President's Update
“If you build it, he will come”

Thomson Prison…. For those who are not familiar the prison is on our far west end of our association along the Mississippi.  Here are the stats:

  • 2001 Built
  • 2001-2012 sat empty
  • 2012 Feds bought it
  • 2015 started hiring

So for the locals this is like a present that you could never open or a gift card you never got to use before they closed (I hate that when that happens).

Here’s the latest:
The warden sent local communities a letter on May 24 th  stating the prison will go from 400 to 600 employees.  The prison will be adding clinical staff as well.  Since the letter Mt. Carroll has committed to a renovation housing program and Clinton is adding a subdivision.  

According to the human development resource specialist of the prison the average employee commutes 30 miles to the prison.  Mainly, Mt. Carroll, Fulton, Morrison, Sterling/Rock Falls, and Clinton.  There are some that commute as far away as the Quad Cities because of the lack of amenities in the Thomson area such as housing, schools, daycare.  It is a “hard to fill” prison.

So if you draw a 30 mile radius circle around Thomson the west goes as far as Delmar Iowa, north to Elizabeth, east to Polo and sound to Joslin, Erie, Prophetstown. 

The hope is that the warden’s letter conveys to the communities is “Its Really Real”. 

Trivia:  What is the movie I am quoting and where is the movie site close to Thomson?  First person that answers (correctly) will get a Dairy Queen gift card.
Patty Martinez
815-499-0721
HAR President 2018-2019
Director Update by Gary Spangler
Dear Members & Friends of HAR:

I am fortunate to serve as a Guest Director for HAR this year!

I really enjoy being involved with activities outside of my business, but being active with HAR gives you insights to things inside your business. I am humbled to learn from other people and really being at the forefront of local topics, in-depth discussions of forms (such as contracts, agency, etc), local issues, as well as state-wide issues that affect all of us and our clients. It is really interesting to hear from other members about challenges they face in their business, from different areas in our region.

If you aren't involved with HAR activities, we would invite you to get more involved. From our educational opportunities and fun events as the golf outing, bowling night, etc, it really is a nice time to hang out with other members of our market areas, and get some insight into what it takes to run an association! I am so grateful to have opportunities like going to Capital Conference this year, speaking directly with legislatures about issues pertaining to real estate in Illinois and helping out with some of technical things with our webinars! There are all sorts of committees and areas to get involved and make a difference within our Association!!

Warm Regards,

Gary Spangler
Guest Director at HAR
Gary Spangler
815-529-4022
HAR Guest Director 2018-2019
Gary has been in the real estate business for 5 years and in a Broker at Keller Williams Chicago-Lakeview in Chicago, IL. He is currently serving as a Guest Director of HAR and recently earned his AHWD Certification. Gary was previously involved with Office Management and loves to adventure and travel.

Check out Patty's Book Recommendation!

CLICK ON THE BOOK TO ORDER FROM AMAZON!