Jim Wanzeck to Lead SMDRA
Jim Wanzeck, co-owner and founder of RE/MAX Masters, was
installed as the Chairman of the Board of SMDRA at the inaugural
celebration. Under Wanzeck’s leadership, the focus this year will be
“branding for excellence.” His mission is to help establish a team of
championship quality. He plans to achieve his goal by following the
highest professional standards, establishing cooperation among existing
members, supporting new members, and utilizing technological
advancements.
A member of SMDRA since 1986, Wanzeck was first elected
to the SMDRA Board of Directors in 2005. He held the title of
Chair-Elect of SMDRA in 2007. He has also served on the Community
Service Task Force, the Member Benefits Task Force and the REALTOR®
Issues Review and Recommendations Committee. He has led numerous
Marketing Sessions as an emcee since 2003.
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Wanzeck’s family moved to
Colorado, then to Taiwan and finally to Virginia where he graduated from
James Madison High School.
Returning to Colorado, he attended Colorado State
University (CSU) in Fort Collins and graduated
with a degree in Political Science. He met his wife of 27 years,
Denise, on campus at CSU.
They have three children, all graduates of Ponderosa High School in
Parker, Colorado. His eldest son Travis graduated from Eastern Illinois
University. His second son Tyler attends CSU and his daughter Tara
attends Texas Christian University.
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REALTOR® Association Leadership
Installed
The
following 2008 Officers and Directors for SMDRA will join Chairman Jim
Wanzeck, RE/MAX Masters, in leadership roles for SMDRA this year:
Sandy Trujillo, Metro
Brokers-Hope Enterprises, will serve as Chair-Elect; Stew Meagher, Metro
Brokers-Commonwealth Realty, will carry out the responsibilities of
Secretary; and Steve Olson, Prestige Real Estate Group, will serve as
Past Chair.
Assuming the
responsibilities of Directors for SMDRA are the following REALTORS®:
Laurie Anderson, Metro Brokers-Signature Properties; Kaeti Bancroft,
Metro Brokers-Bancroft Properties; Dana Bennett, Prestige Real Estate
Group; Roger Evans, Prestige Real Estate Group; Michael Marcus, Coldwell
Banker Residential Brokerage; Rita Mills, RE/MAX Professionals; Mary
Jane Ogle, RE/MAX Alliance, DTC; and Brad Whitehouse, RE/MAX
Professionals.
Also installed were the
following SMDRA REALTORS® who will serve as Directors for the
Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR): Okie Arnot, Keller
Williams Realty DTC as Metro District VP; Kati Harken, Keller Williams
Real Estate; James Hatfield, RE/MAX Professionals; Mary Ann Hinrichsen,
RE/MAX Masters; and Steve Stazel, Keller Williams Realty DTC.
Scott Matthias, Prestige
Real Estate Group; Kay Watson, Metro Brokers-Kay Watson Properties; and
Bruce Wolf, the Prestige Real Estate Group, LLC, were installed as
Directors to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
Gary Morton, Metro
Brokers-1st Real Estate Group; and Larry Swenson,
Swenson Real Estate Company, will
continue their responsibilities as Metrolist Directors for SMDRA.
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 SMDRA
2007 REALTOR® of the Year Award
Several awards were presented during the event and the award with the
highest honor, the 2007 REALTOR® of the Year, was presented
to Deb Conner, with Colorado Homes and Property Real Estate. This
annual award is bestowed on a member of SMDRA who has provided exemplary
service to both the Association and the community.
Conner, a
REALTOR® with SMDRA since 1994, is a past SMDRA Director and
was the 2004 Secretary of SMDRA. She has served on the Professional
Standards, the MLS Rules and Regulations, and the REALTOR® Issues Review
and Recommendation committees. She was the 2005 Affiliate Council
Liaison and the 2004-2006 New Member Orientation emcee. She has also
directed the Friday Morning Marketing Sessions as an emcee since 2003.
She was
elected to serve as the local Mile High President for Women’s Council of
REALTORS® (WCR), the State President of the WCR and has held the
honorary position of the Colorado State Governor for WCR.
Conner has
served on the following committees for the Colorado Association of
REALTORS®: the Professional Standards Committee, the Equal Opportunity
and Diversity Committee, and the CAR Convention Committee as Vice Chair.
A native Denverite,
Conner graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. She received her
degree in Interior Design and for 10 years had her own Interior Design
Company, Personal Touch Interiors. She has one son, Stuart, two
daughters - Amy and Kristen, and two grandchildren, Dillon and Abigail.
Ron Trujillo and Deb are looking forward to a new grandchild this coming
April.
