Members make the difference in the real estate profession
MAR wants to know more about its members. If you know of a REALTOR® who’s done something special, has a great idea or insight about the Michigan real estate industry, or is just perfect for some publicity, we want to hear about him or her. Call Tim Kissman, director of communications and marketing, at 517.334.5568 or e-mail him at mar@mirealtors.com.

As the 2005 president of the Dearborn Area Board of REALTORS®, Elie Awad plans to form a partnership between the city of Dearborn and the real estate industry.

“The city was one thing and the board was another,” Awad said. “But, as president, the only way I see to get things done is to begin working together. This is going to benefit everyone.”

One goal is to work more with the mayor to promote the city and attract new residents.
“We had a slowdown in sales, so we are targeting the people outside the city to get them to move in,” Awad said. “We need to make our town appealing to others and promote what we have.”

As president, Awad also hopes to adopt the focus of NAR 2005 — the focus on family.

“I believe having a solid family at home makes it easier to succeed,” Awad said. “Everybody knows family is important, but sometimes families get put in the background.”

Born and raised in Lebanon, Sam Baydoun, Dearborn Area Board of REALTORS®, now participates in several Arab-American groups, allowing him to stay in touch with his cultural roots. Baydoun is a member of the advisory board for the Arab-American Anti-discrimination Committee. Baydoun is also involved with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services and the Arab-American Political Action Committee.

“These are good organizations that do good work for the Arab-Americans in the community,” Baydoun said. “By volunteering, I help better my community, Dearborn business and the Dearborn area in general.”

Not only does Baydoun reach out to the Arab-American community, but he reached out to the victims of 9/11. When he joined the Dearborn Area Board of REALTORS® in 2001, he spearheaded a campaign to raise money for the families of the firefighters who died on September 11. Baydoun helped organize a fund raising breakfast where they raised $10,000.

There’s a joke in Jackson that Judy Reynolds knows everyone in town.

What’s truly remarkable about the joke, is that Reynolds, a REALTOR® with the Jackson Area Association of REALTORS®, just might.

As the owner of Reynolds Management, Inc., Reynolds has been a member of JAAR for 37 years and has seen many changes in the community. Some of which she didn’t like, so she decided to become involved. Now, she is a Jackson County Commissioner, as well as chair of the Jackson County Park Commission, has 15 years of perfect attendance in Rotary and visits with women in the prisons and jails to teach them about the Bible. “I’m very organized,” Reynolds said. “I don’t think I could do this if I wasn’t.”

Reynolds said she became active in her community when she realized that public officials were spreading sewage on land near her home. “People weren’t checking up on them, and I saw the need to stop this in my area,” she said. “It took me three years of really politicking, but we got one of the townships to build a plant and made a law that you can’t dump sewage.”

Community is definitely a priority with Reynolds. “Yeah, people joke around here that I know everyone,” Reynolds said, laughing. “It’s pretty close to true.”

Edward Surovell, Ann Arbor Area Board of REALTORS®, CRS, CRB, was recently appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to serve a six-year term on the Michigan Historical Commission.

“ I’ve always had an interest in history,” Surovell said. “I believe the past is an essential part of our present and it is important to know where we come from and who we are. ”

Surovell, who began his term in January, will help supervise state historic publications, approve the historic budget and manage and direct the historical sites across Michigan.

“ My first year will be spent learning about the commission’s jobs and tasks and how I can be supportive of the existing staff,” Surovell said. “I want to be a good board member and support Michigan’s historical programs. ”

Surovell, who has a degree in history, said he enjoys finding history wherever he travels.

“ I am particularly fond of old and rural places,” Surovell said. “I like old cemeteries, barns and small towns that haven’t changed much.” He said he sometimes feels like he’s kind of a throwback himself.