Yesterday’s meeting at CCRIM – Contra Costa Realtors in Motion – was like a blend of vaudeville and the Oprah show.

Cathy Lee of CL Design Services and Debra Schwiering  of Brook Furniture Rental demonstrated how a few changes in furniture and accessories can transform a poorly lit stage into a thing of beauty (the mic stand and state flag were not part of the staging – that would be an additional fee for those of you wanting that extra touch!).

Cathy and Debra swear the results will be even more dramatic in the homes that real estate agents have staged.

CLDesign Services has been using Brook Furniture Rental for sometime and Cathy Lee had a list of accolades so long for Debra and BFR, I thought for a moment I was listening to President Bill Clinton talk about Hillary (just kidding!).

Cathy Lee is very happy with the service she receives from Brook Furniture Rental and recommends them to the world.

Today, we are all wondering how Tom Proell’ s back is doing after all of that heavy lifting – he ain’t no spring chicken anymore and those gals had him working hard!

Cathy Lee, stager and owner of CLDesign Services, alerted me to a new coffee cafe in Danville – The Sideboard.

Cathy was raving about the pastries and the souffles, though they aren’t called souffles on the menu (I can’t remember the term they use).

So, Sunday morning I decided to give the Sideboard a try and get some real estate blogging done. I was wandering around trying to locate the Sideboard because I thought Cathy had told me it was in the back where Celia’s used to be. Cathy Lee happened to be there and saw me wandering around dazed and confused. She came out and rescued me just as I was leaving her a voicemail asking her for better directions. I was standing right next to it!

Just goes to show you how desperately this real estate agent needed his morning coffee!

Cathy introduced me to the owner (baker extraordinaire) Erin Andrews who tried to keep me from taking her picture, but I persevered. Later I met Erin’s husband, Ford, who was bussing tables (this division of labor should surprise no married couple).

Cathy, her husband, Kurt Waag, and friend Rose had a nice corner table. Kurt left and I joined Cathy and Rose. I had an excellent cup of coffee and a wonderful (souffle?) with asparagus and goat cheese.

I’m recommending the Sideboard to all Realtors, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders in Alamo, Danville and San Ramon. I’ll probably mention it to a few others as well.

The Sideboard is located in the Danville Hotel at 411 Hartz Avenue, Danville, CA 94526.

Thursday’s weekly meeting of the RMA – Realtors Marketing Association – at the San Ramon Community Center included the acknowledgment of the Realtor of the Year and the Affiliate of the Year awards.

Jim Walberg of Keller Williams Realty in Danville received recognition for his service to the community and the association. He was awarded Realtor of the Year. Jim has been selling real estate in the East Bay for over 20 years. He is a past president of the RMA, amember of Rotary and is actively involved in the Winter Special Olympics and the One Warm Coat program.

Affiliate of the Year went to Cathy Lee of CLDesign Services. Cathy Lee is one of the foremost stagers in the I-680 Corridor. She attends all three marketing association weekly meetings regularly and is always lending a hand in the numerous yearly activities. She is actively involved with the Women’s Council of Realtors.

These awards went to well-deserving people. They are exemplars of what professionals in the real estate community should be and I consider myself fortunate to be their friend and professional associate.

It seems The Question of Integrity is up for me today.

Yesterday, I was pondering doing more to recognize some of the vendors and other profesionals we work with on a daily basis. As I began to think about writing a post for today, I immediately ran into a conflict. The two people that first came into my mind to write about are: both friends, both read this blog, and are both stagers/designers.

What’s a body to do? If I write about one, will the other be chaffed? I’m taking the easy way out and writing about both of them. I would recommend both to anyone looking for design or staging services.

We work with a number of lenders and always offer at least two recommendations to a client. The client can then choose the person they feel the best fit with. So, that’s where I’m coming from and here they are (in alphabetical order!):

Cathy Lee of CLDesginServices is very well known and very active in the Realtors Marketing Association in San Ramon and Danville, CA. Cathy’s site was experiencing some problems this morning and I have alerted her to the situation (here is an alternative link). (if you get the right url John, it works fine!) She is making some site changes to incorporate a blog into her site as well as updating some of the content – so, please be patient with her – she is a designer not a web guru. Cathy Lee is suffering from being a grandmother. It seems she is in danger of losing her right index finger due to shutterbugitis. I know the reason she wants a blog is to post pictures of her twin grandsons in every staging job she does.

Elizabeth Forth of Refined Interior Designs is another friend and professional associate. You can tell a successful designer by the bright yellow Corvette they drive with the armchair and lamp tied to the trunk rack! Elizabeth has her own truck and her 9–car garage is really a warehouse for her staging inventory. I hope you can tell, that some of this is tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, we would recommend Elizabeth to everyone and anyone seeking a professional designer/stager.

Both of these professionals are fine representatives of their prfessions. They are wonderful friends and genuine people with a great deal of integrity.