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SMDRA 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award
Jerry McGuire, from
RE/MAX Professionals, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in
memory of Mary Ellen Marx. This award is presented to an individual for
their significant and ongoing contribution to the association and the
community. This award recognizes longevity of service to the
association along with notable REALTOR® spirit.
McGuire has gone far
beyond the call of service and has given a tremendous effort in time and
energy for the betterment of our Association and the real estate
industry. He has served in the following REALTOR® leadership capacities
at the local, state and national levels: SMDRA Director, SMDRA’s 1983
President, CAR Director, CAR Treasurer, and NAR Director.
He has been named
REALTOR® of the Year for both the South Metro Denver REALTOR®
Association in 1984 and the Colorado Association of REALTORS® in 2002.
This is an extraordinary accomplishment.
McGuire has also served
on numerous committees at the local, state and national levels.
McGuire, originally from
Nebraska, attended Creighton University and subsequently entered the
Naval Cadet program and became a Marine Corps pilot. In 1957, he
married his wife of 50 years, Marge. They have 4 children, Matt,
Maryanne, Steve and John. In 1965 he moved with his family to Littleton
and worked for Martin Marietta. He entered the real estate profession
in 1973 and later joined Moore and Company in 1978.
He has also given back
to his community being involved with numerous groups including the
Creighton University Alumni association, Junior Basketball Association,
Columbine Sports Association, St. Mary’s Board of Education, and the JK
Mullen Scholarship Grant Foundation. He is also a longtime member of
the St. Mary’s nationally acclaimed adult choir.
Past Lifetime
Achievement Award recipients include Hank Edler in 2000, Larry Carr in
2001, Dave Cupp in 2002, Cheri Barber Walker in 2003 and Carol Vieira in
2006.
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SMDRA 2007 Rising Star Award
REALTOR® Dana
Bennett, from Prestige Real Estate Group,
was presented the 2007 Rising Star Award in memory of Don B. Weist, at
the celebration. This award is presented to a member who has provided
outstanding service to the Association and to the community during the
first five years of their real estate career. Past recipients of this
award have shown leadership ability, integrity and persistence and have
all been a beneficial addition to the real estate industry.
Bennett joined SMDRA in
2002 as a REALTOR® but has been affiliated with the real estate industry
since 1986 where she started with the old Multi List owned by Realtron.
In 1987, she moved to Metrolist and started as a Marketing and Training
Account Representative for the different shareholder Boards. She did
training both in offices and at the Metrolist facility. In 1994 she
became the Director of Tech Support and Marketing/Training for
Metrolist.
She has served on the
SMDRA Board of Directors since 2005. Using her problem solving skills
and creativity, she has served as Chair of the SMDRA Web Task Force and
the Marketing Task Force and also on the Technology Committee.
Bennett has been married
to her husband, Wes, for 22 years. They have one son, Addison, who is a
senior at Mountain Vista High School. She is originally from Billings,
Montana and graduated from Alameda High School. She attended Colorado
State University in Fort Collins.
She is an
animal lover and supports the Denver Zoo and Dumb Friends League. She
also supports the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Art Museum. She
has been active in the Big Sisters Program and was previously a member
of the Junior League of Denver.
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SMDRA
2007 Affiliate of the Year Award
Brian
Counterman, LUTCF, with Allstate/Counterman Insurance, was this year’s
recipient of the Affiliate of the Year Award from SMDRA. This award
recognizes an Affiliate of SMDRA who has given outstanding support to
the Association and has shown a willingness to serve on the
Association’s numerous committees for special events and functions.
As an active member of
SMDRA since 2001, Counterman is presently serving as the Affiliate
Council President. He has participated in countless SMDRA events such as
the MDRF and CARHOF Fundraisers, Veteran’s Day Luncheons, Affiliate
Holiday Breakfasts, REALTOR® Rallies, CAR Conventions, SMDRA Bowling
Tournaments, Cinco de Mayo Parties, and Inaugural Sponsorships. And with
a true sense of commitment, he has rarely missed a Friday morning
marketing session.
His industry involvement
extends well beyond SMDRA, having served six years and is past President
of the Centennial Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He
was recently inducted as the State Chair for that same organization.
He is an extremely
talented musician who generously donates his talent endlessly by booking
his band free of charge to raise dollars not only for SMDRA events but
charity events outside of our organization.
A native Coloradan,
Counterman graduated from Englewood High School and attended Metro State
College and the University of Colorado at Denver. He has been married
for seven years to his wife, Sue. They have three children, twin sons
Micky and Kenny and daughter Shelby. Micky and Kenny graduated from
Mesa State College in 2007 and Shelby is a sophomore at Arvada West High
School.
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2007
Community Service Award to an Individual
Lisa Schomp was presented with the distinguished
Community Service Award presented to an individual from SMDRA. This
award recognizes an individual in the south metro Denver area who
promotes “Community Spirit”.
