Published on the November 10th, 2019 edition of the Daily Freeman about the Ulster County Board of REALTORS Annual Membership Meeting.
Patrick Ryan, Ulster County Executive discusses initiatives for Ulster County at bi-annual UCBR membership meeting, and Real Estate Broker of the Year announced.
The Ulster County Board of Realtors ® held its annual membership meeting in association with the Hudson Valley Catskill Region MLS on October 30th, in Kingston, NY. In addition to discussing any updates to membership, the MLS services, and any major changes Realtors ® should be aware of, members had the opportunity to listen to Ulster County Executive, Patrick Ryan, speak about his plans for the future of Ulster County.
Newly elected just four months ago, Ryan discussed how important it is to ‘be a part of the community, to be able to participate and give back to that community.’ He also recognized how ‘real estate is a key driver of the economy in the county’, with a main contributor to the demand being the unbelievably beautiful landscape of Ulster County. Since the beauty of the area generates large economic success for the area, between those looking to relocate to Ulster County, and the tourism generated by those wanting to experience the beauty of Ulster County, he discussed his vision for Ulster County, with ‘protecting our environment to ensure it remains a competitive advantage for the economy.’ In addition to this, he is advocating for the county to be using 100% renewable energy by 2030, working on reducing the amount of single use plastic in grocery stores and eventually in other business, as well as introducing ‘Green Clean Technology’ programs into the local schools; so that the younger generation has the opportunity to learn specifically about that sector, and to encourage them to develop a career in renewable energy.
Ryan also talked about the nearly opened Ashokan Rail Trail, which goes along the Ashokan Reservoir, and offers unbelievable views of the area. Since its opening earlier in the month, there has already been thousands of visitors, and they have already seen the need to create additional parking lots to accommodate all the visitors. In addition to new lots, they are hoping to soon be able to have bus access to the trail on the weekends. He hopes that ‘the Ashokan Rail Trail will be a big driver of commerce to businesses in the area and near the trail’.
In addition to a very informative and interesting talk from Ryan, Terri Shand, President of the Hudson Valley Catskill Region MLS highlighted in her talk about the importance of ‘elevating experience’ to the consumer, and focusing on customer loyalty. She discussed how being a member of the UCBR & HVCR MLS are there as a resource to help the region’s Realtors ® elevate their service to the consumer, so that we retain customers, and generate sales. Ensuring that Realtors ® focus on offering the best and a pleasant buying experience to the customer should be a top priority, and that last impressions are just as important as first impressions to the client.
Awards & Recognitions
In addition to a wonderful panel of speakers, there were awards to recognize outstanding Realtors ® in the region. The Emeritus Award recognizes Realtors ® who have been members for over 40 years. This year, there were three Realtors ® presented the Emeritus award, Dolly Decker, Gene Seneloff & Victoria Hoyt. The Realtor ® of the year award was also presented to the Realtor ® who exemplified exceptional real estate work over the past year. The winner was Eric Amira, of Coldwell Banker Village Green Real Estate.
It was a fantastic morning of incredible speakers, industry updates and time to catch up with other Realtors ® in the area. A big thank you to everyone involved in the success of the morning at the Ulster County Board of REALTORS Annual Membership Meeting, and a thank you to all the wonderful sponsors of the event. Interested in becoming a member? Contact us today!
