Today we bid a fond farewell to our transaction coordinator, Billie Mitchell.  She has been with our company for 11 years and has decided to retire and live the good life.  We are very happy for her though, it was a bittersweet event.  On the one hand it was very sad to see a valuable member of our team leave us. On the other hand it was a nice opportunity to recognize excellence and to get the majority of our agents together for a little quality time and camaraderie. I only wish I could have been there as well (I'm still out of town).

This profession can be a lonely one at times.  Agents are independent contractors.  And most deals are done without much collaboration.  So, we try to do all that we can to bring our agents together socially to strengthen bonds.  We throw several company parties throughout the year.  And our Quality Service Department holds themed pot luck dinners every month, (this month is an appetizer theme.)

I was just curious to hear some of the ways that you all tackle the "bonding" issue in your offices.  Anybody have an interesting approach to this?