National Association of Realtors Announces Strategic Restructuring to Better Serve Members, Enhance Member Experience
Changes better align NAR with current environment in DC, enhance member experience and position NAR as leading voice in real estate technology innovation. WASHINGTON (December 11, 2018) - The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced today staffing changes in the organization's advocacy, marketing communications, member experience and technology groups that will strengthen NAR's ability to serve as the leading voice for Realtors® on key legislative policies while fostering technological innovation on behalf of its members and enhancing the member experience. "These changes represent the next phase in our ongoing efforts to advance the real estate business and industry and put members' interests first, from representing Realtors® and property owners in Washington to driving development of new technology in Silicon Valley," said Bob Goldberg, CEO of NAR. "We are executing on the vision set forth earlier this year to achieve more for our members and succeed in a period of upheaval and generational changes." A modernized approach to advocacy NAR's new organizational structure bolsters its advocacy efforts by realigning its lobbying resources to interact more effectively on key issues with members of Congress and key committees most relevant to the real estate industry. It also continues and enhances NAR's commitment to a 21st century public advocacy operation, striking a balance between building on its existing internal resources and the selective retention of outside firms that will extend its reach and members' voices in the nation's capital. "Our new, streamlined approach provides more flexibility to work with outside firms as we develop public policy campaigns on issues identified in our federal issue survey," said Shannon McGahn, senior vice president of government affairs. "Using well-connected, outside experts in these areas deepens our bench and amplifies our voice in Congress while giving our internal team more flexibility and time to focus on relationships across the executive and legislative branches of government." Integrating marketing, communications for better member experience Building on the integration of marketing and communications into one group, recently appointed chief marketing and communications officer Victoria Gillespie has developed four teams, including a new digital strategy group with data and analytics capabilities to drive more advanced marketing and communication strategies along with meetings/events/sales, content and creative, and media/public relations/advocacy/operations. Integrating skillsets across these teams enables NAR to improve efficiency and coordination, allowing for more timely, transparent, direct and relevant member communications. "Integrating our marketing and communications teams ensures we will have greater alignment in our messaging and brand presentation across all of our communication channels, while encouraging collaboration and creativity throughout the marketing and communications team," said Gillespie. The member experience team also has been reorganized into two teams, each focused on a target audience - members and organizations that serve our members, including Realtor® associations, affiliates, MLSs and global partners - and each having subject matter experts for association leadership, governance, commercial and global. "The reorganization of this area is intended to create a more holistic approach to serving our stakeholders," said Katie Johnson, general counsel and chief member experience officer of NAR. Technology with Realtors® in mind Following the creation of the strategic business, innovation & technology group (SBIT) earlier this year, NAR is forming an emerging technology team. This team will identify and evaluate emerging technologies and analyze their potential impact on real estate. It will also build relationships with corporations, governments and academic institutions that are researching and developing emerging technologies. The emerging technologies team will be part of a larger strategy and innovation group that replaces the Center for Realtor® Technology and will be led by a new vice president of strategy and innovation, who NAR expects to hire in early 2019. "I am excited to announce these new initiatives for the SBIT group," said Mark Birschbach, senior vice president of strategic business, innovation and technology. "These changes will drive additional efficiencies within SBIT and expand its efforts to drive innovation in real estate both globally and domestically as well as provide additional benefits to members." The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

National Association of Realtors Announces Restructuring, Senior Management Team
CHICAGO (January 12, 2018) - The National Association of Realtors® has announced a new internal organizational structure and changes to its senior management team to more effectively and efficiently serve its 1.3 million Realtor® members. "This reorganization reflects the promise I made when I was named CEO last August to create better efficiencies in engaging with and serving the association's members," said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. "This restructuring to the internal organization is the most sweeping change in the association's history, and I'm confident it will drive greater innovation, put more focus on member engagement and satisfaction, achieve a more holistic communications and marketing strategy, and improve the association's nimbleness and decision-making." The new structure, comprised of 10 newly reorganized groups across NAR's two offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., results from the merger of several teams as well as the expansion and creation of several groups aimed to enhance services to and engagement with members. NAR consulted outside experts to conduct the organizational design study of its internal