activerain challenge: Honoring Our Heritage: America's 250th and the Ferguson Family's 70th Reunion
- 07/26/26 12:07 PM
The weekend after celebrating America's 250th birthday, my wife and I traveled to Wilkes County, North Carolina. My mother was born in the small community of Ferguson, which was also her maiden name and where many of my cousins still call home. The 70th Ferguson Family Reunion weekend kicked off Friday night at Whippoorwill Village. This historic village was created many years ago by my mother's sister, Edith Marie Carter, and is now operated by her daughters, Margaret and Sharon. The village is a collection of local buildings that were saved, relocated, and lovingly restored.
Among them is … (14 comments)
activerain challenge: A Vision for Activerain's Future
- 06/12/26 11:25 AM
This month's AR Challenge, hosted by Debe Maxwell CRS and Lew Corcoran, asks the question: What can you do to help make Activerain even stronger? I joined the AR community in its early years and was not too active for a long time. As I explored the platform, I discovered the groups feature and eventually found the AR Baseball Junkies. After forming a team, I quickly learned that engagement is the key to making Activerain work. Commenting on posts, answering questions, and building relationships are what transform the site from a blogging platform into a true community. Over the years, I had read about the many Activerain … (17 comments)
activerain challenge: Old friend ~ New AR member
- 09/15/25 10:48 AM
With an upcoming trip to Atlanta for a Leading RE Brokers Forum and reading the September AR challenge co-hosted by Leanne Smith and Bob "RealMan" Timm "Changing Seasons ~ Creating Connections" criteria I decided to reach out to my best friend from high school. Jeff Buffo has been a REALTOR ® in Atlanta with KW for 25 years and this trip would be the ideal time to catch up. On Saturday we took in an Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros game and Kathy Steib's Astros were victorious 6 - 2. Sunday night we went to a concert in Peachtree City and … (32 comments)
activerain challenge: Office pranks on April 1st🃏back in the day
- 04/02/25 01:01 PM
In the late 1980's our office was full of pranksters and one agent always took the April fools antics hook line and sinker. To protect the gullible agent's identity we will call her "Frieda". Frieda was a great sales person and had recently closed a large farm sale to a large corporation from a call she received on floor duty. The name of her point of contact at the corporation was James Carter. Back in the day before voice mail the agent on duty would take messages on the pink message slips when an agent was not in the office. On April … (15 comments)
activerain challenge: Match Maker Match Maker..Make me a Match..Find me a Find
- 02/05/25 08:40 AM
The AR February blog challenge asks; what we L❤️VE about being a REALTOR? I have always enjoyed networking with my fellow colleagues in the real estate world. Like most REALTORS I am always talking shop. Finding out and sharing what's about to come on the market or what a particular buyer is looking for. The challenge of matching Buyers with the right property or a Seller's property with the perfect buyer has always been my passion. Over the years I have helped many agents connect Buyers and Seller's by knowing who is working with who. There have been many memorable connections I … (36 comments)
My favorite quote always seems to be relevant in an ever changing world and tells us why it is imperative that we must continue to educate ourselves. “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” ― Eric Hoffer ~ ~ ~ This is my entry in the Active Rain September Challenge "Blog 53 words" hosted by Nick Vandekar and Patricia Feager. During my term as FCAR President back in 2003 I was asked by a local reporter to answer questions for … (28 comments)
activerain challenge: AR BASEBALL JUNKIES ~ 2024 ~ OPENING DAY
- 03/11/24 04:06 PM
The AR BASEBALL JUNKIES 2024 season will kick off when the Los Angeles Dodgers face the San Diego Padres in Seoul South Korea on March 20th. The AR Baseball Junkies were formed many years ago by our Hall of Fame Commissioner William Feela , manager of Minnesota Rain, who keeps the 10-team fantasy baseball league alive and well. Last season's reigning champion "ESTBOSS" ~ David Groseclose will be looking to defend his title as the boys of summer return for another campaign. ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾
April Challenge & invite to the AR Baseball Junkie old timers. William Feela Jeffrey DiMuria Marie Graham Mel Ahrens
Attend Tuesday's AR ZOOM CALL on … (19 comments)
activerain challenge: The land mine in the back yard
- 03/23/23 05:09 AM
Early in 2021, a young couple with three young boys looking for their first home was referred to me by a friend. They were living in their parent's small apartment in the Washington DC suburbs. The market had very limited inventory for entry-level purchasers as we were coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic period. We toured a number of properties throughout January and February many of which went under contract before the couple could decide if the home was right for their family. In mid-March a single family on a nice corner lot with a yard ideal for the boys to … (16 comments)
activerain challenge: SALE DERAILED ===🚂===
- 03/02/23 09:26 AM
Back in 2017 I listed three islands in the Potomac River consisting of 108 acres between Clear Spring, Maryland, and Falling Waters, West Virginia. After tremendous publicity in the media for a unique listing the State of Maryland submitted a letter of intent to purchase the land. During their extensive title search they uncovered that in the early 1900s one-half of the interest in the property was sold to Western Maryland Railway to build piers for a bridge. The sale was never recorded in the Washington County land records or reflected on the state tax card information. My Seller purchased the islands back in … (41 comments)
activerain challenge: The ripple effects of successful blogging
- 10/23/22 07:23 AM
For the last few years, a coalition that includes The Frederick County Association of REALTORS®, The Chamber of Commerce, citizens groups, the local Builders Association, and the Farm Bureau have joined together to oppose the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan (STLMP). The plan is filled with proposed governmental policies and regulatory actions that infringe on private property rights, siphon values and could result in unwarranted land use and zoning restrictions to landowners causing undue harm to citizens. Last summer while discussing the issue with one of the agents in my office, he reminded me of what we learn in real estate school … (23 comments)
My first blog in activerain was in March of 2009 and I floated in & out of the Rain trying to discover what the concept of blogging was all about. The passion for blogging is an inherited trait from my Grandfather. In 2015 I realized to be serious about blogging I needed to graduate from a Rainer account to a Rainmaker. I became a frequent participant in Q&A and discovered The Groups. The AR Baseball Junkies caught my eye in 2017 when William Feela posted a blog inviting members to form … (16 comments)
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