SAR Leadership Academy series in 2008, I learned what SAR's (and C.A.R.'s and NAR's) real purpose is, why we pay our dues, and why it is so important to invest in our REALTOR® Action Fund.

Fast forward to today, and my involvement has grown dramatically. In addition to my service on the SAR Board of Directors, I am also the current President of the Masters Club, I serve as Chair of the REALTOR® Action Fund Committee, serve on other SAR Committees, am on numerous C.A.R. Committees as well as serving on the C.A.R. Board of Directors. I have been an instructor for different educational offerings at SAR and C.A.R. I am a regular attendee of many other open SAR Forums and am a past Chair of other SAR Committees. I am a frequent source in the local, state and national media regarding the real estate market. My efforts have helped raise thousands of dollars for local charities and REALTOR® initiatives. I feel my involvement on these Committees has made me a better REALTOR®, and a better person in general.

As REALTORS®, we are constantly faced with challenges. We work in an ever-changing local Sacramento marketplace and distressed economy. There are many local, state, and national initiatives that threaten the private property rights our clients enjoy, and that attempt to create additional burdens on real estate transactions. I plan to have a long-lasting career as a REALTOR®, and as an Association we must stay on top of these issues, as well as work to enforce our professional standards, continue to offer education to empower our membership with additional skills, among many other things.

I feel that with your vote, I can continue to bring the perspective of a younger REALTOR® with a long-term vision to SAR's Board of Directors. We often lament that our SAR leadership “20 years ago” made excellent long-term decisions that positioned the association strongly today. It is my hope that 20 years from now our Association leadership can make similar remarks. Thanks again for reading, and I respectfully ask you to vote for me."

Yep...I am running for re-election to the Sacramento Association of Realtors Board of Directors...

After being elected in 2010 to serve a 2-year position on the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors, it is time to run again for re-election. I can't believe that the time has passed so quickly! I have been serving my current term for the last year and a half, and thankfully the Nominating Committee felt I might be a good fit to continue my service on the Board. So I am running again...and so are others -- and there are more candidates running than positions to fill.

So in this contested race, I will be campaigning over the next couple months until all the votes are counted in early August.

While the intended audience for my campaign website is REALTOR® members of SAR (since they are the folks who actually vote), if you are curious to view it - visit http://www.vote4erin.com/. Feel free to 'Become a Fan' of the site if you want to see how my campaign progresses. I had a good time and a little fun with my campaign last time, and I am planning some pretty neat-o campaign stuff that will posted there in the coming weeks.

I really hope that the SAR membership sees I have made many valuable contributions to the association (in addition to many my contributions to the California Association of REALTORS®), and elects me to continue to serve. So wish me luck!

A GREAT way to start 2011!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will know that today I attended the Officers & Directors Installation Luncheon at the Sacramento Association of Realtors. Our new President for 2011, Doug Covill (a Realtor with Coldwell Banker) was sworn in, along with the President-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the members of the Board of Directors...I was actually elected to serve on the SAR Board of Directors for a 2-year term starting this year (2011-2012). Pretty neat. I am very excited to serve the members of the association at this level.

Along with the installation, there was an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding association members for their contributions in 2010. I was honored to be one of about a dozen association members to be recognized! I received an award for "Oustanding Service in Association Activities." As I mentioned in my final blog post of 2010, last year I helped raise over $26,000 for charitable causes through different "Masters Club" and "Young Professionals Council" Sacramento Association of Realtors fundraisers.

This was a nice way to start 2011!

Reason to Celebrate! I was elected to the Sacramento Association of Realtors Board of Directors!

NOTE: I borrowed this baby to create a photo of a "political cliche." I have been asked by several folks if this is my baby! For the record, I do not have any children.

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know that a few months ago I was nominated to run for a position on the Sacramento Association of Realtors Board of Directors. I have been campaigning since the end of May, setting up a 'Vote4Erin' campaign website, visiting many other real estate offices, speaking to other Realtors, even recording a campaign video at the association for distribution to the membership...there were 9 Realtors running for 6 open positions, and all candidates were very well qualified.

