Capturing moments of my first Keller Williams Family Reunion
The music was pumping, the crowd was dancing, the atmosphere was electric! Ten thousand real estate associates from around the world in one room with the same mission – to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living. This was my introduction to the Keller Williams Realty Family Reunion, one of the annual conferences for North America’s largest real estate company. I reflected on my conversation a few months before with Keller Williams President Mary Tennant about joining the corporate team, a conversation I knew was a professional game changer, but I never imagined how joining Keller Williams would significantly impact every single person in my life.
Why was this crowd so electric? One simple answer, the Keller Williams culture! Being part of Keller Williams is truly like being a part of a family – a family that believes in empowering, propelling, and taking care of one another. The training focused organization challenges our 100,000+ real estate associates to continue to stretch, learn, and develop a mindset that results in business growth beyond one’s wildest imagination. The success is not about the money, it is about what money can do to help others – family, friends, agents, and strangers in need. Our agents come from contribution and are dedicated to growing the next generation to ensure that they continue this important value in our company’s core.
My early career was in public service. I was so committed to serving others that when I earned my MBA at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas, I did not pursue corporate recruitment because I could not identify a company that would provide the opportunity to serve others while impacting a major business. Little did I know that in a few short years, I would join a company totally focused on serving others by landing my dream job at Keller Williams Realty International (KWRI), the Austin-based corporate headquarters for the real estate powerhouse, and also begin my own business serving others.
My goal of this blog is to tell the story of why Keller Williams is the real estate company of choice for agents and for homebuyers and sellers. The other goal is to connect. This is my opportunity to connect my friends and family to the phenomenal real estate professionals I am meeting from around the globe. I can connect my Keller Williams family to Austin, the city they frequent for trainings and conferences. I can also connect those new to Austin to their new community, the place that both Keller Williams and I are so proud to call our home!
I have a lot to share about Keller Williams! You will often hear me say that I am the luckiest girl in the real estate industry. In addition to participating in the company’s vast training curriculum, I also have the dream opportunity of shadowing some of our company’s top executives, Mo Anderson whom Gary Keller hired to be his successor as the company CEO and who is now vice chair of the board and Dianna Kokoszka, the CEO of MAPS Coaching. I am energized everyday by gaining invaluable business knowledge, learning how to expand my leadership skills and mindset, and meeting like-minded Keller Williams associates who are eager to grow and serve others. I have immense gratitude for the personal transformation that these experiences have sparked.
I also have a lot to share about Austin! I grew up in Portland, Texas, a small town on the Texas Coast. I found my move to Austin upon graduation from Texas Tech University a bit intimidating. I had zero experience driving in traffic. I knew only a handful of people. Always one to be involved in numerous activities and philanthropic endeavors, I questioned how I could become involved in a city basically starting from scratch. Austin is special! In no time, I found the most embracing community with interesting and generous people, a whacky culture, yummy food options, fun shopping, and endless activities. Fourteen years, hundreds of friends, countless hours of volunteer work, lots of exploration, and too many calories consumed to count – I have a lot to share about Austin!
I love it when my worlds collide and this is my creative way to bring together my passions and friends. This is about you, my friends! This is about how I can help you enjoy a city, find a home, and most importantly, achieve your professional dreams!
