SCAAR Monthly Committee Updates

Government Affairs Committee

Hello from the SCAAR Government Affairs Committee! Just a quick update on what we are working on this month.

• Water plant tour- Mary Ellen Richter has set up a tour of the St Cloud Area Water Treatment Plant for Feb 28^th at 10am. Please let us know if you are interested in joining on the tour. Mayor Dave Kleis will try to join us.
• Stearns County Accessory Structures- This issue came up as we were contacted that Stearns County was looking to take a vote to allow the townships to make their own decisions on accessory structures. I spoke with Commissioner Joe Perske and he was concerned about each township taking their own direction on this issue and felt it was not the right direction to go in. The vote did pass, and the townships will have the ability to control their own accessory structure requirements. Please contact our committee or your county commissioner if you have any questions.
• CMBA- It was discussed in our meeting that we would like to partner with the CMBA to collaborate on issues related to construction, legislation, and other housing issues that we are both working on seperately. It was suggested that we invite Wanda or Steve from the CMBA to attend our Government Affairs Committee meetings. 
• We also discussed ways to communicate with the SCAAR members better. If anyone has any questions or input, please reach out to SCAAR or one of our members.    

Jeff Kolb

Deerwood Bank

Committee Chair

Preferred Partner Committee

Not only are we the faces of the real estate industry but also the hands and feet, guiding both buyers and sellers. It is imperative to nurture a network of reliable partnerships to deliver exceptional service. Building strong relationships with various professionals across the real estate field is crucial for success in this industry. We are truly a team.

Do you have some industry experts you can refer to become a preferred partner? Just pass their contact information along to Mary Ellen and someone from the committee will reach out to them with a low pressure, informational phone call. We really do have a lot to offer our preferred partners! Or you can invite them to join us at the monthly Realtor and Preferred Partner  Social Hour - 2nd Tues of each month at The House of Pizza! You can come too 😊

Hint: Remember to check the preferred partner list when referring real estate related services to your clients. We have a great resource right at our fingertips! https://www.stcloudrealtors.com/buyers-sellers/affiliate-member-list/

Join our PREFERRED PARTNER COMMITTEE! We have one meeting every other month. Contact Mary Ellen for more details.

Thanks,

Mary Ellen Richter,

Chair 612-532-7659

maryellen@kerbercastle.com 

Equal Opportunity/Cultural Diversity Committee

Thank you to Nicole Sande for stepping into the Vice Chair position! Our committee could still use more members! Please join us! We meet every other month on the 3^rd Monday at 11:30 am. The next meeting is April 15^th at the Board Office. Just show up or reach out if you have any questions.

Have you heard about Fairhaven: A Fair Housing Simulation offered at no cost to members by NAR? Fairhaven is a town every REALTOR® should visit. Online, that is.



In November 2020, NAR launched Fairhaven, a fair housing simulation training for REALTORS® that uses the power of storytelling to help members identify, prevent, and address discriminatory practices in real estate. Inspired by real stories, this innovative online experience has agents work against the clock to sell homes in the fictional town of Fairhaven, while confronting discrimination in the homebuying process. Learners will also walk in the shoes of a homebuyer facing discrimination. The training provides customized feedback that learners can apply to daily business interactions. Get started by visiting fairhaven.realtor to explore the fictional town of Fairhaven and assess how well you are adhering to fair housing principles.

Mary McGowan

Committee Chair

Public Relations Committee

We last met February 13^th and plan to continuing meeting at 3:15PM directly prior to each month’s Social Hour. If you have any interest in joining a committee, we are looking for new members to join, we encourage you to swing by our meeting and check out this low commitment committee!

February Billboard: We hope you had a chance to catch our February billboard which ran 02/19 to 02/25 Located at Division & 33^RD Ave N. (It's at the top of this newsletter.)

What have we done for you lately: During the month of February not only was there a SCAAR Billboard, the PR Committee also sponsored I.C.E Fest which included St Cloud Area Association of REALTORS branding in multiple forms of advertisement.

February Social: Our February Social took place February 13^th and was sponsored by Ancona Title, their prize was a gift card for a local restaurant and an Ancona branded leather journal, Traci Balder with Voigt Johnson was the big winner!  

March Social: Will be March 12^th starting at 4PM at House of Pizza in St Cloud, this month Social will be sponsored by Tri-County Abstract & Title.

Future Social’s: We are currently booking sponsorship slots into 2025, if you have any interest in reserving a month to be a sponsor, we currently have openings for April, May & June. Please note that Sponsorship’s do require a $50.00 sponsorship fee to help cover pizza costs.

Sander Anderson, Bremer Mortgage

Committee Chair