Taking Truly Remarkable Service to our Community

I am often proud of Coldwell Banker West Shell (this is not a promotion-it's for illustration purposes). During this "Economic Downturn" the company held Twilight Open Houses (held on Thursday evenings) and held a 10 day sale in October. There was much success for many Homeowners...and in the long run, for the local real estate market in general. I am most proud of the agents in my office who opened their hearts and minds to help raise money for the Milford Miami Ministries, in a unique way. Milford Miami Ministries lends aid to local families in need of food, clothing and utilities. As you know, the need is great this year, and people get bombarded with requests to give. What we decided to do was to try to use the entire community to ease the needs of the growing many...$1 dollar at a time. We figure you can ask a few for a lot or a little from many. A small amount combined with 1000 small amounts becomes a sum that can tackle a problem. We are asking that everyone bring $1 to 844 St.Rt.131 Milford, Ohio (Milford Christian Church) Saturday, December 13th between 12 (noon) and 1:30 p.m. The time frame is short, but the need is great. We want to have the entire community see itself take care of their own, lift our collective holiday spirit, and enjoy the process as well. This, I know, is a bit quirky and unique, but I believe that those qualities will make it successful and fun. All this for a buck. All for our community.

Redefining Christmas

Redefining Christmas? There is a radio campaign on the air currently using this as their tag line. If you visit https://webmail.cboki.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.changingthepresent.org/ you will find a wealth of information about ways to bring Happy Holidays to many deserving individuals . Although I appreciate the underlying sentiment of focusing on the spirit of giving and the good will to all, shouldn’t we really be “rediscovering” Christmas and what it has always meant? Doing away with the expensive baubles, the trappings of commercialization and the materialism is something from which we could all benefit. Consider the bell ringers for the Salvation Army, a prime example of a tremendous contribution to society that is made one dollar at a time.

“The Perfect Gift” program through Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation facilitates donations as gifts to ProKids, https://webmail.cboki.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.prokids.org/ an organization that has been standing up for Foster Children since 1981. Individual custom gift boxes with a certificate of donation tucked inside may be purchased for $15.00 by contacting Paula Coyle, 513-686-7639 or e-mailing her at paula.coyle@cbws.com. This donation helps provide training and support for volunteer CASAs—Court Appointed Special Advocates. We think that every child should have a safe, nurturing and permanent home, in doing so we build a future with children who will promote philanthropy and community advocacy in their own way as adults. We must never underestimate the power of hope. Gift options like these are “one size fits all” and what they accomplish is immeasurable. We all have the power to change the present.

Kelly Morse

Holiday cards for the troops at Walter Reed

We've done "Trick or Treat for the Troops" which provided DVDs so the troops in the war zones had entertainment when they weren't being shot at or blown up. Now comes an opportunity to give some attention to those troops who left parts of themselves on the fields of battle and are spending time at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Holiday cards can be mailed to:

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Santa at the Movies

What do you get when you mix some Realtors, their past clients, a movie theater, and Christmas together? You get Coldwell Banker West Shell’s annual “Santa at the Movies.” This year, the Milford office will team up with the Mariemont office to sponsor the event at the Showcase Cinema at the Rivers Edge in Milford.

While our agents are making their lists of past clients (and checking them twice), the offices are collecting donations of new toys for Toys For Tots. Donations will be collected in the drop boxes at each Coldwell Banker West Shell office through the date of this event.

The event will be held December 13, 2008. The doors will open at 8:15 AM for pictures with Santa and the movie will begin at 9:00. This year’s movie will be “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”. We appreciate all of our clients, both past and present, and look forward to seeing them at the event.

We Never Stop Moving

There is more work to be done

We did everything correctly. We studied the candidates and issues from several points of view, taking information from reliable, unbiased sources. We based decisions on the kernels of truth we were able to glean from the ads that bent the truth or distorted the facts and some that were, well, just very hard to believe.

And then we voted. We voted for President and Vice-President. We voted for Senators and Representatives at the national and state level.

We voted for THEM to represent US. We voted for them to represent OUR interests and not the interests of their party. Unless we tell them what our interests ARE they will have no choice but to decide issues based on their own self-interest or what they hear from their cronies, campaign contributors, lobbyists, special-interest groups and others of that ilk.

But we aren’t finished yet. The next administration will make decisions that will change our lives, our children’s lives, and their grandchildren’s lives. The next administration REALLY NEEDS to know what needs to be done to protect OUR interests if they are to make good decisions.

When contacting your elected representatives keep it short and to the point so your comments can be easily tabulated. Every month or so should do it.

You can determine who your federal representatives are by going to
http://whoismyrepresentative.com/ and entering your zip code.

In Ohio you can determine who your state representatives are by going to
www.house.state.oh.us/.