structure, processes and staff, and the newly reorganized structure and teams are effective immediately. "Redefining the staffing structure is an important step toward making sure our members continue to come first," said NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor® from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty. "I believe this new NAR will help bring us greater success in achieving the association's strategic priorities in 2018 and beyond." NAR Organizational Changes and Senior Management Team NAR's Government Affairs and Community and Political Affairs divisions are merged into a new Political Advocacy group, led by newly promoted Chief Advocacy Officer and Senior Vice President Bill Malkasian, who will bring greater synergy to the association's federal, state and local advocacy efforts. A new Member Experience group will focus on ensuring Realtor® associations and members are highly engaged and satisfied with the association and its many services and offerings. NAR General Counsel and Senior Vice President Katherine Johnson takes on an expanded role overseeing all functions related to Legal, Information Services, Association Leadership Development, and Association and Multiple Listing Service Governance. Communications, Marketing, and Meetings/Events are merged into one group, Marketing, Communications and Events, led by Senior Vice President Matt Lombardi. This group will bring significant enhancements to the way NAR communicates with members, ensuring consistency, continuity, rapid response and accuracy in branding, design and messaging. A new Strategic Business Innovation & Technology group, led by recently promoted Senior Vice President Mark Birschbach, will drive industry innovation and bring benefits to members through strategic relationships with a broad range of business and technology players. Birschbach will oversee NAR's Realtor Benefits® Program, Center for Realtor® Technology, Second Century Ventures, REach accelerator, top-level domains, and the relationship with Move, Inc., operator of realtor.com®. Commercial and Global services continue under the leadership of Senior Vice President Janet Branton and will continue to focus on delivering service and value to members working in the global and commercial arenas and creating and building partnerships with real estate professionals and organizations around the world. A newly formed Member Development group, led by newly named Senior Vice President Marc Gould, will drive an integrated education strategy for Realtors®. Gould will continue as dean of student services for Realtor® University, oversee NAR's Center for Realtor® Development, Leadership Academy and the Commitment to Excellence and member financial wellness programs currently in development. The Marketing Research and Predictive Analytics teams will be merged into NAR's Research group to centralize research and data collection and analysis and will be led by Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Lawrence Yun. Human Resources and employee engagement remains under the oversight of Senior Vice President Donna Gland. NAR's enterprise technology infrastructure, ecommerce and staff facing Information Technology services, security and support remain under the leadership of Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President Mark Lesswing. The group will also represent NAR on several technical industry standards organizations. The association's Finance group, overseeing budgets, financial analysis and real estate management will continue to be led by Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President John Pierpoint. A new Leadership Resources team will also be led by Director Erin Campo, who reports directly to the CEO and oversees the operations of NAR's elected leadership, including coordinating their meetings, travel, outreach activities and initiatives to achieve their visions and goals. The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

MMSI Posts Record Sales Quarter for Membership Director
Davidsonville, MD – September 12, 2017 - MMSI, makers of Membership Director have announced that the third quarter sales for the company have set a record. In the third quarter of 2017, the company added four major Association of REALTORS® and MLS customers including San Diego Association of REALTORS®, Greater Fairfield MLS (via the SmartMLS merger), Dayton Area Board of REALTORS®, and Maine Listings. In total, the firm reports adding 42,500 active members to the platform this quarter. Membership Director is among the leaders in providing Realtor® Associations and MLSs with software to manage their members. The most important component of association and MLS management systems is the member portal – allowing agents to pay their dues, register for courses and events, vote in online elections, and stay engaged with the organization. For the San Diego Association of REALTORS®, "Membership Director has so much more of the functionality that we need to support the array of services we provide our agents," says Michael Mercurio, SDAR CEO. "Based on the needs of our 17,000 members, SmartMLS selected MMSI as our membership system. The new membership portal gives agents and brokers seamless access to update their profiles and pay their bills easily. The new membership portal allows the MLS to more effectively communicate and engage with our subscribers with targeted messaging. The portal is a one stop shop for member services, account management, and MLS-related needs. The conversion was quick and accurate, and our members love their new membership portal," says SmartMLS CO-CEO, Kathy Elson. According to CEO James Yockel, the key for the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® (GRAR) was "being able to put our entire value proposition for our members on a single clean, modern page. This 'consumer-grade' level of design and polish is the future of our industry and it's what agents nationwide have been demanding for years." Before switching to Membership Director by