Republican Convention: REALTORS® Exemplify ‘Minnesota Nice’
Robert Freedman, Senior Editor
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The scene of protestors on Kellogg St. outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul was chaotic but for the hundreds of REALTORS® here attending as delegates to the Republican National Convention the focus was on the Gulf Coast.
As they did when the Gulf Coast was struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, REALTORS® stepped up with donations to the REALTOR® Relief Fund. But in this case, they were opening their wallets even before it was clear what the full impact of Hurricane Gustav would be.
“It was extremely moving to see how quickly REALTORS® came forward in this time of need,” said NAR President-elect Charles McMillan.
While Gustav was making landfall, NAR and another group, the Creative Coalition, were hosting a joint forum to hear from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development staff on the recently passed housing bill at a restaurant across the river in Minneapolis. The Creative Coalition is the social advocacy arm of the entertainment industry, and the group, along with NAR, also hosted a joint meeting at the Democratic National Convention in Denver the previous week.
Official activities at the convention were curtailed because of Gustav, with First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona -- the only two keynoters on Monday. However, convention-goers stayed busy with a phalanx of meetings and forums outside the convention hall.
More than 200 REALTORS®, representing 44 states, were in town as delegates to the convention. They’ll be joining more than 2,000 other delegates this week to vote on the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska for vice president and John McCain for president.
For the REALTOR® community, they’ll be communicating the importance of REALTOR® issues
to the delegates, other convention goers, and the local, state, and federal lawmakers in town, along with their policy staffs.
“The Republican platform is not complete without a prominent place for homeownership and affordable housing,” said McMillan. “That’s why we’re here. We carried the same message to the Democratic National Committee convention last week. Ours isn’t a partisan message; it’s a message about the importance of real estate to our country’s economic strength.”
For Gregory Bauman, CRS, of Realty Executives in St. Paul and the president of the St. Paul Association of REALTORS®, the large number of REALTORS® in his city gives him a chance to play host to his colleagues and showcase the grand houses along Selby St., near the colossal St. Paul’s cathedral, and all the other popular parts of his city. “This is such a beautiful area,” he said. “And the people are friendly—Minnesota nice.”
Whether Gustav continues to rain on the convention’s parade or not, “Minnesota nice” is an apt term for the generosity of REALTORS® and others here who are standing ready to help the Gulf Coast in its time of need.
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Comments
I thought the RNC was great and they held your attention. Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman hit home. The fact that a big time democrat is in a replublicans corner sends a message.
Posted by: Chris | September 3, 2008 08:07 AM