Gen Blue® 2023 - Liz Gehringer and Jason Waugh

Y'all, they brought me over here yesterday to run through this so I wouldn't be nervous. It totally did not work. I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, so please go with me. No one believes that in you. It's um, you know, I had this perfectly scripted response: true deep local roots, global exposure, amazing agents and amazing leadership. And those were all factors in my decision to join Coldwell Banker. But ultimately for me, Coldwell Banker offered the biggest and the best platform for me to not only tell the stories of my past but to write the story of my future. And that's why I'm here.

Hello, Coldwell Banker. Yes, Jen Blue. I've heard about it, I've read about it, but honestly to experience it in person, it's amazing. And we have an amazing experience in store for you this week. I'm just going to pause for a quick second and take this in. Look at this beautiful audience. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for allowing me to be here today. This is a photo of my family. I'm a blessed father of five daughters. They allowed me to pick my walkup song, and while I am an Eminem fan, that song in particular because it talks about seizing opportunities. It was really in honor of our youngest, Shayen, right in the middle. Super sporty. That is her game day song. Every game day we have to listen to that song. And she notified us a couple years ago that she had created this alter ego, and she named her Gargona. That's kind of an odd name, but it's her life, we'll let her run with it. And a big day in our household today. One of our daughters turned 15 yesterday, so she takes her learner permit. So we've got a second driver in about three hours. And she was so gracious. I apologized I wasn't going to be home to celebrate her birthday, and she's like, 'That's okay, Dad. I'll just drive you home from the airport when you get home.' So super excited. But again, I am so honored and so humbled to be a part of your leadership team, of what I sincerely believe is the most iconic brand in the real estate industry, enjoys the richest history of all real estate companies. Now, I got a voice message. So we announced my position on Tuesday, so I got a voice message on Wednesday, and I'm glad that I missed the call because now the voice message is memorialized. And I got a call from a gentleman that's been a great friend, a great mentor, a big brother, much older big brother, but a real industry leader, runs a great brokerage, multi-generation family brokerage, independent brand, great state of Florida. So he calls me on Wednesday. 'Jason, congratulations. I am so proud of you.' That obviously felt good, right? I mean, somebody that I look up to, I admire, I respect, an industry leader, proud of me. But what he said next is really a testament to all of you and the people that came before us and the path that we're paving for the people that are going to come behind us. And he said, 'I wrote my college paper in 1979 about Coldwell Banker, the most iconic company in real estate.' And fast forward 44 years, he has the same feeling. I mean, the sense of pride at that moment, I just got chills saying it out loud. The sense of pride was overwhelming. Now, Liz, now before I go any further, I would really be remiss if my first appearance as president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates I didn't take the opportunity to honor my predecessor. So if you would join me in a standing ovation for your immediate past president, Liz Gehringer, I would appreciate it. I will tell you that Liz is one of the reasons that I'm here, and her love and affinity for this company and for you was almost one of the reasons I turned the opportunity down because it was such big shoes to fill. But super inspirational and truly one of the reasons that I'm here. Now, Liz shared with you that Coldwell Banker is the only brand that I would leave my former company for, and that's an absolute fact. There's only one job with one company that I would have that would have been compelling enough to leave, and it's this one. And I'm so honored and so humbled to be here. Now, I grew up in and around the business. I've been affiliated with one company for 30 years. A company that a part of its roots were family, so you got legacy family dynamics there, but deep meaningful long-term relationships. So it's not a monumental decision and move all the things that pull at the heartstrings, and yet I chose you. And because I wanted to be a part of this team, again, the most iconic company in our industry, and it boiled down to one thing. Boiled down to people and the shared commitment to excellence, moving this industry forward, the focus on growth, and one of the most caring cultures I've ever been exposed to in Coldwell Banker. You know, I love this theme of storytelling. It's so relevant to our day-to-day, right? A big part of our job is to interpret raw data, compile it in a way that we can create a story and tell a story about the current market condition so our customers, our buyers and sellers, can make good informed decisions. And Liz spoke on the difference between what you're selling versus why you're selling. And I heard this statement a couple years ago, and I believe it's even more relevant today, and I think it's going to be relevant in perpetuity: that we live in an experience economy. And that's our job. Our job is to tell a story about the market conditions and then deliver and create an exceptional real estate experience. Now, it's no secret that we find ourselves navigating a pretty complex market, a lot of distractions, what I call noise, if we allow it. And as you get to know me better, you'll know and come to appreciate how much I believe