MMSI, Maine Listings was managing software they built internally for membership management. "For a very long time, we were unable to find software that was customizable enough to handle the needs of our MLS," said Cathy Libby, CEO of Maine Listings. A key piece of functionality developed for Maine Listings was the ability for brokers to Add, Edit, transfer, or drop agents from the broker roster. "Together with Maine Listings, we are pushing the boundaries of agent and broker self-service, from anywhere, on any device, 24/7. The new Member Portal also serves as an SSO dashboard, allowing Maine Listings, SmartMLS, and GRAR to drop their legacy SSO dashboards. Their members engage with their customized member portals each and every day," says Mark Richburg, MMSI Vice President. Out of the estimated 1,100 Boards who are chartered by the National Association of REALTORS®, around 400 have membership management software. Since buying Membership Director back from CoreLogic in 2011, the company has invested heavily in the product, experiencing 30% growth year over year for the past three years with 99% customer retention. The momentum continues in 2017 with the endurance of this extraordinary growth. Check out a video of the new Member Portal here: MMSI's Membership Director is the most accurate and customizable membership and accounting system specifically focused on REALTOR® associations and MLSs, on-site or in the cloud. With unmatched flexibility, we will meet your needs and exceed your expectations. With over 30 years of industry expertise and the highest standards of customer service, we are excited to help your organization cater to the needs of your members. Visit GoMMSI.com to learn more. Fully Responsive, ADA-Compliant Member Portal – Our new member portal becomes your members' front door to all of the services you offer. From a beautiful, clean dashboard, members can make payments, update contact information, register for courses and events, and see only the notifications that are important for them. Calls to action guide members to their next steps in our industry-leading user experience.

Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches Merges with Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors® to Create the Third Largest Group in the Nation
West Palm Beach, FL – May 11, 2017 – Two of the nation's largest Realtor® associations announced today that they are planning to merge to form the third largest local Realtor® association in the nation.  The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) and Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors® (GFLR) will become the Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale, serving more than 30,000 real estate professionals. This anticipated merger creates a rare opportunity for the Realtors® in Palm Beach, Broward and St. Lucie Counties to have the best in class representing over 25,000 Association members and 30,000 MLS subscribers. The merged association's multiple listing services will carry more than 40,000 on-market listings, totaling over $21 billion in inventory.  This creates both a single source for homebuyers and greater exposure for sellers throughout the Southeast coast of Florida. The company will become one of the 10 largest MLSs in the United States. For brokers and agents, the merger creates a new, much larger territory for expansion and growth without the need for joining multiple MLSs.  The merged Association and combined MLS expect to create economies of scale, opportunities to invest in new, user-friendly technologies and increase services to members. The merged associations will synchronize their technologies and create a seamless experience for brokers and consumers.  Members may choose between FlexMLS and Matrix for their MLS system of choice. In addition, the merger will produce an even more powerful effort at the local, state and national level when advocating for homeownership and private property rights. "Our reimagined association will bring localized service to our members while harnessing our strength and size to provide cutting edge technology and influential advocacy. The organization will place even more emphasis on integrating key technologies," said Dionna Hall, current CEO of RAPB. Hall will be installed as the CEO of the merged Association and MLS. "In today's hyper-connected consumer world, Realtors® need every advantage possible. By combining our Associations, increasing our size, creating regional boards that understand the unique needs of localized markets, offering greater resources, and investing in the newest technology  –  we are quite literally giving our members every advantage possible." said current GFLR CEO Rick Barkett.  Last year, Mr. Barkett, announced his plans to retire. He plans to move forward with his retirement once the merger process is complete. "The partnership will create significant opportunities for our members.  First, by expanding the geographic territory of our association as well as the number of members, to dramatically amplify the amount of listing exposure and targeted leads they can generate. Second, we can save hundreds of dollars for our members that currently belong to both associations. Ideally, they can redeploy this money for marketing programs and other methods to grow their business", said current RAPB President John Slivon who will be the President of the merged entity. "With the combined strengths of RAPB and GFLR, we will be able to help our members better leverage the tools we offer and ensure that we are helping them learn how to best serve the needs of their clients with our technologies and industry and consumer trend education", stated GFLR President Ron Lennen. Lennen will be the President Elect of the merged Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale. Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale will maintain all six of the local service centers run by the two predecessor associations. For more information visit www.supportmerger.com.

