I love a good cliché. We can all pretend to roll our eyes and hate them, but I’m happy to admit that a well-timed, artfully stated cliché can heat up a room. I was going to say something about there being no “I” in team, but then I did a quick search with my friend Alexa and came up with that gem in the title. The full quote is, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” and it is from none other than Sir Isaac Newton. Go impress your friends, and the rest of the team you work with, by spewing inspiring quotes.
Congrats to Danielle Durocher, who did some moving and shaking right to the top of the heap. She is now the new CEO and team leader at Keller Williams Chicago-Lincoln Park.
I heard some NAHREP board members went back to nature on a retreat recently and enjoyed some sort of meat roast. Apparently, they floated out on a boat and did some team building exercises and trust falls. I have no confirmation on any of this, except there was a retreat, a boat and some meat. I filled in the rest myself.
Amir Syed and his gorgeous wife Arsiak are in Greece right now making everyone jealous. Are we jealous because they’re in Greece, or because they may be one of the most attractive real estate power couples in Chicagoland? You decide.
Parties! Homeco held their launch party recently at Spoke, where they gave out free koozies. The party was catered by Superdawg and sponsored by Joel Schaub. Lucky guests played bingo for prizes like a flat screen TV, a DJ Roomba (which I can’t recommend enough after having gotten my own one of these recently on “Treat Yo’Self Day”), Cubs tickets and a spa experience.
On August 5 and 6, Hyatt Regency Chicago held the RE/MAX Broker Owner Conference. I can’t confirm if I attended or not, because that might give you too big of a hint of my identity, but I will say friends in attendance reported things may have gotten “wild” in the hotel on the first night.
On Wednesday, August 7, Fritz Kaegi, the new-ish Cook County assessor, spoke to the Southside Builders Association at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. Unlike the Firehouse Grill in Evanston, there were no second-hand firetruck toys in sight.
The very next day, the Museum of Science and Industry hosted Realtor Day at the Museum. Realtors and their families enjoyed special exhibits while hearing about how to do business better. Then, folks were allowed to wander the museum at will for the rest of the day. I hadn’t been there in years, and even though it hasn’t changed much, I still had a blast. The baby chicks are my favorite part, even though I still can’t figure out how to bring one home.
No matter what we do, folks in the industry just keep getting older (and some even get wiser). Dennis J. Papiernik celebrates his happy day on August 21, while Adam McLain and recent auction cover source Mike LaFido share a bday on Aug. 23. Honore Frumentino toasted her big day on August 26, while Sam Tarara partied on August 29 and Lynn Weekley had her own celebration on August 30.