Event Coverage
2020 SILVAR President Mary Kay Groth and Board Directors Take Oath of Office
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) 2020 leadership team was installed last night at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club. California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) 2020 President Jeanne Radsick administered the oath of office to 2020 SILVAR President Mary Kay Groth and SILVAR's 2020 officers and board directors. Chris Trapani, Sereno Group co-founder, served as master of ceremonies. Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation President Eileen Giorgi led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance, and 2012 President Suzanne Yost delivered the Inspiration Message.
SILVAR's 2020 officers include Groth, a REALTOR® with Sereno Group Los Gatos; Joanne Fraser, a REALTOR® with Compass Los Altos, President-elect; and Jeff Bell, broker manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cupertino, Treasurer.
Joining SILVAR's 2020 lead officers are Alan Barbic (Sereno Group), Past President; Bill Moody (Referral Realty), Region 9 Chair; Leannah Hunt (Sereno Group), NAR Director; District Chairs Francesca Lampert (Coldwell Banker), Menlo Park-Atherton District; Lynn Wilson Roberts (Compass), Palo Alto; Greg Boudreau (Coldwell Banker), Los Altos-Mountain View District; Mark Burns (Coldwell Banker), Cupertino-Sunnyvale District, and Elizabeth Doyle (Sereno Group), Los Gatos-Saratoga District; and Directors At-large Brett Caviness (Compass), Katherine Frey (Katherine Frey Real Estate), Eileen Giorgi (Sereno Group), Jim Hamilton (Compass), Penelope Huang (Golden Gate Sotheby's Real Estate) and Karen Trolan (Sereno Group).
A native of Illinois, Groth and her husband Kenn moved around the country and eventually settled in Los Gatos in 1987, where she worked at a small family-owned commercial property management company. She later moved on to residential real estate with Cornish & Carey.
Groth first got involved with SILVAR through volunteering. Then responding to a tap on the shoulder from the late SILVAR President John Tripp, Groth served on the district council and stepped into bigger roles at SILVAR. She thanked Suzanne Yost, Denise Welsh, Leannah Hunt and Marlene Rodman for their guidance and encouragement along the way.
Groth noted it is an honor to serve as 2020 president as SILVAR marks its 25th anniversary. On January 1, 1995, six boards on the Peninsula and South Bay - Menlo-Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Los Gatos-Saratoga, merged to become the Peninsula West Valley Association of REALTORS® which, in turn, became the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® in 1999. She acknowledged Susan Tilling and Marlene Rodman, two of the six presidents who signed SILVAR's founding merger documents in 1994 and are still active REALTORS®.
Attending her first C.A.R. meetings opened Groth's eyes to the strength of the REALTOR® voice, and impressed upon her even more that being involved was not only worth her time, but "a call to serve." Quoting the late Martin Luther King, Groth said, "'Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.'
"I look forward to serving our Association and its members in 2020, and proudly wear the NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) slogan for 2020 - REALTORS®, that's who we R®!"
SILVAR would like to convey a special thank you to this year's Installation Sponsors for their generosity. They include Sereno Group, MLSListings, DeLeon Realty, Keller Williams Bay Area Estates, and the SILVAR Districts of Los Gatos-Saratoga, Los Altos-Mountain View, Cupertino-Sunnyvale, Menlo Park-Atherton and Palo Alto.
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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.