HAR membership dues once again remain unchanged from last year, but they are due by December 1, 2016. Make sure you pay by that date so you don’t have any interruption in your HAR membership services. You can learn more here. It is only with prompt payment that we are able to continue to provide all the great tools that you receive as part of being a member. Thank you for your continued membership. By the way, did you know that we now have more than 34,000 HAR members? We are still the second largest local REALTOR® association in the country, but I like to think we are the best.

We also need nominations for the two annual awards given to deserving members: the 2016 REALTOR® of the Year and the John E. Wolf Community Service Award. You may read all about the qualifications and how to nominate someone here. These are the highest honors bestowed by HAR, so put your thinking caps on and nominate someone today! You can come celebrate the recipients and watch the new board of directors and executive officers being sworn in at REALTOR® Celebration on December 7. You may learn more about it here.

Perhaps the biggest thing to happen this year for our members is the mandatory Supra lockbox exchange that is scheduled for November 14-18. Appointments are required, but there are locations across the region for your convenience. You may find out how and where to exchange your lockboxes here. The new lockboxes have a longer battery life, larger key compartment and support Bluetooth, so you won’t need the fob to access them any longer. Make sure to schedule your appointment today, so you can have a quick and easy exchange process. There are more than 86,000 lockboxes to exchange, so we want it to go as smoothly as possible for each of you. Note that exchanges are NOT being done at any of the HAR offices. The complete list of locations is on page 16.

As you can see from the cover of the magazine, we have announced our 20 Under 40 honorees and recognized them at the recent luncheon. Take a minute to read the paragraphs about each of them. There are some amazing stories, and I’m proud to call each of them an HAR member. You may read all about them here. They are inspiring and really are the future of our industry.

While the TREPAC fiscal year may be over, we haven’t stopped celebrating the milestone year we had at HAR. We are the first local REALTOR® association in the country to raise more than $1 million in a year. The thanks and praise should all go to each of you who contributed to that success. You may read about the achievement here. That being said, it is a new fiscal year for the PAC, so if you haven’t already pledged to TREPAC, you may do so now and mark it off your list.

One final note, in case you haven’t heard, there is a major election on November 8. Regardless of who you support, please vote. Our men and women in the armed services fight each day for our freedoms, including our right to vote, so don’t take it for granted. You may find a list of our recommended candidates in races here. Either way, we only have a truly representative democracy if people vote.

Until next month,

Mario Arriaga
HAR Chairman of the Board