Thank you!

April 23-29 is National Volunteer Week here in Canada. As a not for profit member organization we rely heavily on volunteerism at the Board level, chapter levels and the grassroots level, as we serve our membership and strive towards meeting our mission each and every day. The impact that you all have on our organization and the community is immeasurable and we thank you for that. Without our volunteers the continued success of REIBC would not be possible.

Thank you to all of those who volunteer their time and effort to making our organization what it is today!

Member News 

Mandy Hansen, RI

The Real Estate Foundation of BC held its Annual General Meeting on April 7, 2017, which included an election for the Foundation’s Chair and Vice-chair positions. Mandy Hansen, RI, Past President of REIBC was elected Chair for the 2017-2018 term.

Mandy is a real estate and project management consultant, and the principal of Insight Specialty Consulting, a boutique strategy and management firm based in Coquitlam. She was appointed to the REFBC Board by REIBC in 2015. 

Mandy has been a member of the REIBC for the past 15 years and served as President for the 2013-2014 year.

Congratulations, Mandy!

Daniel McElheron, RI

Dan McElheron, RI has recently been promoted to the position of Senior Appraiser at the BC Assessment office in Terrace, BC after serving a number of acting senior appraiser roles.

Dan, who has been a member of REIBC for the past 19 years joined the Terrace office in 2001 after relocating from the lower mainland where he lived for 32 years.  

Originally licensed as a realtor in 1986(expo 86),  Dan's career has spanned more than 30 years. 

Congratulations, Dan!

REIBC Events

REIBC Recognition Week

The Chapters of REIBC hosted a series of events during the Week of April 3-7 to recognize 5, 10, 15, and 20 year members of the Institute.  We heard back from a few of the Chapters and would like to share their thoughts and photos from the events.

Congratulations to all of our recipients!

Cariboo & Northwest Prince Rupert Event 

The Cariboo Chapter combined with the Prince Rupert Chapter for drinks and appetizers at the Twisted Cork restaurant in Prince George to talk real estate and recognize our members on 5, 10, and 20 year accomplishments with the Institute.  Overall 16 people attended, resulting in a great night of networking and discussion.  It was easily the largest turnout that we’ve had in the last 5 years.-Geoff Radtke, RI

Members recognized in the Cariboo & Northwest Prince Rupert Chapters were:

Fraser Valley Event 

On Wednesday April 5^th, the RI Fraser Valley Chapter was proud to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Eleanor Enns! Eleanor is a Property Agent at the City of Surrey Engineering Department. Pictured is Chapter Chair Rav Punia presenting her with a certificate. We had a great time at the Oak and Thorne in Walnut Grove. Congratulations Eleanor and all of our 5, 10, 15 and 20 year members listed below.- Russell Cooper, RI, Governor

Members recognized in the Fraser Valley Chapter were:

Kootenay Event

The Kootenay Chapter enjoyed appy’s and a beverage at the Hide Out Restaurant and Brewhouse on April 5^th. 
Receiving 5 year Recognition Certificates were Ramaish Shah, Joseph Baich and Brandon Tanner.  Trudy Carbonneau received a 10 year Certificate.  Other members’ attending included,  Jon O’Grady, Dave Robertson, Shar Hill, Diane Renz and Josh Sutton. Thanks to everyone for attending! - Trudy Carbonneau, RI

Nanaimo Event

On April 5^th three members from the Nanaimo Chapter received recognition certificates.  Andrew Reidy, Property Representative, BC Hydro, 20 years, Bruce Cameron, Property Agent, City of Nanaimo, 15 years and Isaac Morgan, Appraiser, BC Assessment, 5 years.  We met for lunch and talked about what they were doing at the time they became RI members and the jobs they had over the years which put them into the careers they have today. 
-Nancy Skeels, RI

North Fraser/Vancouver joint event 

The Vancouver and North Fraser Chapters joined forces to celebrate significant years of service milestones of our own respective members over great cocktails and food at the Blackbird Public House in Downtown Vancouver.  On behalf of all of the directors from both chapters, we would like to thank everyone who came out to support this excellent event. - Clayton Olson, RI

Members recognized in the North Fraser Chapter were:

 Members recognized in the Vancouver Chapter were: 

Thompson Okanagan - Kamloops Venue

The Thompson-Okanagan Chapter held a Recognition Event in Kamloops on April 5^th at the Romeo’s restaurant at the Coast Hotel.  The Recognition Event was combined with a joint RI/AIC dinner with guest speaker Mona Murray.  Mona is a 31 year RI member so it was great to have her a part of this Recognition Event and to have her speak on the commercial climate in Kamloops.  Recognized were RI members Kelly Morrish (5 years), Cathy Colborne (10 years) and Dan Cox (15 years).  As the food was great and the presentation informative, it was an enjoyable and successful RI event. -Cathy Colborne, RI 

The Vernon members joined together for lunch in conjunction with the Recognition Events being held across the Province. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Ricki's Restaurant in Vernon and talked a bit about our careers, Strata councils and retirement - Curtis Broughton, RI(retired)

Members recognized in the Thompson Okanagan Chapter were:

 Kelowna Venue

The Kelowna side of the Thompson Okanagan Chapter met on Thursday, April 6^th to recognize their members. Held at the Xchange Tapas Bar, the event saw 15 RIs gather for networking and member recognition.

