We thank you all for joining us in New York for the celebration of NAREB’s 60th anniversary and my installation as your 25th president. The excitement of Manhattan and the elegance of Tavern on the Green as well as the Rainbow Room could not be successful without your presence. We hope you found the convention as rewarding and as educating for you as it was for your leadership team who worked hard to ensure a convention of class and substance. We are convinced that the University of Real Estate classes provided information that will enhance your professional career and also provide additional tools to better serve your communities.

It is a thrill for me to work with your leadership team to move NAREB to higher grounds and also to report that the Executive Team met in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and work from early morning to late night to complete NAREB’s Five-Year Strategic Plan within thirty days of my taking office. This is indeed a great accomplishment, not only to map out the direction of the organization, but also to ensure transition from president to president. It also brought to the forefront changes that must be made or modified to ensure the growth of the organization.

As part of my vision, we are planning a NAREB Rejuvenation and Revitalization Collaborative Tour which will provide certifications and specialty training to our local chapters to help our members navigate the present real estate market and to continue to be successful. We will look to our partners to provide our members with opportunities to work in different areas of needs, such as REO’s, Appraisals, Property Management, Housing Counseling, as well as areas of employment. We will start with the cities hardest hit and move to other cities according to the market statistics and help to find solutions and mortgage products to help the challenging market as well as training on FHA mortgage products. We will be informing the membership on the first fifteen cities and dates shortly by separate communication. This tour is an excellent time for our chapters to build their membership and we will ensure publicity campaign for each city we visit. We want our members to understand that we recognize the importance of each member and each chapter and that NAREB will do whatever is necessary to help all our members not only survive their markets but also to thrive in their markets.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you and may God continue to bless and enrich each and every Realtist throughout this great country.

Cordially,

Maria Kong
President/CEO