Well, today I got the phone call I had been eagerly anticipating! Waaahoooooooo! I am absolutely thrillled, honored, and humbled that the members of the association did indeed elect me, little old Erin Attardi, to serve a 2-year term. I may celebrate with an ice cream cone later. =)

Officers & Directors Election for the Sacramento Association of Realtors - My Candidate Video

Well...a few weeks ago the Sacramento Association of Realtors published the candidate statements for the folks running for Officer and Director positions. Today they released the campaign videos! All candidates shot one of these at the Sacramento Association of Realtors offices. So here you go...my apologies for the cheesy smile at the very end. Unlike the other candidates, I did NOT read off a teleprompter.

Officers & Directors Election for the Sacramento Association of Realtors - My Candidate Statement

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been nominated to run for election for a position on the Sacramento Association of Realtors Board of Directors...well, I may also have mentioned that there are six open positions, and nine people running. All of the candidates have written statements that are now online at the Sacramento Association of Realtors election page. Here is my candidate statement:

"Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am very excited to be running for what will hopefully be my first term on the SAR Board of Directors. I was licensed at the end of 2005, and began my full-time real estate career in 2006. My initial involvement at the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® began almost three years ago, when another REALTOR® asked me to attend a Young Professionals Council meeting and join the committee. Until that meeting, all of the time I had spent at SAR consisted of sporadically attending classes, or purchasing Metrolist lockboxes. I really had no idea what function our association served. Through my participation in YPC, and in the very first SAR Leadership Development series in 2008, I learned what SAR's (and C.A.R.'s and NAR's) real purpose is, why we pay our dues, and why it is so important to invest in our Realtor Action Fund.

Fast forward to today, and my involvement has grown dramatically. I am the current Chair of the Young Professionals Council. I am also the current Secretary/Treasurer of the Masters Club, and I also serve on the REALTOR® Action Fund Committee, Communications Advisory Committee, and the Technology Task Force. I have been an instructor for different educational offerings at SAR and C.A.R. I am a regular attendee of many other open SAR Forums. My efforts have helped raise thousands of dollars for local charity and REALTOR® initiatives. I also serve on the leadership of the C.A.R. Young Professionals Network, as well as three other state association committees. I feel my involvement on these committees has made me a better REALTOR®, and a better person in general.

As REALTORS®, we are constantly faced with challenges. We work in an ever-changing local marketplace and distressed economy. There are many local, state, and national initiatives that threaten the private property rights our clients enjoy, and that attempt to create additional burdens on real estate transactions. I plan to have a long-lasting career as a REALTOR®, and as an association we must stay on top of these issues, as well as work to enforce our professional standards, continue to offer education to enable our membership additional knowledge, among many other things.

I feel that with your vote, I can bring a fresh perspective to SAR's Board of Directors. Thanks again..."

You can also check out my campaign website at http://vote4erin.com. Time on the campaign trail is flying by...I have been out visiting other offices and trying to speak to as many people as possible. Voting starts in just a couple of weeks...I am optimistic about the outcome!

The rumors are true...I am running for the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors!

This year I finally meet the qualifications to run for a 2-year position on the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors. I have been serving on various committees at SAR for the last 3 years, and have been honored by SAR for my contributions, and the Nominating Committee felt I might be a good fit to serve on the Board. So I am running...and so are eight others (a total of nine), for six open positions.

So in this contested race, I will be campaigning over the next couple months until all the votes are counted in early August.

While the intended audience for my campaign website is REALTOR® members of SAR (since they are the folks who actually vote), if you are curious to view it - visit http://www.vote4erin.com/. Feel free to 'Become a Fan' of the site if you want to see how my campaign progresses. I have some pretty neat-o campaign stuff that will posted there in the coming weeks.

I really hope that the SAR membership sees I have made many valuable contributions to the association (in addition to many my contributions to the California Association of REALTORS®), and elects me to serve. I am very excited at the opportunity to be able to serve the membership at a much higher level. So wish me luck!