Fred Seely
This seems to be the year of better ideas.
The Realtor-Builder Luncheon, as anyone who has attended one can tell you, has been a .... um....dog. No fun. Sit down, get served mediocre food and have people talking from the podium that bothers you while you’re whispering to the person in the next seat.
We have enough boring meetings in our lives. No need for another, particularly when it’s not an occasion that demands any formality.
The first good change this year was the Laurel Awards, which became a show as well as a ceremony.
Now they’ve changed the R-B lunch. They’re making a big deal of what we want (the trade show,) making it easy and good for another thing we want (food,) and getting rid of what we don’t need (boring speeches.)
They also selected a venue that’s a jillion times better for this type event. The West Club at the stadium is a classy place that will easily suit this event; it’s not the West Club you’ve seen before as they’ve done a massive renovation.
The trade show will be the centerpiece, not the program. The food will be in a buffet, so you can eat when your tummy tells you, not when someone bangs a gavel.
The Osborn Center has its moments, but none are at a combination trade show/meeting. Last year’s luncheon was especially awful as the trade show and the luncheon shared the same room, separated only by a curtain, and it got worse when the sound system didn’t work.
And one promise to you who are at the trade show reading this and getting ready to eat: the food will be about 1,000 percent better.
• • •
You’ve read the many profiles on these pages written by Michele Newbern Gillis and she usually asks them to recommend a good book.
Have you noticed that about half seem to say “The Purpose Driven Life” is their choice?
I hadn’t read it but put the notion in the backroads of my mind — if that many intelligent people are reading something ... well, why haven’t I?
Usual excuses. Not enough time, haven’t seen a copy, had something else to read, etc., etc.
Our church is doing the 40-day study of the book and there was no way to avoid it, so I’m reading it. You should, too.
Yes, it is written by a Christian pastor and yes, it is a Christian book. If you aren’t a Christian, please accept my statement that I’m not evangelizing when I say that you should read it, too. You can substitute whatever words you want for “God” and “Jesus.”
People in the real estate and construction businesses lead hectic lives and sometimes the day-to-day incidentals overwhelm our purpose. We end up doing more and accomplishing less, and often our main purpose ends up at the end of the line.
The book may not get you straightened out but it might get you on the right path.
If you need another opinion, ask the person at the next desk. Seems like almost everyone has read it.
— Fred Seely is the editor of Realty/Builder Connection and editorial director of
Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc.
He can be reached at [email protected].