Lisa Schomp is a third
generation owner and president of Ralph Schomp Automotives two
dealerships … Ralph Schomp Honda/BMW/Mini in Littleton and Ralph Schomp
Chevrolet/Oldsmobile in Brighton. She is a generous and caring
community partner.
Her strong commitment to
family and children has been well demonstrated by her dealership’s
support of parenting and educational programs. She is dedicated to
“practical life skills” education and helping young people realize their
full potential.
Under her leadership,
Ralph Schomp Automotive has been the presenting sponsor of the Littleton
Stride benefit run for the Littleton School Foundation since 1996. She
also created The Ralph Schomp Practical Life Education Endowment to
benefit the Englewood Education Foundation and for several years has
been a title sponsor of the Greg & Steve “Big Fun” Educational Concert
to benefit the Douglas County Education Foundation.
Lisa is also an advocate
of metro-area fire departments, a founding member of the Colorado Fallen
Firefighters Memorial, and has raised thousands of dollars for The
Children’s Hospital Burn Unit by staging fire musters and special
sales.
Schomp believes in
giving back to the community that has given so much to her organization
and its people. She is a sponsor of the “Colorado State Patrol’s “Alive
at 25” program and donates a car and classroom space for monthly
clinics, to involvement in civic organizations. Some of those
organizations, in addition to the ones previously mentioned, are The
Children’s Hospital; Women’s Foundation of Colorado; Arapahoe Douglas
Mental Health Network; Arapahoe Community College Board Member; Greater
Englewood, Greater Denver and South Metro Chambers of Commerce, and the
Littleton Kiwanis club.
Past individual
Community Service Award recipients have included community servant Gene
Koelbel, Dr. Frank Sargent, former District Attorney Bob Gallagher Jr.,
Executive Director Dave Lorenz from the South Suburban Park and
Recreation District, Vern Hendrickson from Norwest Bank, former
Littleton Mayor Vaughn Gardinier, Mary Bradford, President of Bradford
Auto Body in Littleton, Bob Sweeney, publisher of the Villager
Newspaper, Barbara Holthaus, founder of the Arapahoe County 4-H
Foundation, and former President of the South Metro Chamber of Commerce
Brian Vogt.
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2007
Community Service Award to an Organization
This year’s
distinguished Community Service Award to an organization was presented
to the Littleton Public School Foundation. This award recognizes an
organization in the south metro Denver area that is actively involved in
the community, charitable work or civic activities.
The
Littleton School Foundation is a not for profit organization
dedicated to the
positive marketing and development of public and community awareness of
the Littleton Public School District. This organization has been
successful in promoting and funding programs that not only help students
and teachers, but that are recognized across Colorado.
Since its founding in
1992, this organization has been funding innovative school programs that
inspire creative learning and improved performance in the Littleton
Public Schools. Supported by individual donations, grant funding and
corporate partnerships, as well as three annual fund-raising events, the
organization has been able to provide over 1.2 million dollars in
funding.
Each spring, this
organization awards four $1,000 scholarships, one to a senior student at
each of Littleton’s four high schools. These scholarships go to
students who, in addition to exemplary academic achievement, have
demonstrated outstanding commitment to service in the community,
including the Littleton Public Schools community.
In partnership with
FirstBank and Wells Fargo Bank, this organization funds grant requests
that are submitted by teachers. During the 2006-2007 school year,
sixty-two grant requests were selected by this organization’s Board of
Directors for funding totaling over $20,800.
Also in 2002, the
Littleton Public School District selected Centennial Elementary to
provide increased arts instruction for each and every K-5 student, as
part of the daily curriculum. The project was named CA2FE
(Centennial Academics and Arts for Everyone). Our recipient
organization became a critical partner and provided $100,000 for the
launching of this program. Centennial Elementary, now know as
Centennial Academy of Fine Arts offers an arts program second to none in
the Denver Metropolitan area. The program has produced significant
improvements in the student scores in the traditional subjects.
These are just a few of
the many great programs supported by this organization and one of the
many reasons that The Littleton Public Schools Foundation was the
unanimous choice of the committee to be honored with the 2007 Community
Service Award to an organization.
President Mary McGlone
and Diana Holland of the Littleton Public Schools Foundation
accepted the SMDRA Community
Service Award for 2007 and a check for $500 on behalf of the Littleton
School Foundation.
Past
Community Service Award recipients have included Doctors Care, the City
of Littleton, Craig Hospital, the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol, the Cancer
League of Colorado, the Sungate Child Advocacy Center, Advocates for
Children, South Suburban Park & Recreation District, Littleton Town Hall
Arts Center, Interfaith Community Services, and Littleton’s Western
Welcome Week.
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