Eugene P. Jasper

Toys for Tots Progam

Coldwell Banker West Shell has been a long time contributor in working with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Our mission, along with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
Our primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, shiny new toys at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
Our objective of Toys for Tots are to help needy children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation's most valuable natural resources - our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.
The principal Toys for Tots activities which take place each year is the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located and in communities without a Reserve Unit that has a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign. Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other purely voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toy and monetary donations.
Please join us in helping local children and families have a wonderful Holiday! You can drop off new toys at our Coldwell Banker West Shell location at 5976 Meijer Drive, Milford OH 45150 or give us a call at 513-831-8001. We will do well be doing good!

Trick or Treat for the Troops

GREAT TROOPS STORY!

Peggy Thurza, Branch Manager of our Florence Kentucky Office told me this great story.

The Florence Office donated money to purchase DVD’s for our troops and Peggy went to Walmart in Florence to pick up the DVD’s. She was digging through the boxes trying to pick the best DVD’s and there were two young men standing near by and said, “Wow you must be getting a great deal on those DVD’s”? Peggy said it is a great deal, but, she did not know what to pick out and she mentioned she was buying them for “Trick or Treat for the Troops”. She explained what the initiative was and if they had any ideas. As the conversation continued come to find out that both men served in Kuwait and Afghanistan and asked if Peggy was from Coldwell Banker. They mentioned that they had a recreation room over seas with maybe 5 DVD’s they watched over and over again. One day in November of last year they received a big shipment of DVD’s from the USO and some of them had notes from folks from Coldwell Banker. (How cool is that?) Peggy told me they went on and on about how much it meant to them that they were thought of and that is was much needed because they got tired of watching the same 5 movies all the time. The one young man was on leave and will be returning to Kuwait. He mentioned he was a Walmart picking up baby formula and opened his wallet and Peggy said he had $20.00. He handed her $5.00 and asked her to purchase a DVD for him to send to his buddies over seas.

How powerful is that story? Think of the lives you impact with just a simple message and a little time. It would be easy to forget amongst all the political jargon and the state of our economy that we still have men and women protecting us everyday, whether we are at war or not. Let us continue to remember the soldiers’ and their families that continue to sacrifice for us each and every day. Thank you!!

Thomas Courtney
Director of Corporate Philanthropy

The Power of Caring

October 23, 2008 05:13 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation Announces $75,775 in Local Charitable Contributions
CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation is pleased to announce its local charitable contributions for 2007/2008.
The Foundation fundraising campaign entitled “The Power of Caring” included fundraising events at local branch offices, metro-wide events, agent contributions, staff contributions and alliances with other local businesses in the greater Cincinnati, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana region.
“Despite a lot of negativity in the news, our foundation through our communities, associates, staff and partners were able to raise the money for us to be able to donate $75,775 back to some of greater Cincinnati’s most-deserving charities,” said Joe King, President and COO of Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT Companies.
“It is truly an honor and privilege to be able to give back to the people of the Tristate, and as Martin Luther King said, ‘it is always the right time to do the right thing’.”
The preferred charitable partners of this campaign time period included:





Tristate Habitat for Humanity,

During the 2008 build and fundraising period, $50,000 was raised and donated directly to Habitat for Humanity, a charitable partner of Coldwell Banker locally and nationally. During its multi-year relationship with the Tristate Habitat chapter, over $390,000 has been raised and donated. This year's house dedication celebration on November 15th will complete the company's tenth build.

Cincinnati Komen for the Cure

$6,890 will be donated directly and locally to Cincinnati Komen for the Cure's mission of education and research in the area of breast cancer.

Fine Arts Fund

$7,885 will be donated to the Fine Arts Fund for 2008, and throughout Coldwell Banker's long relationship with the Fine Arts Fund of Great Cincinnati, over $153,331 have been raised and donated to this local organization.

ProKids

ProKids will receive $5,000 to locally support their CASA program which supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so they can thrive in safe, permanent homes.

Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation Community Fund

$6,000 will be divided and granted to each greater Cincinnati, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana branch of Coldwell Banker West Shell to support community-level charities as selected by the office membership of staff, management and associates.
Check presentations will be made at various charity events throughout the Fall of 2008 and winter of 2009.
To arrange an interview with:
Joe King, President and COO of Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT companies
Glen Wilson, CFO and Executive Director of Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT Companies and Foundation
Thomas Courtney, Director of Corporate Philanthropy of Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT Companies

Call or e-mail:
Jim Stevenson
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT Companies
Jim.Stevenson@cboki.com or 614-526-2761

