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March 2017
 
William E. Brown
2017 NAR President
 
Dale A. Stinton
Chief Executive Officer
 
Founding Broker Investors
• Alain Pinel REALTORS®
• Coldwell Banker Bain Real Estate
• Dolan REALTORS®
• Equity Real Estate
• First Weber, Inc.
• First Team Real Estate, Inc.
• Glen Gardner, REALTORS®
• HomeServices of America
• Howard Hanna Real Estate
• Jim Maloof/REALTOR®
• John L. Scott Real Estate
• Latter & Blum Companies
• Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
• Long and Foster Real Estate
• Real Estate One Family of Companies
• Realogy Franchise Group
• RE/MAX, LLC
• RE/MAX Suburban
• Shorewest REALTORS®
• Watson Realty Group
• William Raveis Real Estate, Inc.
   
Four Star
• California Regional MLS
• Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS)
   
Three Star
• TREND, Inc.
• My Florida Regional MLS
• Midwest Real Estate Data, Inc.
• Arizona Regional MLS
• Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS® MLS
   
Two Star
• MLS Property Information Network
• Northstar MLS
• Wasatch Front Regional MLS
• Regional MLS
• MLSListings, Inc.
• Mid America Regional Information System
• Northwest MLS
• Templates 4 Business, Inc.
• Showingtime.Com, Inc.
• New Jersey Multiple Listing Service
• CoreLogic Solutions, LLC
• Recolorado, Inc.
• Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc.
• Clareity Security, LLC
   
One Star
• Gulf South Real Estate Information Network
• Columbus and Central Ohio MLS
• San Fransicso Association of REALTORS® MLS
• 1000Watt Consulting
• MIBOR Service Corporation
• Institute of Real Estate Management
• Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®
• Carolina MLS
• CCIM Institute
• Real Estate Business Institute
• State Wide MLS, Inc.
• Council of Real Estate Specialists
• Northern Ohio Regional MLS
• Southern Missouri Regional MLS
• REALTORS® Land Institute
• Metro MLS, Inc.
• Tucson Association of REALTORS® MLS, Inc.
• Coeur d'Alene MLS, Inc.
• Women's Council of REALTORS®
• MTRMLS, Inc.
• South Jersey Shore Regional MLS
• Central Virginia Regional MLS
 
CAP Investors
• Heartland MLS
• Kings County Board of REALTORS® MLS
• Intermountain MLS
• Northern Kentucky MLS
• Gallatin Association of REALTORS® MLS
• MLS of Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS®
• Great Plains MLS
• Midlands MLS
• Northwest Oklahoma MLS
• MLS Hilton Head Island, SC
• Northwestern Wisconsin MLS
• Southshore MLS
• Northern Nevada Regional MLS
• Cape May County MLS
• Greater Greenville Association of REALTORS® MLS
• Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® MLS
• Jefferson City Area Board of REALTORS® MLS
• RIS Media, Inc.
• MLSOK
• Northwest Ohio Real Estate Information Systems, Inc.
• Bayou Board of REALTORS® 
• Northeast Louisiana Association of REALTORS® 
• Greater Augusta Association of REALTORS®
• Georgia Multiple Listing Service, Inc. 
• Fort Smith Board of REALTORS® MLS
• Savannah Multi-List Corporation
• Baldwin County Association of REALTORS®
• Central Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service
• Santa Cruz County Multiple Listing Service
• Western Arizona REALTOR® Data Exchange
• Real Estate Information Services, Inc.
• Southwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS®
• Ann Arbor Board of REALTORS® MLS
• Northeast Oklahoma Real Estate Services, Inc.
• Birmingham Area MLS, Inc.
• CARMLS, Inc.
• MLS of Roanoke Valley, Inc.
• REALTOR® Association of Acadiana
• Door County Board of REALTORS® MLS
• Council of Multiple Listing Service
• Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc.
• Williamsburg Multiple Listing Service, Inc.
• Greater LaCrosse MLS Corporation
• Liberty Title, Inc.
• Metro Search, Inc.
• Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS®
• South Central Board of REALTORS®
• Cape Cod & Islands MLS
   

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Letter from the Chair

Thanks to so many of you, the Corporate Ally Program is off to a great start this year.  We are already ahead in investments over this time last year.  Our efforts to raise greater awareness of the Corporate Ally Program in the real estate industry is paying off in new investor participation as well.  In just the first quarter of 2017, we have new many new brokers and state and local association investors and our very first investor from among NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Partner members, Team Store. Vice Chair Helen Hanna Casey is working closely with our Corporate Investor Council team of field fundraisers to increase participation among MLS’s and brokers and we are already seeing the results of this team effort as well.

