The votes are in and the winner is…John Harper of The Harper Mees Team.  The RMA, which meets in San Ramon every Thursday, recognized John Harper as the top realtor of the quarter.  John was genuinely surprised at the meeting today where he was presented with a plaque by Will Doerlich, president of the RMA.

According to Kris Viers, RMA Advisory Council member, each quarter the RMA Board of Directors chooses a Realtor and an affiliate to honor for their contributions to the organization, the real estate community and the community at large.  John was nominated because of his work with the RMA in getting the new website up and running (www.rmatoday.com) and for his interest and involvement with other organizations within the industry.  We know he's worked with the Women’s Council of Realtors / WCR (www.wcrccc.org) for example, in trying to get their website going as well.  John attends the RMA meetings on a pretty regular basis, is always upbeat and positive, and is the ultimate "networker" which is what RMA is all about.  He has done a lot to promote the Realtors' Marketing Association since he started attending - even before the website - and that has not gone unnoticed.  After he was nominated, the Board quickly finalized their decision to make John their choice as Realtor of the Quarter.

Having known John for all my life, this comes as no surprise to me.  John has been a true innovator in the use of technology over the years and his understanding of the Internet and marketing over the Internet is truly unique. Congratulations John!  Well Deserved!!!

-Craig Harper, your inspired brother, business partner and biggest fan.

There are a lot of hungry real estate agents in Danville and San Ramon – and – I’m not talking about the competition for real estate business in the TriValley area.

Real Estate agents eat, too – and not just at the Realtors Marketing Association meeting on Thursdays in San Ramon which includes breakfast.

Katy’s Korner at 2550 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in San Ramon is an establishment popular with local Realtors. Me? I like Katy’s because I like poached eggs and they know how to poach egg right. They also serve you three for breakfast which is enough to almost get a real estate agent through their afternoon open house.

I was having the Santa Fe Benedict when Ernie DeCoite from Financial Mortgage Bankers walked in with a group of guys. I guess Katy’s is popular with the lending crowd also.

Seems like if you need a home and breakfast, you could accomplish everything with one stop at Katy’s Korner. Give them a try.

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.

Last week at the weekly Realtors Marketing Association meeting in San Ramon, Ca I took a few moments to admire the new art being exhibited in the San Ramon Community Center.

The work is by Liliya V. Mullins. There are some great pieces. I thought I would mention her work on our blog, lshow a few pieces and link to her site – alas – I can not find a website for her.

This always amazes me. I have been building sites for over 15 years. A website is more important than a yellow page ad. If you’re in business, it’s as important as a phone number. It matters not if you’re 80 or 18, if you want to increase business and recognition – you need to be on the Internet AND you need to be there in an effective way.

If you want to increase your web presence – give me a call – John 925–895–2694.

If you get a chance – check out Liliya V. Mullins’ art at the San Ramon Community Center through July 30th.

I was leafing through Good Stuff Magazine recently – Good Stuff Magazine is an ad media magazine. It’s only real purpose is advertising. As I was flipping through the pages, I found these businesses:

• ScreenMobile – 925–829–3100 (no website – a whole other issue)
• California Tree Service – 925–932–1648 (another no website ad)
• Handyman Connection – www.handymanconnection.com
• Mr Handyman – 925–228–2888 (no website – maybe I should make this about websites & business!)
• Pacific Drywall – www.nopopcorn.com
• The Grout Doctor – www.groutdoctor.com
• Rock Solid – www.coatedconcrete.com

What occurred to me was that these businesses are missing the boat on one of the best places they could be advertising – the local marketing associations for Realtors. We attend the weekly Realtors Marketing Association in San Ramon and the weekly Valley Marketing Association in Pleasanton.

Realtors are always looking for services like the ones above and Realtors are great sources for referrals. The real estate business is referral driven – half of all sales come from referrals. Realtors are all about referrals. For a few hundred dollars these businesses could get up in front of a couple of hundred realtors and make themselves known.

Just this week, the listing presentations at the marketing meetings included these listings:

• 4366 Fairlands Drive, Pleasanton, CA
• 552 Old Orchard Drive, Danville, CA
• 401 Wabash Place, Danville
• 1950 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek, CA
• 200 El Dorado Avenue #8, Danville
• 290 Ludlow Place, San Ramon, CA
• 129 Coralflower Lane, San Ramon
• 1213 Nancy Lane, San Ramon
• 40 Sarah Court, Danville
• 11574 Estrella Court, Dublin, CA
• 8593 Valencia Street, Dublin
• 5664 Paseo Navarro, Pleasanton
• 864 Everglades, Lane, Livermore, CA
• 4094 Cristobal Way, Pleasanton
• 246A Canyon Woods Way, San Ramon
• 4697 Myrtle Drive, Dublin
• 5603 Highcrest Court, Moller Ranch, Pleasanton
• 7020H Stagecoach road, Dublin
• 2756 Turnstone Drive, Pleasanton
• 3843 Appian street, Pleasanton
• 1528 Frederick Michael Street, Livermore
• 4303 Clarinbridge Circle, Dublin Ranch Village
• 2191 Bently Lane, Tracey, CA

I’ll bet at least a couple of these listings could have used one of the services mentioned above.