As far back as the mid to late 1990’s, I had considered going into real estate in some way. At the time, I was teaching and working at the family business, Southtown Sporting Goods. But for as long as I can remember, I had an interest in historic homes, and in farm land, buildings and equipment. Throughout may years at Southtown, I had seen many REALTORS spend their down time at our family business. The many conversations I had with these agents interested me. In 1998, my wife and I had begun our family, and we had decided to become a single income household so that Tammy could stay at home with our son Drew, who was born in July of 1998. At this time, we both quit our teaching careers at College Heights Christian School, and I worked full time at Southtown Sporting Goods. I enjoyed teaching. I enjoyed the students and the interactions we had, and seeing them learn and grow, but it was time to move on and take care of my growing family.
Between 1998 and 2001, several things changed at the family business. My grandmother was aging, and eventually had a car wreck in 2000. She was 87, and partially lost her eyesight from the wreck. This forced her into retirement, having spent a lifetime working seven days a week both in the dry cleaning business and at Southtown. My dad also strongly desired to retire in order to care for his mother. There had already been much discussion about me purchasing the business. Knowing that I tend to be obsessive and a workaholic, I opted to not purchase the family business, a decision that greatly pleased my dad, as we all knew that a seven-day-a-week family business comes with its set of personal sacrifices.
Ultimately, we sold Southtown Sporting goods to a very capable, avid outdoorsman in April 2001. My dad, always very driven, put all his effort into retiring and getting away from the business. I agreed to stay and help the new owner through the transition period. This was a good time for me, but left me searching for a career path that I would enjoy without sacrificing family and health.
Many REALTORS came through our store, and two in particular had been trying to get me to consider real estate as a career for several years. I eventually did a sort of “ride along” with one of them, and knew that I could eventually build a successful business. My wife and I talked and prayed, and I decided to resign my assistant manager position at Southtown and begin real estate school. The plan was to give my notice on September 11, 2001.
I awoke the morning of September 11th to the news of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, and the other attacks that unfolded. By this time, we were expecting our second son, Luke, and news like this was beyond frightening. Not knowing what to expect from the real estate industry, I went ahead with my plan and resigned at Southtown.
By October, 2001, I had completed the necessary schooling, passed the state and national tests, and I was a licensed REALTOR with Realty Executives effective October 7, 2001. Due to the uncertainty of the market after 9/11, and due to my newness to the business, I did not have a closing until February, 2002. However, we had saved for this, and I had a very limited income from selling a fattened beef cow or two, and from selling small farm equipment. We were blessed.
Once February, 2002 and the first two closings hit, we were in business. Most years were successful, and for the first three years we had time to travel a little, and I could schedule appointments around family events. During 2004-2007, this real estate market saw rapid, strong growth, and we had good years. Many times I had an unlicensed assistant, usually a high school or college student working behind the scenes a couple hours a day doing mailings, placing and removing signs, scheduling appointments, or other light tasks and paper running. This freed me up to better serve my clients.
The local real estate market saw a bit of stagnation in 2007-2009, but no real decline until 2009. I was blessed with loyal investors and repeat clients, and we weathered the Recession years well, and continued to have part time unlicensed assistants as needed. At this time, I was asked to serve on various committees for our local association, the Ozark Gateway Association of REALTORS. I found some committees enjoyable, but never anticipated participating in local leadership in any large scale fashion.
By mid 2010, business was rapidly improving for the regional market, as well as for me. While some agents were having improved business followed by setbacks, I was blessed by a client base that continued to buy and sell, giving me consistently good business. This continued into 2011.
May 22, 2011... many things changed following the Joplin Tornado. My wife survived with only minor physical injuries, despite being at the heart of the tornado preparing to strike set at a play at Stained Glass Theatre. Even before I found her, I stood in the middle of W. 26th street, my office destroyed, and destruction in all directions, realizing the entire area was going to have an epic real estate crisis. My main concern was my wife’s health, and we spent a few days out of town regrouping. Once back, I began working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, as were my colleagues, for many months until the crisis passed. Our office set up temporary residence in a conference room rented from Patrick Goodknight at Edward Jones. We continued there until more permanent and larger quarters could be found in January, 2012. The needs were great...almost beyond belief. My fellow REALTORS and I worked continually, trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to our area.
I became more active in leadership in our local real estate community, serving with many other agents I respect. Through a series of events that included the untimely death of one of our local real estate leaders, and through much coaxing and prodding of our Association Executive and other friends and colleagues, I agreed to run for a position in our association that tracked me to be President in 2016. though I never saw myself in this role early on, I came to enjoy it, and was humbled and honored to serve or Association. The highlight of my career thus far is being awarded REALTOR of the Year by our Association. It is quite the honor to receive such an award from my peers.
As I continued my career, I continued to be blessed in many ways. Business has consistently been very good since 2010. Leadership and long hours took its toll, and I was showing signs of fatigue. I became tired over a period of time, mostly working on my own, occasionally hiring a part time assistant or a summer assistant to run signs and do filing. In March, 2016, I hired an assistant, intending it to be a temporary job of filing and organizing for a couple weeks. I had been procrastinating over hiring someone, as I hated to train someone who would be temporary. Little did I know that this high school senior, who had known me for several years, would know me well enough to know how to help, and would have such a strong desire to work. By May, she expressed an interest in becoming licensed, because she saw a need and felt she could be most helpful in that capacity. We thought this would take place somewhere in the more distant future, but by July, through as series of events no one could orchestrate, she became a licensed assistant, serving as an equal. She brings a blend of youthful energy and real estate wisdom beyond her years to the table. Laura continues her personal goals in the business of striving for excellence, accuracy, and consistency in all she does. She has become a respected part of my team, and a respected part of the real estate community, serving on committees for our Association, and even serving as a student leader in our Association’s Local Leadership Academy. She will graduate that position in 2018. Her passion is for the behind the scenes work...contracts, prospecting, organizing, researching, and freeing me up to work with buyers and sellers. Together we make a great team, and the future looks bright as our business continues to expand.