success is dependent on mindset, attitude, perspective, even more so in really challenging times. And I'd love to share a story with you. It's not a real estate story, but it was a story that was really impactful on me and speaks to a lot of those things: the power of perspective, the importance of attitude, taking action in the face of fear, living without regret. So I commute a lot between Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon, and sometimes do it by train, just get more work done that way. So in September of 2022, one day I decided to take the train from Seattle to Portland. Sit in business class, go to my assigned seat, instantly sit down, open the laptop, start knocking out some emails. I know I have three calls to make, so I'm in, I'm making those calls. Young lady sits down next to me, and I could tell even though I'm engaged in what I'm doing, I could tell she's a little anxious, little unsettled, little nervous, the way she's gripping her bag and she's fidgeting a little bit, looking around. So I close my laptop and I just say, 'Hello.' She says, 'Hi.' She's like, 'What's taking you to Portland?' I said, 'Well, I've got some work down there, just visiting a couple offices.' I respond in kind, 'What's taking you to Portland?' And then she begins to tell me her story. She's like, 'Well, I'm on my way to meet my biological mother for the first time. She was an addict, gave up her parental rights. I became a part of the foster care system, and between the age of 10 and then when she aged out, she lived in 65 different homes.' And a year earlier, her biological mother had reached out, made contact, wanted to meet with her. She declined that invitation, still harboring some resentment and anger, understandably. Fast forward a few months, she learns that her biological mother is dying from kidney failure. And so she thinks to herself, 'I don't want to live in regret by not meeting her before she passes and have that weigh on my conscience.' And I'm sitting here listening to this 19-year-old's story, my jaw literally on the floor. When she finally pauses, I say, and not very eloquently, I said, 'Wow, you are really tough.' And she said, 'Yeah, thanks. Kind of made me laugh.' But she said, 'I am. But I've lived through some very traumatic experiences.' Sorry. 'But it's all about perspective.' And that just washed over me so powerfully. And I just thanked her for sharing her story with me. Introduced myself. She said, 'Thank you for listening to my story. I'm Isabella. I go by Bella.' Sorry. My oldest daughter, 17, her name is Isabella, goes by Bella. Trust me, behind the bald head, beard, bravado, I'm really a softy at heart, so you will see me cry more, trust that. But as we parted ways, I said to Bella, 'Always, always choose that attitude and that perspective, and you're going to accomplish amazing things.' Now, our paths are probably never going to cross again, but she will forever, forever be a hero in my eyes, and I will never, ever forget that experience. Now, speaking of heroes, each year Coldwell Banker honors one of its own with its Hero of the Year. The recipient this year, an amazing, amazing woman. Learned of a Ukrainian family fleeing their war-torn country, looking for refuge in the US, and she realized that coming to the US was just the beginning of that journey. Where are they going to live? How are they going to live? She also recognized that this family would need to learn a new way of life, grieve, begin to heal, endure so many trials and tribulations. But she wanted to ensure that they had the gift of time, time to acclimate, time to adjust to this new life without having to worry about paying for housing. So our goal was a year of free housing. She rallied her community, local real estate professionals, and generated enough money to gift this family a year of free housing. She made an incredible, life-changing difference for this family, and in so doing has earned her the 2023 Coldwell Banker Hero of the Year. Please join me in congratulating Coldwell Banker Tong in Tennessee, Florida agent Christy Perkins. Christie, thank you, thank you from Coldwell Banker. But more importantly, thank you for representing the real estate industry. Proud of you. So let me end you with this. Business, like life, has seasons. All seasons have a beginning, they have a middle, they have an end. All seasons offer opportunities. And so true in our business, because regardless of what the economy is doing, regardless of what the market's doing, regardless of what our competition's doing, life always goes on. And life events typically determine decisions to buy or sell real estate. So if life's always going to go on regardless of all the things around us, which by the way we have no control over, and life events determine decisions to buy or sell, there will always be opportunities for us to achieve our goals. Success is going to be enjoyed by those that are the most willing to be inconvenienced. Let me say that again. Success is going to be enjoyed by those that are the most willing to be inconvenienced. We dictate our success, not the market, not the economy, not our competition. Now, you've already made the investment monetarily and time to your business, yourselves by being here, and I applaud you for that. Let's continue to make investments in ourselves, our businesses, growing, learning, networking with each other, so we can leave here and go back and do what we do better than anybody else in our business, and that's create exceptional real estate experiences. Return home and take your unfair share of the market opportunities in your respective markets. Lastly, thank you. Thank you for choosing to be a part of the best brand in real estate. We are Coldwell Banker.