Last Friday, I was honored to be part of the STAND OUT...."What makes you unique makes your business unique" One day conference in State College, PA

Pat Long organized with aplomb a full day with 3 educational classes, a trade show, networking and a keynote with 2005 PA President Melissa Sieg, ABR, CRS, GRI . It was a high energy day! Those that attended got treated to education and information to keep them at the top of their game!

I delivered my "Winning the Real Estate Game" session to a big group of participative REALTORS® who were obviously looking for the edge they needed to be very effective in 2006!

I was treated like a vsiting dignitary by tour guide extraordinaire, Fran Thorsen, REALTOR® from Bethlehem. Fran is also the Queen Mother of Real Estate Blogs : check out

http://TheREALTYgram.com

http://TheREALTYgramBlogger.com

http://TheFATladyBlog.com

http://RealEstateBlogSquad.com

http://TheHistoricHomesBlog.com

Not only did I get introduced to the Nittany Lion, I learned about the Penn State Creamery. I had to eat a cone right then and there and found out this is where Ben and Jerry learned their craft. They packed a 1/2 gallon of "Death By Chocolate" on dry ice to survive my 4 plane flight home! And it made it!!!

Thank you, Fran!!!!!

A little about the dynamic leaders:

this year's President and their District 5 VP:

Melissa is a third generation REALTOR® having been in the business since 1984. She is a consistent multi-million dollar producer in the residential and new construction field of the business. Her service to the Centre County Association of REALTORS® included serving on and/or chairing almost every committee, serving on the Board of Directors for 8 years and serving as President in 1995. In 1996, she was privileged to be awarded CCARs REALTOR® of the Year.

At the state level, she has been a member of the Legislative committee since

1989 and served as the Chair in 2002. She has also served as District 5 Vice President, RPAC Trustee, and served on the BSRE- PARs For Profit Corporation, Pa REALTOR Education Foundation, Strategic Thinkers Group, as well as serving on or chairing many special Task Forces to help our association just to name a few. At the National level, Melissa is an NAR director and serves on the Membership Policy and Board Jurisdiction Committee.

In her spare time, Melissa volunteers as a YMCA swimming official and is the Bellefonte High School varsity swim coach. She also enjoys spending time with her family, playing golf, traveling with her husband, and canning homemade goodies.

Melissa is an associate broker and has earned the ABR, CRS, e-Pro, GRI and One America Designations. She is co-owner along with her husband of 25 years, Bill, of Prudential First Choice Realty located in State College.

Bill and Melissa live just outside of Bellefonte. They have two children:

Their son, BJ, is a junior at Westminster College and daughter, Mandee, is a freshman at Penn State.

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And then there was

Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, ITI and SRES.

(This is the lady standing on the left in the group shot)

2004-2005 District 5 Vice-President

Melanie McLane is serving as District 5 Vice-President for the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORSâ. A lifelong resident of Jersey Shore, PA, Melanie is now an associate broker for Fish GMAC Real Estate and owns and operates Evelyn Jackson Appraisal Services. She is a member of West Branch Valley Association of REALTORS where she has served as Past President and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. Her association named her 1994 "REALTOR of the Year" and in 1999 awarded her the "Spirit" Award.

Melanie has been a member of the PAR Board of Directors for the past several years. She is 2003 Chair of the Professional Standards Committee, Chair of the Specialized Practices Sub-Committee of the Legislative Committee, and a member of Convention and Meetings Committee.

Melanie is also an instructor for Pennsylvania REALTORâ Institute and other providers, and in 1989 received Penn States "Real Estate Instructor of the Year" award.

She is a Trustee for the Jersey Shore Area Library, and has served in the past on the local hospital board, and on the Jersey Shore Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

She and her husband, Jim, have two children and reside in Jersey Shore.