“I was a high school English teacher and did it for love. When I changed careers I did it for money!”
-Linda Mathis,
North Florida Builders
“I was in the medical field for 15 years. My last few years in a hospital resulted in promotions to a point that I no longer had patient contact. Although the money was good, I missed interacting with people and knowing that daily I was helping someone to work out a problem, be it their medical treatment plan, or their medical bills. I decided it was time to pursue a childhood dream of real estate. After calling many of the local offices, I met with Carmen Edwards at Prudential Avondale and was sold that this was the direction I needed to take. I have found that for many, buying or selling a house can be as stressful as an illness in the family. I love the feeling of finding the right home for each of my buyers and the getting the right price and terms for each of my sellers. The smiles, hugs and tears of joy are just a few of the rewards I find in being a Realtor.”
-Mary Larson Remington, Prudential Network
Realty in Avondale
“I graduated college in 1996 and went to work for Norwest Financial [now Wells Fargo]. We did it all from collections, small loans, marketing and mortgages. It was here that I found my niche and decided to make mortgage lending my career. I love this business and never looked back.”
-Eddie O’Keefe,
Praneta Financial, Inc.
“Prior to being in the mortgage business, I was in retail. I sold men’s clothing. I started while in high school, quickly moved into management, worked hard and had fun for six years [for very little money]. I attended a Fourth of July party. While at that party I struck up conversation with a few people, all of which asked if I were in the mortgage business. I decided I should look into the business and the rest is history.”
-David Wakefield,
CTX Mortgage
“I was a dental assistant with minimal raises every year and no opportunity for advancement. I wanted to make more money and I knew I was a self-motivated person who could do anything I set my mind to. I had a patient, who was a psychologist, who came into the office one day and I told him I was taking the real estate class and he told me the average real estate person only made $14,000 a year at that time. I told him I was not average. Him saying that to me only made me want to be successful in real estate!”
-Peggie Wattron,
Century 21
Lighthouse Realty
“In my pre-real estate life, I was a career Navy sonar technician until I retired in 1994. I then worked full time a courier [learned the city well] and attended Florida Community College of Jacksonville full time. I had entertained the thought of getting into real estate as far back as the late seventies, but the draw of the Navy kept that from becoming a reality. My Realtor and friend convinced me in late 1996 to take the plunge and I’m glad I did. Got my license in March of 1997.”
-Larry Atwell,
Vanguard/GMAC
“I worked for 18 years for Harry Broom, a real estate appraiser of Broom, Moody and Johnson. Harry appraised such beautiful communities [Sawgrass, Marsh Landing and The Plantation] and when we appraised these properties and I met several of the agents working there. I thought how wonderful it would be to be involved in the sales, instead of the appraising side, of real estate. While working for Harry I obtained my real estate license, then my broker’s license. I have had a wonderful and successful career, have met many wonderful people, and have tremendously enjoyed working for World Golf Village for the past five years.”
-Diana R. NesSmith,
Davidson Realty, Inc.
“I fell into the homebuilding business just by buying a home. I had been a military wife for 20 years and had worked for six years managing a military golf course in Savannah. When we moved to Orlando and bought a home, I ended up working part time for the sales agent that sold us our home. Very quickly I got recruited by the developer of the community to manage developer marketing efforts and a community information center. I loved everything about the industry and wanted to learn as much as I could. My boss was receptive to letting me attend Northeast Florida Builders Association, NEFBA’S Sales and Marketing Council, attending IRM and MIRM classes, and letting me shadow him in all phases of development. I’ve been in the business 20 years now and love what I do. Better yet, I’m still shadowing the best boss I’ve ever had, Don Wilford, and learning more every day.”
-Karen Sutherland,
ICI Homes
“Being secretary to a quality control engineer and then a ‘stay at home mom’ to four children and their ‘buddies’! The turning point was having a child being diagnosed with an illness for which there was no known cure at the time and anticipating the future and the mounting medical bills. It was important to be in a field that offered flexible hours and decent pay. Real estate has been a great experience for me!”
-Kathy White, Re/Max Professional Group
“I practiced as a lawyer in my ignorant youth and have been practicing commercial real estate since 1985.”
