In a industry known for its wealthy agents and its dismal failure rate during the first year (80%), success tools and the know-how to use them are rapidly become the trend-dejour.  Now, courtesy of visionary sponsors and the diligent efforts of a valuable commodity in the industry – Real Estate Apprentice® Grant Foundation – this public benefits corporation pushed forward into another season by rewarding 2,128 Rookie Agents with $500,000 in grants. For those Rookies looking to pick up a fast buck, The Real Estate Apprentice®, should not be on their list.  The Foundation is thoroughly convinced that tools and not cash, are the wave of the future and the highway to agent stability, agent longevity, professionalism, and agent cash flow.  “Give a person a fish and you feed them only for a day, teach them how to fish and you can feed them for life,” said Dr. Martin Oliver, Deputy Executive Director of the Foundation. 

Finalist Smita Patel – The Natural Communicator
Since childhood, Smita Patel was told she talked too much in class.  Today she has transformed her natural inclination to speak into a valuable tool for communication with her real estate clients.  She remarks, “My lifelong training allows my outgoing nature to get the information I seek and still make a personal connection.”   In real estate she uses her experience and training to better connect and communicate, providing valuable services to the public.  “I have entrepreneurial blood in my veins, having managed four major types of businesses.  My parents, also business owners, gave me extra motivation to prove that I could succeed in all that I do.  Now that I am in it, I love the business, working with the public in the real estate industry,” she added.

Patel received her real estate education from Tennessee RealtyU® Affiliate, T.R.E.E.S., and works as an agent for Prudential Rowland Real Estate in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  When asked to describe adversities that she had overcome, Smita conveyed the following experience, “Bad days allow us to learn and appreciate the good!  My mother had high blood pressure and failing kidneys for years, eventually suffering a stroke that left her half paralyzed when I was only fourteen years old.  She passed away six months later.  My father and I moved around, living with relatives who treated me like a servant, then on to a prejudicial small country town, prior to where we live now.  I overcame my fears, pain, tears and grief – not only the loss of my mother, but for the way I was treated by others.  During that time I realized that home isn’t necessarily a stationary fixture, but an atmosphere – a feeling that I will always have as long as I am with my family and those I love.”

Finalist Heather Melchior – Gifted in Creative Sales
Heather Melchior studied real estate with The Real Estate Education Center, (T.R.E.E.C.) a RealtyU® Affiliate in Michigan, and is an agent with Bolton-Johnston Associates in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.  As the granddaughter of a Polish entrepreneur, Heather firmly believes that she was born with an innate sense to create and sell.  She proved this to herself as an aspiring youth in writing, performing, peddling lemonade, selling Girl Scout cookies, and later successfully taking French lessons.  Heather worked her way through her university years, excelling in foreign languages, and was the first on her father's side to earn a collegiate degree.  The nights she spent alone in the hospital with a severe childhood illness fueled a keen awareness of her own mortality and clarified two burning desires: 1) to know the world, its wonder and genius, both naturally and artistically, and 2) to create a product of her own imagination – an invention, a service, or a business – and bring it to fruition.

In a quest to witness that wonder and its genius, Heather became a Bilingual Flight Attendant, working for eleven years for a legacy carrier.  Soaring at 35,000 feet, where people are most vulnerable, Melchior served half a million people, representing dozens of countries and hundreds of cultures and languages.  She explains, “At the airlines, I worked holidays, midnights, weekends and 14+ hour mandatory duty days – I knew the show had to go on until the mission was accomplished.” She took this commitment into her real estate career, not willing to quit until every unique individual found a home.  Thus, as a self-proclaimed expert in human nature, Heather became proficient in anticipating and meeting customer needs while abiding by a strict code of federal regulations.  These qualities, combined with her prior experience in cold calling and sales with State Farm Insurance, give her the confidence to succeed in real estate.

Semi-Finalist Mary Billings & a $2,500 Number
Mary Billings is a super number-cruncher, a skill she honed during 26 years of faithful service to General Motors’ finance department.  Since the numbers dictate the financial success of any business endeavor, Mary’s expertise serves her well in her new-found career.  The eldest of ten children, Billings also has experience as a responsible leader, having served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Commission, and twice elected to the Township Board in Michigan.  She also was nominated for an Athena Award by the management at GM – an award given in recognition of superior public service by GM business women.  Billings believes that she will succeed at real estate because she is ready to try anything and everything to build her business.  “I intend to develop a business plan and follow it.  I will track my progress frequently, amending the plan if necessary,” she said.   Mary Billings studied with The Real Estate Education Center (T.R.E.E.C.), a RealtyU® Affiliate in Michigan, and is an agent with Real Estate One in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

Semi-Finalist Cheryl Oldweiler – A Champion from Champions
Cheryl Oldweiler is a proud, native Houstonian with a unique perspective on the real estate market.  Her love of Houston is evident in her enthusiasm to provide everyone with a pleasant experience in becoming a Houston-area homeowner.  She is involved in several organizations and charitable endeavors, including weekly volunteerism at Texas Children's Hospital and 16-years of service with “Operation School Supplies,” a volunteer effort providing school supplies to underprivileged children.  With a background in Marketing Communications at Hewlett-Packard and as a Software Instructor at ExecuTrain, Oldweiler is known for her meticulous attention to detail, big picture focus, high energy, strong ethical and professional standards, and her commitment to quality personal service.  Oldweiler earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Organizational Behavior and Management, with a minor in Psychology from the University of Houston, Houston, and trained with Champions School of Real Estate, a RealtyU® Affiliate in Houston.  She now works as an agent with Prudential Gary Greene Realtors also in Houston, Texas.

***The Real Estate Apprentice Season IV Grand Prize Winner will be announced on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 in RISMedia***