Association News
February 2020
News
Application Deadline: REALTOR® Emeritus
April 2nd is the deadline to complete certification forms for REALTOR® Emeritus status, which recognizes REALTOR® and REALTOR®-Associate members with 40 years of continuous membership along with committee service participation. Learn more!
Registration open for the 2020 Joint AE Institute
Registration is open for the 2020 Joint AE Institute. Tuition is $590 and room rates at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront Hotel begin at $268/night. NYSAR reimburses Chief Staff Officers (CEO, EVP and EO’s) up to $500 with receipts. For more information, click here.
Save the date for the AE Summer Conference
Mark your calendars for the 2020 AE Summer Conference, which will be held July 13-15 at the Embassy Suites in Saratoga Springs. The hotel room block begins on July 12.
Education
A great big thank you from the New York State Real Estate Education Foundation (NYSREEF) for your 2019 contributions! Below is a list of the boards and MLSs that donated last year. Thanks to your support, last week, we were able to award 116 scholarships totaling $30,755!
Foundation directors will be calling you again this year to see if you can continue your support. Also, our staff is busy calling your members to register them for the classes they earned scholarships for.
| Local Board Contributors | ||
| Bronx Manhattan North Association of REALTORS® | $100 | |
| Buffalo Niagara Association of REALTORS® | $2,500 | |
| Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Board of REALTORS® | $500 | |
| Clinton County Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Cortland County Board of REALTORS® | $100 | |
| Dutchess County Association of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Elmira-Corning Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Greater Binghamton Association of REALTORS® | $750 | |
| Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® | $2,000 | |
| Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® | $1,000 | |
| Greater Syracuse Association of REALTORS® | $1,000 | |
| Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® | $2,500 | |
| Ithaca Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Jefferson Lewis Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Long Island Board of REALTORS® | $5,000 | |
| Mohawk Valley Association of REALTORS® | $100 | |
| Northern Adirondack Board of REALTORS® | $1,000 | |
| Otsego-Delaware Board of REALTORS® | $500 | |
| Southern Adirondack REALTORS® | $250 | |
| St Lawrence County Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Sullivan County Board of REALTORS® | $250 | |
| Ulster County Board of REALTORS® | $1,000 | |
| Total Local Board | $20,050 | |
| Corporate Contributors | ||
| Columbia-Greene/Northern Dutchess MLS | $500 | |
| NYSAR | $10,000 | |
| NYSAR Real Estate Services | $5,000 | |
| Total Corporate | $15,500 |
Upcoming Events
Code of Ethics Training
Register your members or have professional standards committee, grievance committee, directors and staff register themselves for the upcoming Code of Ethics Training 2020 Code of Ethics & Professional Standards training. The cost is $125 members/$150 non-members.
Register online today or call NYSAR at 800-239-4432×219. Learn more!
Government Affairs
NYSAR urges state lawmakers to fund new fair housing program in state budget
NYSAR issued letters urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and leaders of the state legislature to include new funding in this year’s state budget to establish and maintain a state fair housing tester program. NYSAR also included support for specialized training and certification requirements for fair housing instructors and increasing the maximum state fines for fair housing law violations. To read the letter, click here.
Learn how “Good Cause” Eviction hurts tenants, building owners and homeowners
NYSAR strongly opposes state legislation (S.2892/A.5030) that would establish a “good cause” eviction standard statewide, essentially providing tenants with a lifelong lease and imposing an annual rent increase cap of 1.5 times the CPI. This would apply to all non-rent regulated buildings with four units or more. Watch and share these videos released by the Rent Stabilization Association explaining the issue and harmful impact of “good cause,” also known as “just cause” eviction. NYSAR’s strong opposition to this bill is a top legislative priority.
RPAC
Dorothy Botsoe receives the Lawrence B. Caldwell RPAC Service Award
Dorothy Botsoe of the Hudson Gateway Association was presented with the prestigious Lawrence B. Caldwell RPAC Service Award, the highest honor presented by the REALTORS® Political Action Committee of New York, during the NYSAR Mid-Winter Business Meetings on Tuesday. Dorothy has been an RPAC Major Investor for nearly 20 consecutive years and has invested over $60,000 in her lifetime. She is a current member of the NAR RPAC Hall of Fame at the $25,000 tier and will be inducted into the $50,000 tier this May as part of the NAR Meeting in Washington, DC. In addition, Dorothy sits in the RPAC of New York Hall of Fame, serves as an RPAC of NY Trustee and she continues to generously invest at the Platinum R Level ($10,000 annually) and serves as an RPAC ambassador, advocating on behalf of RPAC at her local board and all across the state of New York. NYSAR’s 59,000+ members thank Dorothy for her commitment and dedication in support of RPAC.
REALTORS® raise record $33,000 at RPAC VIP Lounge
Once again the RPAC VIP Lounge held at The Desmond as part of NYSAR’s Mid-Winter Business Meetings was a success for RPAC! The one-day event raised a record of $34,000 and featured manicures, massages, psychic readings, character artists, delicious food, beverages and more. Thank you to the 130 attendees for investing in RPAC and making this lounge a record success. Congratulations to all the silent auction winners!
RPAC of New York inducts Hall of Famers
Congratulations to the following NYSAR members on their induction into the RPAC of New York Hall of Fame in recognition of their generous $15,000 total lifetime investments in RPAC:
Michael Kelly, NYSAR
Marcene Hedayati, Hudson Gateway
Miguel Berger, Greater Capital
Donna Littlefield, Buffalo Niagara
Michael Johnson, Buffalo Niagara
Tony Smith, Long Island
Jennifer Stevenson, St. Lawrence
Timothy Sweeney, Ulster
Yoshi Takita, Long Island
NYSAR members sign the NAR RPAC YPN Pledge
Thank you to New York’s latest investors to enroll in the NAR RPAC YPN Pledge to invest $10,000 into RPAC over 10 years – Karissa Thompson of Greater Rochester, and Rich Herska and Anthony Domathotii (not pictured), both of Hudson Gateway. From left, NYSAR YPN Chair Kira Knapp Witherwax, Herska, Thompson and Vice-Chair Mark Donnelly. Thank you all for leading by example with your generous support of RPAC!
February RPAC auction item – Ninja Coffee Brewer
Brew your favorite iced or cold coffee beverages with this deluxe Ninja Coffee Brewer! Auto IQ one-touch intelligence allows for four brew sizes including cup, travel mug, half carafe or full carafe. There’s coffee and then there’s Ninja Coffee!
Bidding will end on Friday, February 28. To bid, visit the RPAC of New York Facebook group or contact Derick King at 518-463-0300 x238 or by email at [email protected].