-Andre J. van Rensburg, Steer Commercial Realty
“I was a waitress in a five-star restaurant but the trays got so heavy for me to carry. From the day I was born I think the Lord prepared me for real estate, helping others get one of the best rewards in life, a home, I’ve moved and learned so much and wish to always, help others invest in property. Grandpa was a big influence, too.”
-Diane Ward,
Century 21 A1A Realty
“I was a United States Air Force officer and transport pilot. I retired after 27 plus years as a colonel. I bought and sold real estate in the Panhandle after returning from Vietnam in 1968 and that spurred my interest in a real estate career. Unfortunately, some 17 moves in those 27-plus years did not allow me to ‘dive in’ until after I retired from the Air Force. We moved to Fernandina Beach in 1998 and I finally got to throw away those moving boxes!”
-Tom O’Connell,
Watson Amelia Island
“I was working as a sales rep for the Credit Bureau of Tallahassee [in Panama City Beach] when a teenager rear-ended me in my car at a red light. I ended up being laid up for almost eight months and lost my job. I also had finance and collection experience, so I figured since I wasn’t making any money that I might as well give real estate a try! That was nine years ago last month.”
-Stephanie White,
Stephanie White Realty
“Here’s my scoop. Right out of college I got married and fell into a job with a newspaper, splitting my time between circulation and selling ads. Following our move back to my hometown here, I got a job with the Ponte Vedra Recorder, and I did everything - selling, writing, editing, production, and getting the darned thing mailed each week! Then I got with a group of well-heeled locals and started a newspaper called The Sun-Times, a free-distribution weekly paper that covered all of the beaches communities. That was a blast until I got worn out and decided that the new hot thing was cable television. My media career continued as I first sold the newest product to become available since the invention of the television, cable television, to most of the residents of Ponte Vedra Beach. Then I moved up to become the manager of the local company, Arvida-Clearview Cable Television. However, I hit that corporate glass ceiling which was my turning point and started casting about for something else. I took my salesman’s licensing course at night through Florida Community College of Jacksonville at Fletcher High School from Jeanell Wilson, broker of All South Realty, and took the dive into my new career in 1985! I love real estate in part because it satisfies my need to know what’s going on, as my media career did. And like my days in the media, every day is different, which for me is also a plus!”
-Clare Berry, Broker,
Berry & Co. Real Estate
“I was a court reporter for a short stint. I hated the job, after taking a good while to go through the expensive school it dawned on me that I am a people person not a machine person and I quit very quickly after torturing myself for three months. Even though I was making good money it taught me that money is not enough. My long-term job that I had prior to this was as a court liaison officer [probation officer]. I knew that after handling court cases and my felony caseload, real estate would be a refreshing change and couldn’t be any more challenging that what I had been doing. I have not looked back and am very glad I made that decision back on December 6, 1986. And now you know ‘some’ of the rest of my story!”
-Connie Mabry, Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty, Inc.
“Before I became a Realtor, I was a special education teacher. It was a very rewarding career but it meant long hours and a lot of stress! I decided I wanted to have a job with more flexibility so I could spend more time enjoying my family and maybe even have some spare time for myself. I chose real estate because my grandmother had been a Realtor when I was a teenager and she used to take me with her on showings and listing appointments and it seemed fun. I thoroughly enjoy what I’m doing and have no regrets.”
