Silicon Valley's real estate community congratulated the Chinese American Real Estate Association (CAREA)'s 2016 leadership team at the association's Dec. 4 installation dinner. Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) president-elect Karen Trolan installed 2016 CAREA president Coco Tan and CAREA's officers and board of directors.
Tan is a member of SILVAR and a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Cupertino. This is her second year as the Chinese American real estate group's president.
Serving on the 2016 leadership team with Tan are immediate past president Dexter Lat (Realty World One Alliance); Wilson Chai (Bank of America), Yuan Chang (Intero Real Estate), Jennifer Chen (JC Investment), vice presidents; Barbara Kuang, (Allstate-BnW Associates, LLC), treasurer; Joyce Sun (GD Commercial, Inc.), membership director; Fay Yang (GD Commercial, Inc.), secretary; and Kenny Tang (East West Bank), marketing director.
Trolan congratulated Tan and her team. She conveyed SILVAR's support for CAREA and its goals. Representing SILVAR with Trolan were past president David Tonna, Region 9 chair Carolyn Miller, global business council chair Mark Wong, board director Amy Sung, global business council members Atsuko Yube and Jimmy Kang.
Tan thanked SILVAR and all other friends and associates of CAREA. In her address to CAREA members, Tan said real estate is constantly changing, offering different opportunities for everyone, whether it be agents, brokers, lenders, mortgage officers, escrow officers, builders. She encouraged everyone to work together. Tan said her mission this year is for all real estate professionals to "rise to the top."
"I believe the time has come for us to shine and grow. Since we all are experts in our own perspective field, it would only make sense for us to work together and look out for each other's interests," said Tan.
Guest speaker at the event was Peter Pau, principal and founder of Sand Hill Property Co. Pau shared his plans to revitalize Vallco Mall in Cupertino. The $3 billion project, called "The Hills at Vallco," includes a 15-block, mixed-use commercial, residential and office development with 625,000 square feet of retail, 2 million square feet of office and 800 residential units. Also proposed is a 30-acre green roof, the world's largest, which could include 3.8 miles of trails, open space and vineyards connecting buildings to each other and the ground.
Pau stressed the need for members of the ethnic real estate association to encourage and support each other. "We came from the same place and share the same experience. Real estate is a risk taking business. We all have to make it on our own. There is no easy way," said Pau.
CAREA was formed in 1988 in the San Francisco Bay Area to promote the social and economic well-being of Chinese Americans actively engaged in the field of real estate. Its mission is to advance the professional image of Chinese Americans engaged in real estate and promote sustainable homeownership to Chinese Americans in the Bay Area.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
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