The Healdsblogger

So the follow-up to yesterday's posting is...I missed both meetings!  The sound you hear is me, falling from my pedestal.  Thump.

The good news part of it is that I went to the lecture with Dr. Steven Schneider and it was PACKED!  There was no way to get into the auditorium.  There were so many people standing in the doorway straining to hear the speaker, milling around the foyer talking to each other or visiting the tables for the UN, Sierra Club, USGBC and a group of composters it was obvious that the turnout was better than expected.  Good for them, bummer for me.  Instead of my notes, go to the following page at the Union of Concerned Scientists site to find "Ten Personal Solutions": http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/ten-personal-solutions.html

The other good news is that the City Council for the City of Healdsburg did approve the "Small Lot Subdivision for Affordable Housing", giving Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County the approval they need to proceed.  Hip, hip, hooray!

And the third item of good news is that I ran our first office meeting of the year on my own this morning.  It wasn't planned that way, which is probably a good thing, I didn't have time to freak out.  We covered the bases, complimented the agents who had closings and new escrows, discussed our group donation to Habitat, wants and needs, and.....blogging!  The subject of a group blog led to renewed discussion of the need for proper lighting in the windows, so that our listings and the proposed blog posting could be seen, even at night.  Now to make it all happen.

Tonight there are two important meetings taking place at the same time.  Can I clone myself?  One of them takes place in Healdsburg, at City Hall; the other will be in Santa Rosa at the "Wells Fargo Center For the Perfoming Arts" (I much preferred our local art center named after Luther Burbank as opposed to a bank).  

The first important option is a City Council meeting, the council will be voting upon approval of the lot split for the first Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County project in Healdsburg.  Habitat bought the parcel in question from a client of mine with the understanding that the zoning would allow for a "small parcel subdivision" for affordable housing.  From all appearances, the vote should be in the right direction, but one never knows until the die is cast.  I'd love to be there in support of Habitat, biting my nails in the back row, cheering when the approval is given, shaking hands with the folks from Habitat after the meeting, and getting ready to roll out the fund-raising effort later this week.

The other incredibly important event is a lecture by Stephen H. Schneider, PhD, a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Founder/Editor or the journal "Climate Change", and Professor at Stanford University.  His lecture "Global Warming: Do We Know Enough to Manage the Risks?" is sponsored by a number of local organizations involved in coming up with solutions to the climate crisis, incuding the Redwood Empire Chapter of the US Green Building Council and the local Climate Protection Campaign.

A tough choice indeed!  Each meeting is critical to the present and future of many people.  I have a feeling the lecture will be more compelling, as the vote by the City Council should go the right way.  I'll take notes and post an update tomorrow.

Even a trite old saying, like "Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life",  can have more meaning some days than others.  As of today, not only am I inaugurating my blog and trying to be the best Realtor/EcoBroker/Woman/Wife/Mother/Friend I can be, but I am assuming the role of Co-Manager of the Healdsburg office of Frank Howard Allen Realtors, The Wine Country Group.   

What will my former "mates" expect of me in this new position?   Although there is always an adjustment when a member of a group is taken out of a pool and suddenly perches on the sidelines, there is an extra lap I need to swim (to further that metaphor).  The nature of the real estate business combines collaboration with competitiveness.  Some agents see rivalry (sharks!) lurking around every corner, others view the business as primarily cooperative (a school of minnows we're not, however).   In this new situation, as a manager who is also an active agent, it will be necessary to be scrupulously non-competitive with the agents in the office.  My intention is to conduct myself in an ethical manner, so that the entire office benefits.  As with every other aspect of real estate, communication is the essence of good business, so hopefully we'll all survive and prosper.

One of my clients sent a darling greeting for the holidays, full of photos and updates on her family.  She included a bit of "musing" on how her family has been trying to reduce their footprint and make informed choices not only for themselves, but for our shared planet Earth.  She suggested checking out Annie Leonard's website http://www.storyofstuff.com   After watching it today, I'd like to pass on the recommendation.  Be sure to wait for the content to load, it's worth watching the whole presentation, even if you do so in stages or chapters. 

Peace!