The 2017 Corporate Ally Program fundraising goal is $1,506,500, and we are well on the way to achieving it.  Please take at a look at some of the political and legislative successes described below the Corporate Ally Program made possible in 2016 and give yourselves a pat on the back for being a part of these achievements.  Then take a moment to listen and watch the latest Voice for Real Estate video that outlines the issues NAR has on it advocacy agenda in 2017 and read the latest developments on NAR’s advocacy for net neutrality.

Feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues in real estate and encourage them to join you as a Corporate Ally Program investor in 2017.

Regards,
Jim Imhoff
2017 Chairman Corporate Ally Program Advisory Board

Investor Spotlight

J. Lennox Scott, CEO, John L. Scott Real Estate is not only the Seattle King County REALTOR® Association 2016 Leader of the PAC Award winner.  Throughout his 40-year real estate career, Lennox has been a leader and advocate for all REALTOR® issues.  Lennox is a National Association of REALTORS® Realtor PAC Hall of Fame member, Annual Platinum level RPAC investor, President’s Circle Member and his company is a 2016 Corporate Ally Founding Broker Investor.

Lennox firmly believes in the role of the REALTOR® Party to:
  • Elect government officials at the Federal, state and local level who support and vote on issues important to the real estate industry.
  • Support or oppose issues from Congress to city hall that have an impact on residential and commercial real estate.
Lennox Scott and his company, John L. Scott Real Estate, help the Corporate Ally Program and RPAC set the standard for REALTOR® Party engagement in the political and legislative arena.  As Lennox states, “It takes all of us, working together, to create change.” 

Numbers and Cents
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39 $312 4/3

The number of investors in the Corporate Ally Program

 Total amount received for the Corporate Ally Program year to date, an increase from this time last year. Save the date for the RES Meeting to be held April 3-4 at Torrey Pines Lodge in La Jolla, CA

Your Investment at Work

Update on Net Neutrality
On March 20, 2017, NAR sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The letter urges the Committee to oppose legislation and regulatory efforts that would threaten network neutrality and rollback important protections put in place by the FCC in 2015. NAR supports network neutrality rules that protect American businesses and consumers by preventing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking, throttling or discriminating against Internet traffic and prohibit paid prioritization arrangements, and addresses interconnection issues and other anti-competitive practices covered by the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) general conduct rule.
READ MORE

 

Water Issues Flow in NAR’s Direction
A rule that would expand bodies of water subject to federal regulation is being delayed so EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can review it. That’s a positive move, NAR says, because the rule would make it harder for much-needed development to get underway. The delay gives NAR a chance to have input into improving the rule. On another water issue, House lawmakers have started holding hearings on reauthorizing federal flood insurance and there looks to be momentum to get the program reformed and reauthorized before it expires later this year. Both issues are detailed in the latest Voice for Real Estate news video from NAR.
WATCH


Congress Must Stand with Innovators against Patent Trolls (The Hill)
Bylined article from NAR General Counsel Katie Johnson
Technology is a vital part of the real estate business, where faster and more convenient service can mean the difference between a long and arduous search and helping someone quickly locate their dream home. However, in providing these services, real estate professionals can become top targets for those who abuse loopholes in the patent system to file frivolous litigation, many times based on weak patents that never should have been granted in the first place. Abusive patent litigation remains a serious threat for real estate professionals and other Main Street businesses of all sizes across the country. However, my organization, the National Association of REALTORS® has successfully fought back by utilizing a legal tool that adds an extra layer of protection against this type of litigation.
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