A Message from the President

As 2019 draws to a close and we look back on the year that was, it’s important to not forget about the path ahead.

We’ve accomplished some incredible things this year:

• We helped create meaningful conversations about homeownership across all major parties in a federal election year.
• We continued to improve Canada’s No. 1 real estate website, REALTOR.ca, by adding features such as the Listing Stats app, introducing historical sales data, and expanding the REALTOR.ca DDF®.
• We launched the first-ever REALTORS Care® Week and were able to help share the comfort of home in communities across Canada.

There are plenty of other achievements I could tout, but what it all comes down to is how CREA was able to work with great partners in 2019. Whether it came from those who helped roll-out the new CREA WEBForms®, or from private partners, like the Globe and Mail and Scotiabank, who introduced new features to help drive more leads to REALTORS®, creating partnerships is instrumental in moving forward.

My hope for 2020 is to continue this momentum into the next year and I’m very excited to see what enhancements and partnerships are on the horizon.

But until then, I want to take some time to reflect on what’s been a memorable year for me. I recently sat down with CREA to answer some year-end questions, so without further ado, here are my answers to 20 questions for 2020.

1. What is your favourite Christmas carol?
   I don’t have one, but the one that gets me in the Christmas spirit the most is Silent Night.
2. Egg nog or fruit cake?
   I can’t stand either of them.
3. What’s your favourite holiday tradition?
   Gathering with family over lobster rolls at my house. We’ve been doing that for years! Christmas Eve is my mom’s birthday, so it puts a different spin on things.
4. Multi-coloured or white Christmas lights?
   White lights, I just like the look of those. A nice, steady white light with no blinking is a classic look.
5. Real or fake Christmas tree?
   I grew up with a fake tree, but my wife’s grandfather was a Christmas tree farmer, so what do you think is in our living room? A beautiful, eight- to 10-foot real Christmas tree. We’ve been putting up a real tree for the past 17 years now.
6. Turkey or ham?
   Turkey. We’ve never done a ham; that’s for Easter.
7. What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
   I don’t make a big deal about resolutions because I think you should be bettering yourself all year-round, not just at the beginning of a new year.
8. What’s your favourite winter sport?
   I guess it would have to be hockey (the Montreal Canadiens are my team). I don’t really enjoy the snow or cold, so I’m not a fan of skiing, skating, or snowmobiling. I’ll take something indoors any day.
9. Is there an angel or a star on top of your Christmas tree?
   We’ve always had an angel.
10. Are you a last-minute shopper?
    It depends on the year, I feel this year was a bit last-minute, but it always gets done.

    And now onto some more career-focused questions:

11. What accomplishment are you most proud of, professionally, in 2019?
    That I was able to handle a busy, full-service real estate business while serving as President of CREA.
12. What are you looking forward to most in 2020?
    It’s hard to pick just one thing, but having more productive, solution-based dialogues and challenging the status quo jumps out for me.
13. What’s the biggest takeaway from your year as President thus far?
    If you give people the chance to work as a team, they will. Also, collaboration is a two-way street. This year’s Board of Directors is an excellent example of that.
14. What was the highlight of your presidency thus far?
    There are too many to name, but meeting and introducing Former U.S. President George W. Bush at an Ontario Real Estate Association event was a special moment for me; however, in general, it’s the people I’ve met and the locations I’ve seen. In each corner of this country, the professionalism I see from REALTORS® drives me to want to do this every day.
15. How are you preparing for the 2020 selling season?
    No differently than any other year. Trying to generate leads differently is a key challenge for us, so I’m looking to double down on some online lead-generating systems.
16. What were you surprised to learn during your presidency?
    There are some REALTORS® who don’t know about all the tools CREA makes available and just how much those tools could help them day-in and day-out.
17. Where are some interesting places you visited during your presidency?
    There are plenty of places I never would have travelled to before. Like, Timmins, Ontario, or South Dakota. Each community has something unique that stands out and makes it beautiful. Also, I discovered how many of these small towns in Canada have a Starbucks. If you know me, you know I’m loyal customer there.
18. What’s one thing you would have done differently as President?
    I’m happy with my year, but I think I would have focused more on communicating the “why”. It’s important to show why CREA has these products and services available for members. That, and focusing more on solution-based approaches to matters raised.
19. What worries did you have that turned out to be unnecessary?
    I didn’t know how the Board of Directors would work as a team, but we’ve definitely upped our game. I call them on a continual basis and we’re constantly in communication with one another. I didn’t have any preconceived ideas going into the year, but it’s just nice knowing you have a Board that supports you.
20. What advice would December 2019 Jason give January 2019 Jason?
    To keep a positive outlook, no matter what disruptors are out there. REALTORS® need to be proud of everything they bring to a community, because we do service a giant need. We should never take that for granted.