It was an interesting day today. I attended the St. Louis Association of REALTORS Diversity Committees seminar for buying and selling in 2009. The panelists included Wandy Simmons of Beyond Housing; Don Brinker, Homeownership Manager of the Missouri Housing Development Commission;State Representative Tim Jones with the Missouri Housing Task Force (and representative of District 89 which includes Wildwood, Eureka and parts of West St. Louis County); and Lisa Brewer & Dan McLaughlin, of the Missouri Association of Mortgage Brokers (MAMB)

Judy Sepac and Representative Tim Jones (89th District)

Each panelist shared their expertise on educating buyers, tax credits, legislation & mortages.
All attendees were served box lunches from Heavenly Ham which were sponsored by: Scott Beeman, 314-329-9810 Neighbors Credit Union and Harry Hilburg, 314-569-3000 of Countrywide Home Loans. There was a large attendance and many questions asked and answered. More answers can be found on the SLAR web site under Legislation. Following the lunch break, Dr. Jed Smith, National Association of REALTORS, provided insight into his view of the 2009 Forecast & $789 Billion Economic Recovery Plan. Yes, there will be a recovery! Look for the silver lining and keep your eyes on the prize (recovery)!

Thursday the 7Th of February, the Women's Council of REALTORS had their monthly meeting at Sheraton Westport Chalet in St. Louis County. There was a good turn, as expected as our guest speaker was the Mayor of St. Louis, Francis Slay.By the way, WCR includes men and women in the Real Estate Industry, so don't be put off by the name. Networking and education is the name of the game!

We not only had a good lunch, we were pleased to hear about all the on-going and upcoming plans about the improvements for St. Louis City. Mayor Slay offered not only the good things, but also addressed crime in the city (not as portrayed by media) but how it's being combated. You'll be pleased to know he says it's safe in St. Louis! More work is being done to make it even safer! He was willing to answer questions from the floor and addressed all in a lively and open manner. Here's where you can check out his opinions.

At the end of the question/answer session, he allowed us to take photos of him with us, if we asked!

We all appreciate his time and efforts to make St. Louis City one of the best Cities in the USA!