by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
If you missed the Florida Association of Realtors convention recently, Julie Knowles, the president of the St. Augustine Women’s Council of Realtors and of Premier Properties, said you missed a wealth of information.
“You missed a lot of information that could help you get to the next level,” said Knowles. “You really should try to budget it in and plan to go next year to the convention in San Francisco. It was well worth every single penny.”
Knowles, Christine Rich of ICI, Josie Taylor of Wells Fargo and Berta Odom of Realty Executives St. Augustine Beach all attended the meeting and created packets of information for the WCR members.
Rich brought back information on using Outlook and a packet summarizing a presentation on “Strategies for Selling to Four Customer Types.”
Taylor brought back packets from two different seminars. The first was “High Value Relationships Ensure Business Success” and the other was “Advanced Contracts: The How-To of Complex Transactions.”
Odom brought back information on how to brand yourself and make yourself more memorable to your clients.
Knowles created a packet on effective negotiating for real estate professionals.
Also during the meeting, Joseph Joyner, superintendent of schools for the St. Johns County School District, talked with the Realtors about their school system and upcoming projects in the school system.
“I have experience with unfettered and rampant growth like we are experiencing in St. Johns County,” said Joyner. “What is important to me as superintendent is to provide quality teachers in every classroom and appropriate leadership in the schools.”
He said he does this by hiring very qualified and competent teachers and then supporting them by strong staff development and training for the teachers.
Last year Joyner said the growth rate of his school population was 5.7 percent and this year it is 6.7 percent.
“We are probably the fastest growing school district in Florida right now,” he said.
Even though they are growing fast, he said they are not letting that affect performance. Joyner claimed the St. Johns County School system is the highest performing in the state.
He said the schools in St. Johns County are not overflowing and underachieving.
“We depend on the Realtor community to get the facts and truths out there to the public,” he said. “Your group touches so many other people.”
Joyner discussed strategic planning for the next 10 years for the schools in St. Johns County. Currently, there are 25 schools in the St. Johns County school district.
“Over the next 20 years that number will double,” said Joyner. “I see the next expansion area is in the World Golf Village and Mill Creek.”