Event Coverage
No Dues Increase, New Member Benefit Plan Announced at SILVAR Membership Meeting
Over 300 members were greeted at this year's annual general membership meeting with news that SILVAR continues to remain solvent, membership remains stable, and dues will not increase in 2013. A new discount member benefit plan was also introduced providing members more educational opportunities.
The membership meeting began with a welcome address by SILVAR President Suzanne Yost, a report by SILVAR Executive Officer Paul Cardus on the status of the Association, followed by remarks by special guest California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) 2012 President-elect Don Faught, and the 2013 California Housing Forecast presented by C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer.
Yost thanked members for their participation Association programs and events this year. Among highlights of the year were greater participation in education courses, the formation of the Silicon Valley Young Professional Network (YPN) and Global Business Council. She commended volunteers for stepping up to leadership positions in SILVAR's committees and Board of Directors, and she thanked staff for their continued excellent service to members.
Cardus reported SILVAR is fiscally in good shape and membership is stable. SILVAR has total number of 4,269 REALTORS® - 3,966 primary REALTORS®, 302 secondary REALTORS®, and 231 Affiliate Professionals. Sixty-five percent of SILVAR REALTOR® members are in offices with 10 or more agents.
Cardus then introduced a new educational discount membership benefit plan, the SILVAR Class Pass. The plan's three different low cost levels with progressive increases in total value up to more than $500 reduces participating members' cost for continuing education credits, professional designation courses, and approved special education events. The Class Pass will provide opportunity for improving members' professionalism.
SILVAR's executive officer highlighted PRDS membership benefits, including the Authentisign™ e-signature service, which allows users to have virtually any document electronically signed, whether that document was originally in electronic or paper form, and a DocBox™ document management system and DocBox2Go™, the mobile version of DocBox.
He indicated in the first nine months of 2012, SILVAR REALTORS® have uploaded over 43,000 documents totaling nearly 350,000 pages into the system.
PRDS Forms are versatile and usage through September 2012, already exceeds year-end 2011 figures, with 2,708 unique SILVAR REALTOR® users have logged in 99,221 times and created 26,182 transactions. Sixty-four percent of SILVAR REALTORS® have used PRDS this year.
The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, SILVAR's charitable arm, donated $53,500 in the form of grants and scholarships in 2011, reported Cardus. The Foundation also has been assisting students with the scholarship grants for the past 13 years with $234,000 awarded through this period.
"This shows our commitment to education. Education is what drives up property values here," said Cardus.
Cardus' presentation was followed by SILVAR Government Affairs Director Adam Montgomery, whom Cardus' announced is leaving the Association for an opportunity out of state. Cardus thanked Montgomery for six years of service and devotion to the Association, noting he has served the Association with modesty, great integrity and honor keeping SILVAR's area in a favorable place.
Montgomery thanked members for their active participation is legislative affairs and praised them for what he coined the "SILVAR effect" - members being active in the community and willing to help everyone else. It's a quality that needs to remain in the hearts of members, said Montgomery. He urged members to remain committed and to stay strong.
SILVAR is first in the state among Associations of similar size in contributions to the REALTOR® Action Fund. Faught called SILVAR a "trend setter." He told REALTORS® now is the time to work on their business plans, set the tone of their business, and share their knowledge with each other.
Faught rallied members to continue answering C.A.R.'s Call to Action. Quoting Clarence Darrow, Faught said, "As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever."
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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.