NAR Installs 2017 Officers
  ORLANDO, Fla. (November 7, 2016) – Bill Brown, a second generation Realtor® from Alamo, California was installed today as 2017 president of the National Association of Realtors® at the association's Board of Directors meeting during the 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Brown has been active in real estate for 36 years and is the founder of Investment Properties, a division of the family real estate business started by his father, William H. Brown, in 1964, which focuses on the sale of apartment buildings to both institutional and private capital investors. Brown was NAR's 2016 president-elect and 2015 first vice president. He has served in numerous positions at the local, state and national levels, including as an NAR director since 1991, the 2004 chairman of the Realtors® Political Action Committee Trustees, a committee liaison in 2006 and 2011, and 2012 vice president for Region 13, comprised of California, Hawaii and Guam. In 2008, he served as the California Association of Realtors® president and was honored as Realtor® of the Year; he served on CAR's Executive Committee six times. Brown was elected president of the Oakland Association of Realtors® in 1984. Elizabeth Mendenhall is 2017 NAR president-elect. She has been a Realtor® for 20 years and is CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty in Columbia, Missouri. Mendenhall is a sixth-generation Realtor® and holds numerous real estate designations. On the national level, Mendenhall currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. She chaired NAR's Strategic Planning Committee in 2012, served as vice president of committees in 2011 and was the NAR liaison to association leadership in 2008. In 2010, Mendenhall served as president of the Missouri Association of Realtors®, and in 2003, she served as president of the Columbia Board of Realtors® and was named their Realtor® of the Year. Thomas Riley, a Realtor® from Bedford, New Hampshire is the 2017 NAR treasurer. He has been a Realtor® for more than 35 years and is president of Riley Enterprises Inc., specializing in residential and commercial real estate and property management. In 2015, Tom served as NAR's vice president for Region 1, serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He previously served on the NAR Board of Directors from 2007 to 2008 and 2010 to 2013 and served multiple times on the Finance Committee, including as vice chair in 2014. Riley served as president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors® in 2011 and president of the Greater Manchester/Nashua Board of Realtors® in 1998. John Smaby is 2017 NAR first vice president. Smaby is a second-generation Realtor® and has been in the industry for 37 years; he is a broker at Edina Realty, where he specializes in residential real estate. Smaby has held numerous positions nationally and with the Minnesota Association of Realtors®, where he served as president in 2015, treasurer in 2013 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2013. He was MNAR's Realtor® Political Action Committee chair from 2013 to 2015 and the RPAC Trustees and Public Advocacy Committee chair in 2014. In 2013, Smaby received the Ed Anderson Political Achievement Award and in 2014, was named Realtor® of the Year. Mabél Guzmán is 2017 NAR vice president. Guzmán, a Realtor® for more than 20 years, is a broker with @properties in Chicago. At the national level, she served as the 2014 chair for NAR's Conventional Finance & Policy Committee and in 2015 as the liaison for Global Committees. She chaired the Student Loan Debt Working Group from 2014 to 2016. Guzmán served as a member of the Illinois Realtors® Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011. In 2014 and 2015, she received their President's Medallion for Outstanding Service. Guzmán was elected treasurer in 2009 and president in 2011 of the Chicago Association of Realtors® and was a member of the board of directors from 2007 to 2009. In 2012, she was named their Realtor® of the Year. Kevin Sears is also 2017 NAR vice president. Sears, a Realtor® for over 20 years from Springfield, Massachusetts, is broker/partner of Sears Real Estate, specializing in single-family brokerage and property management. Sears has served NAR in numerous capacities, including as NAR's 2016 vice president for Region 1, comprised of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He has served on the NAR Board of Directors since 2008 and as a federal political coordinator for over 15 years. In 2016, Sears chaired the Realtor® Party of the Future Strategic Planning Work Group. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors® elected him President in 2010 and he has been a member of their Board of Directors since 2000. In 2006, MAR named Sears Realtor® of the Year. He was elected president of the Realtor® Association of Pioneer Valley in 2005. NAR's 2017 regional vice presidents are: Jamie Diane Moore, Warwick, Rhode Island, Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont); Allan H. Dechert, Avalon, New Jersey, Region 2 (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania); Mary Dykstra, Roanoke, Virginia, Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia); Ann McDonald, Winchester, Kentucky, Region 4 (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee); Sherri Meadows, Ocala, Florida, Region 5 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands); William G. Milliken Jr., Ann Arbor, Michigan, Region 6 (Michigan and Ohio); Patrick Dalessandro, Prospect Heights, Illinois, Region 7 (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin); Donald R. Marple, Davenport, Iowa, Region 8 (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota); Karen Crowson, Benton, Arkansas, Region 9 (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma); Leslie Rouda Smith, Plano, Texas, Region 10 (Louisiana and Texas); George Harvey, Telluride, Colorado, Region 11 (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming); Julie DeLorenzo, Boise, Idaho, Region 12 (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington); and Leil Koch, Kula, Hawaii, Region 13 (California, Hawaii and Guam). The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

