ROGER BOARD OF REALTORSHOLDS MONTHLY MEETING

Tom Scantlin

With summer vacations over and schoolback in session it was back to a more normal schedulefor Realtors and affiliates for the August meeting ofthe Rogers Board of Realtors on Thursday. Well over70 were on hand for the breakfast meeting at theEmbassy Suites in Rogers which was AffiliatesAppreciation Day, with affiliates receiving theirbreakfast compliments of the board.Board president Mike Robinsonopened the meet-ing by lead-ing thegroup inthe pledge,followed bySandyDanehoweroffering theprayer. Sixnew mem-bers wereSix new Rogers Board members received their pinscalled tothe front of the room to receive their Realtor pins andintroduce themselves to the group.Robinson worked through a few announcements,most notably reminding the group of the upcomingARA state convention that is slated for September 8ththru 10th at the Pea Body Hotel in Little Rock.Deanna Dialfollowed on the convention theme byannouncing that the Rogers board is puting together agift basket to take to the convention that will includeitems from NW Arkansas that would give conventiongoers from other parts of the state an image of ourregion of the state.Dial announced that the annual Christmas party andbanquet is slated for December 13th that the John Q.Hammon Center and will be a joint gathering with theMetro Board of Realtors. The theme for this year isDiamonds and Denim and will include a casino night.Sponsorship are available at $200 each for the eventwith ticket sales coming closer to the event.Robinson reminded the group of a few items ofbusiness before the guest speaker was brought to thepodium, nominations for directors and officers to theboard are due by August 26th and also that a GRI 102class is on tap for October 20th & 21st, call the boardoffice for more information.Guest speaker for the day was Gary W. Hill,VP/Chief Ethics Officer at Wal Mart that has beenwith the company since 2004 to head up the depart-ment for the company. Hill gave several examples ofhow the WalMart culturehas beenshaped andin somecasesreshaped tooffer respectand doingwhat isright to bothThe guest speaker was Gary W. Hill of Wal-Martcustomerand vendor as well as Wal Mart associates. He notedthat the "tone at the top" sets the ethical standards forthe company. A standard that should be followed fornot only by the top managers but also be each associ-ate within the company. Hill noted that the company is trying to get out infront of many problems as they move into morediverse markets throughout the world, in an effort toshow by example that the Wal Mart culture is thesame no matter where a store is located. "The "doright rules" apply no matter where you are or whatposition you may hold in the company" he said.Prior to drawing for door prizes Robinson reveled tothe group the Tom Jonesof Harris McHaney-Lakeoffice was chosen as Realtor of the Year for 2008 bythe board and will represent the board as such at theARA convention in September.