About the Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation:
The Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation and “Power of Caring” campaign is a chapter of The NRT Foundation which is 501 (c)(3) public charity incorporated in Delaware (Tax ID#20-0755090). The mission of the NRT Foundation is to better the quality of life in communities where NRT LLC/Realogy has a presence.
About Coldwell Banker King Thompson and Coldwell Banker West Shell:
Across Ohio, Coldwell Banker King Thompsons and Coldwell Banker West Shell have 25 offices and over 1,600 sales associates serving central Ohio, great Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. The companies are part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices. For more information, visit www.kingthompson.com or www.cbws.com.
Contacts
Coldwell Banker Ohio NRT CompaniesJim Stevenson, 614-526-2761Vice President, Marketing and CommunicationsJim.Stevenson@cboki.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20081023006434/en

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Fall Fire Safety Day at CBWS Milford

September 12, 2008 What an awesome day! Great fun was had by everyone who came out to the Milford office for pumpkin painting, frisbee golf, other carnival games. Sassy, the clown, made all the kids look great with kittens, pumpkins, and other face painting designs. We were also treated to delicious culinary delights supplied by the agents in the office.The Miami Township Fire Department joined us for a fire safety extravaganza, bringing a ladder truck, a paramedic rig, and the smoke house--which simulates a house on fire and allows children to crawl through to help them understand how to 'stay low' to make it out of a burning house safely. Firefighters were also on hand to talk to kids about "stop, drop and roll" and other fire safety tips. A tip for adults, change the batteries in your smoke detectors when we change the clocks back this fall.

Even the Coldwell Banker mascot, Russell the Retriever, made an appearance at the Fire Safety Festival. Russell is sporting a Habitat for Humanity tee, an organization that is near and dear to Coldwell Banker's heart. Aren't they adorable? Coloring pages went out to all the Milford schools for a coloring contest for students in K-3rd grade. Winners will be chosen and announced soon. Thanks to all the people who made this event possible, and especially to those who came out to enjoy the fun. If you didn't make it this year, look for this event next year in October!

We just don't sell houses

I couldn't help but comment on a remark made by a non-realtor on Trulia.com. He said that realtors only facilitate transactions. I guess if I didn't have the passion for the business, I might think that too. I imagine if I thought all real estate agents and companies were the same, I might think that's true. But it makes me think the same person might say a heart surgeon only works on hearts or a minister only reads sermons. A realtor, as I see it is your gateway to your new community, the one who relays the story of an area and delivers your new best friend.

Milford Office Habitat Work Day

Work day! Around my house those two little words bring much weeping, whining and audible sounds of pain. But, this wasn’t the case as the Milford office loaded up the truck, rather Jason’s car, with hammers, tool belts, tape measures, gloves, and plenty of vittles for the crew and headed to Covington, Covington, Kentucky that is, for our scheduled work day for Habitat.
It wasn’t Jethro who welcomed us but our very Randy Wilkerson, site manager and general go to guy for our Habitat build. After all the howdy dowdies and pleasantries were exchange Randy made sure there wouldn’t be any idle hands that day. We were each assigned various tasks to get the exterior of the home to completion. Siding and trim prep were the biggies for the day as well as putting a ceiling on the front porch and giving it its finishing touches. Randy gave us a gift when he handed us the electric screw gun and said we didn’t have to hammer over our heads. I was even more thankful later that day when I saw what the results of a hammer off track could do. And who knew that a big pair of overgrown scissors was all it took to cut siding?
The morning passed quickly and soon it was time to cook up the vittles. We grilled burgers, brats and hotdogs on site and sat on the front porch to eat and admire a bit of our handy work. Tawna Boles joined us later that afternoon to admire the work being done on her new home and to give us a hand with cleanup. Throughout the day there were many trips made up and down ladders and back and forth to the trailer for more supplies. I’m sure we will all agree we found muscles we didn’t know we had as well as a huge amount of satisfaction and pride in a job well done.
It was an overall great day! Even though as Realtors we help people everyday realize their dream of home ownership nothing compares or is more gratifying than helping someone build that dream from the ground up by giving just a small amount of personal time and effort. The address might not be Beverly Hills but at 6146 Clubhouse Drive, Covington, Kentucky I am sure that Tawna and the rest of the Bowles family feel like they too have struck it rich to be able own their very own piece of the American Dream.

October Highlights

October is a Huge month for our Office.

We have already had our fall "Passport to Success" where we learned about the latest technology to make our lives more efficient as well as our marketing more effective for our clients.
Tomorrow we begin our annual Habitat for Humanity build over in Norther Kentucky.

October the 10th begins our 10 day home sale part of our Coldwell Banker National Campaign.
Our office has over 22% of our listings on "Sale". This should be a fantastic opportunity for our clients homes to get maximum exposure.

Also, Every Thursday in October (starting tonight) from 5-7 we will be having Twilight Open Houses. The Cincinnati and Columbus markets are doing this to further differentiate our clients homes and our company from the rest of the pack. The houses held open will be all lit up and open for the convenience of those who may not be able to see homes on the weekends or those coming home from work.

I'm proud of the efforts Our company is making to pull our entire industry through this market.