MMSI Unveils Real Estate Industry’s Most Robust Responsive Member Portal
Austin, TX – November 13, 2015 – Association Management System vendor MMSI, announces the release of the real estate industry's most robust, responsive member portal. In a yearlong partnership with the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), MMSI has developed a responsive interface for the member-facing aspect of their core product, Membership Director. Unique in the industry, this new tool empowers ABoR members with mobile access to the full breadth of MMSI's self-service functionality. From education and event registration to making payments and voting in elections, tasks that could previously only be done on desktop have now been redesigned to serve the mobile agent. Paul Hilgers, CEO of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, said, "Our members are always on the go, which means they may not always be at a desktop when signing up for a class or paying an invoice. We're excited to provide our membership with the most user-friendly experience available when it comes to interacting with their association." Working in close collaboration, MMSI and ABoR redesigned the member-facing portal with a responsive layout to work seamlessly on any device. Rich Richburg, President of MMSI, said, "Our focus was developing a comprehensive and powerful member portal that works across all platforms so an Association can bring the tools their members need in the format they desire. We are so pleased that we were able to partner with ABoR on this project." MMSI's new fully-responsive member portal is now available to all of their customers. The system supports all the functionality and customizability of previous generation portals, while improving the user experience for both members and staff. MMSI's Membership Director is the most accurate and customizable membership and accounting system specifically focused on REALTOR® associations and MLSs, on-site or in the cloud. With unmatched flexibility, we will meet your needs and exceed your expectations. With over 30 years of industry expertise and the highest standards of customer service, we are excited to help your organization cater to the needs of your members. Visit GoMMSI.com to learn more. The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) builds connections through the use of technology, education and advocacy to strengthen the careers of its 11,000 members and improve the lives of Central Texas families. We empower Austin REALTORS® to connect their clients to the region's most complete, accurate and up-to-date listings data. For more, contact the ABoR Department of Public Affairs at marketing[at]abor.com or 512-454-7636. For the latest local housing market listings, visit AustinHomeSearch.com.

Dionna Brahs-Hall Appointed New CEO of 6th Largest REALTOR® Association in Nation
West Palm Beach, FL -- The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) announced late Monday afternoon that Chief Operating Officer Dionna Brahs-Hall has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of RAPB and their Multiple Listing Service Division, BeachesMLS. The change is effective immediately. "Working alongside Ms. Hall for a number of years and seeing how the RAPB Board of Directors and Association staff responds to her leadership, I am confident she is the right person to lead our organization moving forward," stated 2015 RAPB President Matt Halperin. "She has the talent, knowledge, and industry experience that is necessary to ensure that our Association staff is best suited to service our 13,000 plus members." Hall, who was born and raised locally in Boynton Beach and a graduate of Atlantic Community High School and Florida State University, has been with RAPB for nearly a decade. In her 10 years of experience, RAPB has credited her with numerous accomplishments, including: leading various legislative victories as Government Affairs Director; facilitating the creation of BeachesMLS; working extensively to develop committee structures and staffing policies following the Association's merger in 2013; and implementing the vision of bringing back localized communications and services to their members. Hall also oversees day-to-day operations at RAPB, including four office locations servicing 13,000 plus members spread across Southeast Florida and the Treasure Coast. "Ms. Hall is widely recognized as one of the brightest Association Executives in the REALTOR® industry across the nation. Her extensive list of contacts and expertise in building community and industry relationships will forge RAPB and BeachesMLS into the next chapter of the real estate world with emphasis on keeping the REALTOR® at the center of the transaction," President Halperin added. About RAPB The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) is the 6th largest local association in the country representing over 13,000 REALTOR® members involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate throughout Southeast Florida. RAPB members are "The Voices for Local Real Estate," providing consumers with real insight on the homeownership process with data accuracy and market expertise. Many of their members also engage in one or more divisions of RAPB, including the REALTORS® of St. Lucie County (RSLC), REALTORS® Commercial Alliance, the Young Professionals Network, and the award-winning Global Business Alliance. Consumers will find their perfect REALTOR® match from RAPB by visiting www.SouthFloridaPropertyMatch.com.