Doug Gilchrist, Governor, recognized the following members: Carl Walton (15 years), April-Dawn Bellamy (10 years), Chris Hohne and Amanda Wilms (both 5 years).- Amanda Wills, RI

Victoria Event

The Victoria Chapter met for drinks and appetizers at 10 Acres Commons to celebrate years of service milestones for several local members. Congratulations to all of our 5, 10, 15 and 20 years members!  A big thank you to all of those RI’s who were able to attend - Justin Howard, RI

Member recognized in the Victoria Chapter were:

Industry Information

John Neuls (left), Eugen Klein, RI (middle), and Daniel John, RI(right) attended the Langara College "Careers in Real Estate" on Tuesday April 4th.  

Every year the REIBC works together with the Langara continuing studies program to host this event.  

Students get to meet RI designated professional engaged in real estate appraisal, property management, residential sales, and commercial sales and leasing. They learn about daily work life,  how they started out, career pathways, earning potential, and education programs. 

A great big thank you to Eugen and Dan for sharing their expertise with the students!

Career Opportunities

Supervisor/Manager, Commercial Operations - Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, City of Vancouver

Meet A Member

In an effort to meet more of our members we will be showcasing member profiles each month! We will be in touch! If you want to be the next member featured, let us know.

Meet Michael Thibert, Student Member

Having started his career in sales, in consumer packaged good, and having completed the Marketing Management program at BCIT, Michael decided to make a career shift and pursue his passion for real estate.  

He is currently studying Real Estate Management full-time at Langara College and working towards completing the Urban Land Economics Diploma through UBC. His goal is to join a collaborative team where he can leverage his experience all while developing a successful career in Property Management, Sales or Leasing.

Michael enjoys volunteering and recently served as a Seawall Bike Tour Leader with Hosteling International. He and his wife have two small children and happily reside in Steveston Village. Most of his down time is spent with family and friends, exploring the outdoors and traveling (most recently to Japan and Jamaica)

On the weekends, you can usually find him BBQing, enjoying live music, searching out a new craft beer or riding his beach cruiser. Others would be surprised to know that he's worked as a hotel doorman welcoming many famous visitors to our city. 

Michael looks forward to being an active member of REIBC and continuing his professional development to build a successful career in the Real Estate industry.

Meet Graham Allen, RI

Graham Allen is a man with three professions: lawyer (LL.B., J.D., LL.M.); arbitrator (C.Arb.); and appraiser (M.Sc. (Urban Land Appraisal), RI). He retired from law in 2013, but maintains a healthy arbitration practice, offering his appraisal background for those involved in disputes concerning rental and land valuation. Graham would like to continue arbitrating for many years to come, thereby becoming an entrenched member of the growing ranks of the “semi-retired”!

The rest of Graham’s working life revolves around human rights advocacy, particularly with regard to the world wide campaign to abolish the death penalty. He does expect to see an execution-free world in his lifetime; overall, the gains exceed the setbacks (Turkey, Philippines) – so it’s mainly encouraging.

Graham has been a staunch supporter of our Institute for decades, and served as President from 1978-1982. Much change took place in those early years, and it delights him to see our professional pre-eminence being secured and enhanced by a committed, well-run organization.

What might surprise readers is Graham’s ardent love for flamenco. Although his own dancing days are – sadly! – behind him, he continues to be involved in the community as a director of the Flamenco Rosario Society. His actual mandate is fundraising so, if you’d like to support flamenco culture, please contact his e-mail:grahamallen@telus.net.

REIBC Charity Golf Tournament

The REIBC continues to receive updates on the great wishes that are being granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of BC & Yukon as a result of many charitable donations, including dollars from REIBC's Charity Golf Tournament. We received the following email from it's CEO Ross Hetherington.

Dear Friends of Make-A-Wish,

Matt’s wish to be a Canuck for the day came true because of you.

Each wish that you help us grant carries the wish child and their family from a place of uncertainty to a place of hope, but Matt’s wish was extra special because he wished to share it with his best friend, whose father had just passed away.

Here is Matt’s wish story with our heartfelt gratitude for helping us share the magic of a wish with so many inspiring kids throughout our province.

We are aiming to grant 150 wishes this year, which will be the most of any Canadian Chapter, ever. From all of us at Make-A-Wish, but especially from our wish kids, thank you for helping us share the power of a wish®.

Ross and the Make-A-Wish BC&YK Team

This years tournament is taking place on June 21, 2017 at the Richmond Country Club! Last year we raised more than $36,000 to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of BC  & Yukon; a record. Join us on June 21st so we can surpass that record so that more wishes can be granted to many deserving children in BC & Yukon!

Registration is open, register today or give us a call if you'd like to donate.
Click here!

REIBC Award of Excellence 

The membership of the REIBC includes many individuals who provide outstanding service to the Institute, to the real estate industry, and to their own communities.  The Institute recognizes select professional members who have been nominated by their peers and have achieved service excellence in each of these areas by awarding them with the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia's Award of Excellence. 

Nominate an RI by filling out this nomination form and email it to bsoutham@reibc.org. Nomination deadline is May 5, 2017.

The Award will be presented on Thursday, June 8, 2017 at the REIBC Recognition Event! Join us! Registration will be open soon!