Event Coverage
Los Gatos/Saratoga District Holiday Reception and Installation
2016 Los Gatos/Saratoga District Chair Suzanne Yost passes the gavel on to 2017 District Chair Mary Kay Groth (right).
At Wednesday evening's Los Gatos/Saratoga District Holiday Reception and Installation, the District's longtime tradition of passing the gavel took place. The gavel was handed down by each past district chair on to 2017 District Chair Mary Kay Groth.
Before the ceremony, 2016 District Chair Suzanne Yost thanked the more than 60 SILVAR members present for their support. 2016 was a very successful year for the District, she said. Yost noted high attendance at tour meetings and successful events like the District's annual bocce ball tournament and the annual pumpkin auction, which raised a record $6,195 for Operation Reindeer. The program, which the District has supported for many years, helps about 100 families in the area with food, clothing and gifts for the holidays.
Yost also thanked this year's District Council members - Groth, Alan Barbic, Ryan Nunnally, David Tonna, Pelin Erdal, Audrey Hutton and David Messer.
The passing of the gavel began with Marlene Rodman (Sereno Group), 1994 president and the last president of the Los Gatos/Saratoga Board of Realtors before the REALTOR® boards merged to form SILVAR. The gavel then passed on to past District Chairs Jeff Barnett (Alain Pinel Realtors), David Tonna (Alain Pinel Realtors), Doug Evans (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage), Karen Trolan (Alain Pinel Realtors), Alan Barbic (Sereno Group). Barbic then passed it to Yost (Alain Pinel Realtors), who handed it to Groth.
Groth thanked everyone in advance for their support and invited them to be just as active and involved in 2017. She paid tribute to the late John Tripp, a past District Chair and past SILVAR president, whom she said was instrumental in her decision to seek the District Chair position.
Groth has over 25 years in real estate experience beginning in property management and moving into residential real estate with Cornish & Carey Los Gatos. Now at Sereno Group Los Gatos, she continues to hold as her core value: "To treat others as I want to be treated."
Groth also thanked this year's event sponsors: Sereno Group LG – Diamond Sponsor; Keller Williams Bay Area Estates – Platinum Sponsor; and Alain Pinel Realtors Los Gatos and Meriwest Mortgage – Gold Sponsors.
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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.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.