What is the point in getting involved with your local, state and national Realtor associations? I hear this question a lot, and I love to help answer it because my involvement in not only those Realtor associations, but also the Women’s Council of REALTORS® has helped progress my career to where it is today.

I experienced my first Realtor Tap in 2018 — that’s where Sylvia Gause, the president-elect for Women’s Council of REALTORS® Atlanta, approached me about managing the network’s social media pages, and I gladly accepted. I was immediately immersed in my new Realtor family. The support, relationships and encouragement was more than anything I had ever experienced in this industry. I knew I had to get involved more.

In 2019, I was encouraged to run for president-elect for Women’s Council of REALTORS® Atlanta, and I won! That same year, Quinn Green, who was the incoming Chair for the Georgia Association of REALTORS®’ Young Professionals Network, asked if I would be on his board, and, of course, I gladly accepted.

From there I started to attend more GAR conferences and connect with a lot more Realtors from all over the state of Georgia. Those relationships led to more referrals coming in and being referred out. That increased my network of people I could call for support, help or guidance — and it led to many, many friendships.

My clients started to notice all my involvement in the industry, and my business started to grow. Since I was attending so many conferences, I was learning from the best in industry, so not only was my business growing, but I was using the tools I learned to grow it in the fastest most efficient way.

During my volunteer efforts, I found my love for training and mentoring new agents, and as luck would have it Village Premier Collection was looking to hire a director of training and development. I loved my new role and quickly climbed the ranks to become the chief operations officer of my brokerage.

This year, I am the current chair for the Georgia Association of REALTORS®’ Young Professional Network, and my board and I have accomplished a few things already. We have had multiple virtual leadership live events, assisted three local young professional networks to have a large, co-hosted event and had a summer event with over 150 people in attendance at the Porsche Experience in Atlanta.

By the end of 2022, my board and I hope to help a new YPN chapter get started and will co-host an event at the Georgia Association REALTORS® Conference in Tennessee this fall. I am excited to pass the torch to my wonderful co-chair, Quinn Aranu, in 2023, and I’m looking forward to continuing my leadership journey with the Georgia Association of REALTORS®.

When I first got into real estate, I never envisioned that I would be where I am today, and without my volunteer efforts and commitment to the Realtor industry, my career would not have evolved as it has. Moral of the story — get involved. You will never know the effect it could have for you, until you just do it!