Y’all, the Shaping Texas Conference was a hit! Over 2,000 REALTORS® from across the state met in San Antonio to be inspired, gain new skills, and make connections. Here are the conference highlights:

Inspirational Opening Session

Keynote speaker William H. McRaven, retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former chancellor of the University of Texas System, inspired attendees with the valuable life lessons he gained from training with the Navy SEALs. He shared several stories about the importance of teamwork, accepting help, taking risks, the value of hope, and learning from failure. He also spoke about discipline and how something as simple as making a bed perfectly can lead to future growth. “Learn to do the little things right and you learn to do the big things right,” he told the standing-room-only audience.

What Members Learned

The conference included educational sessions, panels, and forums offering actionable advice and covering the latest real estate trends.

AI was a hot subject this year. During “The Digital Age Brokerage,” Marion Napoleon focused on how technology can save brokers’ time. “Think of AI as your own personal robot,” she said regarding managing contacts, transactions, data, and other brokerage duties. In the “Leveraging AI and the Latest Technologies to Improve Your Business” session, Cassandra Davis explained how ChatGPT could be used, such as integrating it with other apps, automating workflows, and utilizing chatbots to maximize your marketing. Davis also discussed other AI tools, how to avoid copyright violations, and the importance of fact-checking.

Action and emotion are your best memory aides, according to Craig Krause, owner and founder of Direct Development Training. Krause offered ways to improve your memory and presentations in the “Memory Power: Mastering Your Memory” session.

Ginger Unger, owner of Secor One Commercial Group, gave insight into new digital currencies at “The Effects of Blockchain, Crypto, and NFTs on Real Estate Transactions” and “Buying & Selling Commercial Real Estate using Non-Traditional Payments” sessions.

“Second-generation spaces are gold,” said Victor L. Henry of Don Quick & Associates at the “Tenant Responsibility: Commercial Real Estate Management” session. “If it was built as a restaurant, a new restaurant tenant is easy,” he said. Henry gave an introduction of commercial leasing, explained the factors to consider when choosing a tenant for a location, and discussed the common mistakes tenants make.

During “Real Estate & Homelessness: Understanding the Impact of Commercial Properties on Housing Insecurity,” Robert G. Marbut Jr. Ph.D. from Marbut Consulting debunked some homelessness myths and spoke on the cost of homelessness and creating safe spaces.

Nicole Nosek, Chair of the Board Texans for Reasonable Solutions and Nathan Gorton, Governmental Affairs Director of Washington REALTORS®, were on the panel of a session titled “The Price is too Dang High: Policymaking for Housing Affordability.” They dove into housing affordability, attainability, and sustainability.

In the session, “How Does Fair Housing Really Affect Me? The Fundamentals and Beyond” Allison Mattocks, partner of Warren Kalyan & Mattocks, stated that there were over 31,000 complaints of housing discrimination reported in the U.S. in 2021. Mattocks explained how to protect yourself, your business, and your community by providing equal-opportunity housing.

In Our Thoughts

Throughout the conference, there were remembrances for several association leaders who recently passed away:

  • Mark Lehman, former Vice President of Governmental Affairs for Texas REALTORS®
  • Richard Miranda, Regional Vice President and former chairman of Houston Association of REALTORS®
  • George Stephens, former Chairman of Texas REALTORS®.

Shifting Gears from the 88th Texas Legislature to Election Season

A.J. Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of Texas 2036—a nonpartisan organization on policy to meet the needs of our growing population—gave a presentation about how his organization is looking to the 200th birthday of Texas in 2036 as a milestone to achieve progress to ensure Texas remains the best place to live and work. The organization focuses on data-driven solutions to challenges facing the state.

“Every legislative session we’ve ever had and will have, there are contentious issues. The antidote to that is data,” said Rogriguez. The organization’s data is open to the public. “We want people to challenge us on the data because we want to get it right. Work with us to build this civic demand that we need to focus on issues that we need to solve.”

It’s a Pitch Battle!

Austin Board of REALTORS® CEO Emily Chenevert emceed the 2nd annual Texas REALTORS®/REACH Labs Innovation Showcase. Four start-ups that have participated in the NAR REACH Labs program pitched their products before a panel of three judges, “Shark Tank”-style. NEO, Pivo Real Estate, Homematchx, and Ink presented, with Pivo Real Estate getting the most audience votes.

Installation Gala

Attendees enjoyed a festive night and dressed in costume for a Great Gatsby/Roaring ’20s-themed Installation Gala. Tracy Kasper, President of NAR, installed the 2024 Executive Board Appointees, Regional Vice Presidents, and Texas REALTORS® officers: Jennifer Wauhob as Secretary/Treasurer, Christy Gessler as Chairman-Elect, and Jef Conn as Chairman. (Unable to attend the event was 2024 Immediate Past Chair Marcus Phipps.)

Conn spoke about the importance of recognizing others for their service to the association. “If you see something good, say something good,” he offered. He encouraged attendees to go beyond thanking fellow volunteers in the REALTOR® association to also include spouses, partners, colleagues at your office, and everyone who makes it possible for REALTORS® to give their time to volunteer in the association.

Trade Expo

On Saturday, members flocked to the Trade Expo featuring over 100 vendors, giveaways, and a mechanical bull. And three lucky members won prizes for visiting all the stops on the expo’s Treasure Hunt.

Board of Directors Meeting

The Texas REALTORS® Board of Directors met to share updates, recap committees’ activity, and provide a budget overview.

NAR 2023-2024 President Tracy Kasper spoke on the whirlwind of events and challenges that brought her to her position earlier than expected. Kasper acknowledged that members and staff of the national association were hurting. “We will see big changes,” she promised. “We are going to get through this together and united, because we are REALTORS®.”

Pat Farrell, San Antonio, and Jay Gohil, Austin, were presented with the association’s Distinguished Service Award, honoring careers of service to the industry and their community. Katie Barrow, Beaumont Board of REALTORS®, and Angela Brutsché, VP of Marketing and Communications at Texas REALTORS®, were honored for earning the REALTORS® Association Certified Executive (RCE) designation.

During the meeting, the following motions were approved:

  • Amendments to the Texas REALTORS® Bylaws to reflect changes to Texas REALTORS® regions and update language to clarify the process for removal of a leader, with an effective date of December 1, 2023.
  • Legal Fund assessment of $5 per REALTOR® member for the 2024 budget cycle.
  • Issues Mobilization/Political Advocacy Fund (IMPAF) assessment of $30 per REALTOR® member for the 2024 budget cycle.

The motions did not result in dues increase. Membership fees will remain the same.

In addition to announcing the newly elected Credentials Committee and hearing reports from the association’s committees, Travis Kessler, President/CEO of Texas REALTORS®, shared that the Real Estate Business Institute (REBI) donated $14,500 to the Texas REALTORS® Disaster Relief Fund.