-Kerry Prodromides,
Century 21 - St. Augustine Properties
“Originally from New Jersey, I went to work for E. F. Hutton after graduating from Rutgers College in 1984, and then accepted a position with Merrill Lynch. As a manager with Merrill Lynch’s Mutual Fund division, I decided to leave the cold northeast and transferred to Jacksonville in 1992. With initial thoughts of only spending a year in Jacksonville, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very affordable housing market, so I decided to purchase my first home. Not knowing much about the real estate market, I learned the importance of having a good Realtor, and was a bit intrigued by a situation that occurred during my house hunting excursions when I nearly bought a home with a short, but spirited past. Realizing the importance of driving the neighborhood and doing my due diligence, I drove by a home that I was interested in purchasing. The next-door neighbor saw my New Jersey license plate and struck up a conversation. ‘You do know what happened here, right?’ the neighbor asked when I told her of my plans to buy the home. ‘Sure,’ I replied, shrugging off the neighbor’s wide-eyed look. “Then she says, ‘You mean you don’t mind living in a house that had an exorcism?” Catholic and a bit weirded out by the thought of sharing a bathroom with Beelzebub, I called my Realtor. Turns out the person who had built the house had a change of heart and claimed evil spirits inhabited the house, hoping to get out of her contract with the builder. The builder decided to play the game and arranged for a priest to conduct an exorcism. Since this was not a latent defect, the builder did not have to disclose this. Needless to say, I did not purchase the home. That experience piqued my interest in real estate. After earning my masters degree with honors and moving up the corporate ladder, my management career was taking a path that would require leaving Jacksonville, so I left the corporate world for a career in real estate and haven’t looked back since!”
-Phyllis Staines,
Re/max Coastal Real Estate
“Before becoming a home inspector, I was a Navy pilot. Having been a Navy pilot was great preparation for becoming a home inspector. Pilots need the ability to access technical situations simply, make rapid decisions under fire, and possess the integrity to do the right thing regardless of political pressure. Yep, that’s a home inspector.”
-Wally Conway,
HomePro Inspections
“This is a fun question. My previous careers varied from union negotiator and trainer to manager of several different businesses and then opened my own company for a while. My last position for 10 years before becoming a Realtor was with a major hospital as a manager of several departments working with some wonderful people. All of the moves I made in my previous careers were to increase my income and position myself better in the business world. One morning I found that there was a major change going on and within weeks I was out of the business world and wondering what I wanted to be when I grew up [too old to be wondering such a thing]. I can happily report that making the exciting change to real estate was the best career move I ever made. I have been happier and know that it has offered me more opportunities than my previous career paths ever offered. I loved listing and selling real estate for several years. However, I have found the best fit for me in the training, coaching and mentoring of new agents with Prudential Network Realty. As the training director for Prudential Network Realty for the last four years, I am excited to go to work every day. I have never had this much fun and seen this much excitement and success in one place. Prudential Network Realty is an amazing place to work with so much to offer our associates newly licensed or experienced.”
-Sheron Willson,
Prudential Network Realty
“Being laid off from a local marina where I was a sales and marketing manager, I was looking for a career where I could have more control over my destiny. While trying to decide which career choice would give me longevity, I kept seeing more and more new subdivisions. I said to my husband that they are still building homes, so I should seriously try a career in real estate. I am so grateful that I did. I love seeing clients go from screaming to dancing through the entire house. It is an awesome feeling to help someone dream become a reality.”
-Ollie Satcher-Brown,
Prudential Network Realty
“Before getting into real estate and right out of college, I was a teacher; my undergrad degree is a Bachelor’s in teaching. I then moved to Florida in 1988, was hired by a large pharmaceutical company to cover North Florida as a medical sales rep and secured my real estate license while I was working in medical sales. The sales training is the best in the pharmaceutical industry and I made the transition into real estate very easily! I now have been selling real estate for 15 years and in 1996 became an owner of my company and I’m now building brand new offices for our company’s growth and expansion!”
-Kim Davis,
Ponte Vedra Beach Realty
“All my life I wanted to be a teacher and now I am, just in a different way. After college, I earned my real estate license in 1977 in Michigan, and then my broker’s license in 1991. I was persuaded by a friend to interview and work for the Board of Realty Information Systems as the education director. There were 10 of us who traveled around the country training the staff of real estate associations and brokers/agents. Then I worked as a Zone Automation Consultant for Century 21 International [when they were in Irvine, Calif., in the days when Met Life owned them, before Cendant!]. Three of us ‘Zoners’ traveled 20 states! Shortly after I moved to Florida, I got my real estate license in 1991 and in 1992, I was hired as the executive officer of the Jacksonville Beaches Association of Realtors. Many of the Beach [and town] Realtors were instrumental in ‘training’ me!! Just ask them!! I have worked full time with my husband Fred since July 2000, buying and selling houses and investment properties. I do what I love and love what I do!”
-Jenet Cattar,
Cattar Realty, Inc.