Erica Christoffer

By Erica Christoffer

The Fresno Association of REALTORS® YPN credits the cohesiveness and commitment of their committee members after winning both the Medium Network of the Year Award from the National Association of REALTORS® and the State Network of the Year Award from the California Association of REALTORS® in 2019.

Brandon Uribe

In this Q&A, Brandon Uribe, 2019 chair of Fresno’s YPN, gives an inside look at the interworking of the group and how their efforts paid off in greater involvement and recognition.

Members of the Fresno YPN committee accepting the 2019 California State Network of the Year Award.

Q. What made your YPN group so successful last year?

A. Having YPN committee members who are on the same page and are excited and motivated for the years is a key factor. This excitement and energy must also be demonstrated by the chair and vice-chair. I made sure that I led by example with my vice-chair, and after a few months of events and guidance by myself and our vice-chair, the entire committee felt comfortable and motivated to lead their positions with authority and confidence. Once we dialed in our first few events with success, the committee stayed motivated to keep producing successful events with the support of our membership and association. Once you get the kinks worked out during your first few events, it becomes like clockwork—and we had a lot of fun! Our committee voted on everything we did, not once did I or the vice-chair not discuss plans or ideas with our committee members. This bond and understanding solidified our mission as a whole.

Fresno’s Wake-Up YPN speed networking event.

Q. What was one challenge your YPN overcame and how did you do it? 

A. We had exceptional attendance at our monthly Wake-Up YPN events, but could not draw a crowd for our educational events until last year. As a committee, we decided to host events on topics that every member—new or experienced—could relate to and find interest in. We also shortened the length of these events to less than two hours, kept the entry fee to $20 or less, and always included lunch. Another thing we did to approve attendance was to collaborate with our “educational and investor committee” at our association. After this, we sold out every single lunch and learn and hit the capacity of more than 100 members for every education event. Hosting successful events just carried momentum and our overall membership attendance grew from there.

Q. What is your advice for other networks looking to strengthen their engagement with members?

Fresno YPN’s sold out investor panel education event.

A. My advice is to get out there and create relationships with your members, sponsors, and most of all, your association. Our association allowed us to collaborate with other committees and this put out a good word about YPN. Older members would promote events for us and this helped our YPN grow. Also, don’t forget to engage with your existing YPN membership. There is no such thing as too much engagement for YPN. Stay active, keep everyone updated about your YPN, and always encourage people to get involved. Having a wonderful committee who also leads by example to members is a huge help. It takes a handful of committed individuals to make a true impact. I am proud of my 2019 committee we absolutely rocked it!

Members putting backpacks together for Fresno YPN’s annual backpack drive. The group raised enough money to assemble 500 backpacks fully stocked with school supplies and delivered them to three local schools in 2019.

Fresno YPN accepting the National Medium Network of the Year Award in November 2019.

Brandon Uribe is an agent at his family brokerage, Villa Rio Estates Realty, in Fresno, Calif. He graduated from the University of California Irvine in 2015. Uribe joined the Fresno Association of REALTORS® YPN five years ago, during his first year in real estate, and served as committee chair in 2019. He has been involved in community outreach at FAR, and has been attended Legislative Day since his first year in the business. He believes in leadership and making a difference in the industry as an advocate for his clients and fellow REALTORS®.

Erica Christoffer is a contributing editor for REALTOR® Magazine and manager of the YPN Lounge. Connect with her at echristoffer@nar.realtor.