Rob Reuter

By Rob Reuter

During the 2019 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo—where more than 9,000 REALTORS® converged on the nation’s capital—Tuesday, May 14 was YPN day for members involved in the network. It began with the YPN Advisory Board meeting from 1-2:30 p.m. where the 20-member board convened to discuss progress on its goals since meeting during the polar vortex in Chicago earlier this year in January. After brief updates from each member’s corresponding NAR committee, the advisory board members gave updates from each of their three work groups:

Photo by Joseph Magsaysay.

Advocacy

This group is focuses on contributions to RPAC, raising awareness of the YPN Pledge, and NAR calls to action. As of April 30, 2019, there were 25,774 YPN members eligible to contribute to RPAC of which 10,591 invested (41%) for a total of $1,462,604 including 774 Major Investors. Of those, 520 have committed to the YPN Pledge for a total of $215,301. After the Advisory Board meeting, 12 members signed the YPN Pledge.

Leadership

One of the primary pillars of YPN is leadership growth, and this group is tasked with tracking YPN members as they progress through NAR leadership. There are currently 95 YPN members serving on NAR’s 2019 950-member Board of Directors. Of the 95, 51 have served as their association’s YPN chair, 38 have attended the annual YPN Leadership Retreat, 20 have served on the YPN Advisory Board, 23 as their local association president, and 15 have been recognized as a 30 Under 30. The next goal for this group will be to create the agenda for the 2019 YPN Leadership Retreat in Chicago, August 15-16, 2019. This is an invite-only event for 2019 YPN chairs, vice chairs, and staff liaisons. Registration for the retreat will open June 6.

Photo by Noah Hayes.

Growth

The focus of this work group is expanding YPN. Each YPN Advisory Board member has an annual travel stipend to visit and support local networks. This year we hope to team up with NAR’s Executive Outreach Program to help streamline the invitation process. They will be reaching out to the 96 networks that have gone inactive over the years now that more resources have been made available.

The Advisory Board meeting also featured special appearances by 2019 NAR President-Elect Vince Malta, NAR Chief Executive Officer Bob Goldberg, and other members of NAR’s Leadership Team each addressing the group on the value of their contributions to the organization and encouraging them to continue to do great things.

For the hour following the meeting, we tried a new format called a fish bowl conversation, which is basically a rotating panel discussion with members of the gallery. We began with a group of Advisory Board members and how they got involved with the REALTOR® association. This progressed to a panel of first-time attendees and what they hoped to experience during the meetings.

Photo by Noah Hayes.

Networking Event

We finished the day with one of the conference’s most popular annual events, the YPN Networking Reception from 6-9 p.m. Once again, we were at The Park at 14th, which has become a traditional gathering point for the more than 300 YPN attendees to gather, reunite, and share their experiences with the YPN community. While tickets for the event consistently sell out, the venue has been able to arrange a $75 at the door fee for those without tickets.

If you have not attended the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, you should consider it for 2020. The conference is free for REALTORS® and the YPN schedule is anticipated to remain unchanged. We hope to see you there!

Rob Reuter is the director of networks for the National Association of REALTORS®. Connect with Rob at rreuter@realtors.org.