by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When pondering what to say about the Keller-Williams First Coast Realty office in Orange Park, the issue isn’t what to talk about, but rather where to start.
With the fact that the office is a true family affair?
With co-owner Sandy Kahle, who has more degrees than a thermometer, and most of them aren’t real estate-related?
With the fact that Keller-Williams is the fastest-growing real estate company in the country?
Kahle actually never meant to get into real estate. In fact, she’s been going to school since the early 1970s and collecting degrees along the way. It’s an impressive list, too: BS, MBA, PE, JD, CCIM and GRI. That’s right. She earned a Bachelor of Science, decided that wasn’t enough and in 1977 earned her MBA from the University of North Florida. Not satisfied, Kahle got her Practical Engineering degree and went to work for BellSouth for 20 years before looking for a new challenge. Kahle then entered law school at the University of Florida, graduated and practiced federal bankruptcy law in Jacksonville for three years. In 1998, her sister, Pat Alters, persuaded her to enter the real estate industry and she went to work for Re/Max. In 2003, the sisters started the Keller-Williams office in Orange Park.
When asked if she may be the smartest Realtor in the area, Kahle kind of deferred, but did admit she’s still interested in academia.
“I love to go to school,” said Kahle, who was born and raised in Jacksonville. “I would go back in a heartbeat.”
Alters isn’t just Kahle’s sister, they are partners in the business along with Kahle’s niece, Celena Blunk. But that’s not where the family tree ends. Kahle’s daughter Cindy McLain is an agent and her sister-in-law Donna Kowalenko also works in the office, as does Kahle’s daughter-in-law Lindsey Kahle. And that may not be it.
“My youngest daughter is thinking about getting into real estate,” said Kahle. “I’m encouraging her because she definitely has the personality for it. She definitely needs to be selling something.”
Kahle said while she and her sister meant to go into business together, some of the other family additions weren’t planned. And, she said, it creates an interesting dynamic to have so many close family members under the same professional roof five days a week.
“It’s fun, but you have to remember to keep business separate from the personalities. You have to keep your feelings away from the office because you have to live with these people forever,” said Kahle, adding there are several other related folks working in the office, but not to the extent of her clan.
Family aside, the plan for both the local and national Keller-Williams company is working (the company is based in Austin, Texas). Kahle said she and Alters started the Orange park office with 10 agents and today they have 50 with a full-time recruiter. They also are looking to open a Ponte Vedra office.
“The plan is to grow much more than that,” she said. “We have a team leader whose job it is to recruit, hire and train new agents. Keller-Williams is the fastest-growing real estate franchise in the country. Our numbers are nothing compared to some of the numbers in places like Atlanta and South Florida.”