As we near the end of the year, we once again need your help with nominations for the REALTOR® of the Year and John E. Wolf Community Service Awards. These are the pinnacles of a local REALTOR’s career from the Association, and the list of past recipients reads like a who’s who of Houston real estate. You may find the nomination form for both recognitions here. We appreciate your time in helping to recognize our most worthy members.

I also encourage you to join us for REALTOR® Celebration on December 9. We will be installing the new board officers and directors, and it is always a sold out event. You may read more about it here. It is always a great night for the current chair of the board to reflect on all that has been accomplished during the prior year, but I have complete faith that Mario and his leadership team will take HAR to even greater heights in 2016 as we “Approach a Strategic Intersection.”

It should also be noted that 2016 REALTOR® dues are due to be paid by December 1, 2015. We are proud to once again hold the line on HAR dues, with no increase for 2016 dues, at the same time that we continue to rollout tremendous new tools and services to make your business more successful. You may read the dues billing reminder, and you should receive several email reminders as well.

As you see from the cover of this month’s magazine, we are recognizing our 2015 20 Under 40 Rising Stars in Real Estate. This is an extremely diverse and successful group that awed me with their applications. These are our next leaders of the Association and leaders in the real estate industry. You may read their profiles on pages here. Whether you are under 40 years old or not, I think their stories will help inspire you in your business and in life.

Lastly, we have started the HAR “Get Involved” campaign when we ask for volunteers for our 2016 advisory groups and area networking groups. This is where the work really gets done. These groups research various issues and present motions to the full HAR board of directors for consideration. If you want to have a real impact on the Association and the local real estate market, this is where you start. You may see a list of all of the available groups here. We look forward to having a record level of involvement in 2016.

Until next month,

Nancy Furst
HAR Chair of the Board