1-2 CLUB FOR NEW AGENTS - MAY 1
If you have been a member of the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® for 0-2 years, we have planned a special FREE education program and social/networking hour just for you! Sponsored by Bankers Settlement Services - Capital Region, LLC, sessions include: Rookie of the Year...How I Did It with Roseann Annis and Mike Pion from 3:00-3:45 p.m. and What Do I Say Next with Donna Fleetwood from 3:45-4:30 p.m.

Registration is at 2:45 p.m. The cost is free, but you must register. If you do not attend and do not cancel your reservation by Tuesday, April 29 at 9:00 a.m., you will be charged a $5 fee. To register, call 364-3200, register on-line in the MEMBERS ONLY section of our website at www.GHAR.info, or e-mail: sara@ghar.info before April 29.

** Please note, that while this event is geared towards agents who have been in the business for just 0-2 years all agents are welcomed to attend!

MANAGEMENT ISSUES COCKTAIL PARTY - JUNE 10
Brokers and managers - please mark your calendars to attend a cocktail party on Tuesday, June 10 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the West Shore Country Club in the Hearth Room. This is strictly a networking opportunity to allow both residential and commercial brokers and managers to socialize, meet each other, catch up with "old friends" and to get to know each other in a relaxed informal setting. Cost is $25 and includes hors d'ouevres and sodas. Cocktails may be purchased. Registration deadline is noon on Friday, June 6. This event is open to the Association's brokers and managers exclusively.

ORIENTATION
Orientation is required for all new REALTOR^® members. You must meet this requirement within the first two offerings of applying for membership. Learn what it means to be a REALTOR^®, your obligation to abide by our Code of Ethics, and the many benefits and services that the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^®has to offer. A boxed meal is provided by the sponsor of the orientation.

Orientation will be held on the following dates and times:
April 24, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
June 13, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. sponsored by A n 'S Company, Inc.
(Registration begins at 10:45 a.m.)

Remember failure to attend orientation as required may result in paying an additional application fee.

ICI BREAKFAST - MAY 1
The May ICI Breakfast is co-sponsored by RSR REALTORS^® LLC and K&W Engineers and Consultants. The breakfast will be held at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill. The Honorable Edward G. Rendell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has been invited to speak on the topic "Economic Development in Pennsylvania". Registration is at 7:50 a.m. Breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. Reservations are required by noon on Wednesday, April 30. Register online at www.ghar.info or call 364-3200.

TRISTATE REALTORS^® COMMERCIAL ALLIANCE PARTNERING WITH CCIM TO OFFER INTRO COURSE
The TriState REALTORS^® Commercial Alliance is partnering with the CCIM Institute to offer "Introduction to Commercial Investment Real Estate Analysis". This CCIM Intro Course will be held April 28-29, at the Spring Mill Corporate Center in Conshohocken. As an Intro level course, the class is geared to anyone who would like to get a foundation in commercial real estate investment, is considering switching from residential to commercial, or is already doing some commercial transactions and would like to pursue their CCIM designation. Click here to download the course flyer. Interested individuals also can register for the class through the CCIM Institute Web site. Please note the deadline to register for the class is Tuesday, April 22. For questions, please call Stephanie Balan at TriState at (610) 238-9950.

GREATER HARRISBURG REALTORS^® INSTITUTE

GHRI BI-WEEKLY EMAIL
To help decrease the size and scope of the weekly email, the Association has decided to send out a separate email highlighting upcoming classes held at the Greater Harrisburg REALTORS^® Institute. Look for the email to be sent out the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

CE DEADLINE - MAY 31, 2008
All licensees licensed prior to December 1, 2007, are required to take 14 hours of continuing education by May 31, 2008.

NAR QUADRENNIAL ETHICS DEADLINE - DECEMBER 31, 2008
All REALTORS^® are required to take 2 1/2 hours of ethics training between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008. GHAR will be tracking that everyone meets the deadline. For more information on the quadrennial ethics deadline and which classes are approved, please see the GHRI Bi-Weekly Email or call the Association at 364-3200.

MINI GOLF TOURNAMENT!
Join us, Wednesday, May 21 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. for the annual Foundation Miniature Golf Tournament at Water Golf on City Island! Individuals may register for $30 each or teams of 5 persons for $150. Food and Beverages will be provided with prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Best Team Scores, Best Dressed Team and much more! Space is limited to the first 120 people so register soon!

Interested in being a sponsor or donating prizes? Contact Sara Bloss at the association by calling 364-3200 or email her at sara@ghar.info.

2008 FOUNDATION GOLF OUTING
Mark your calendar for the Foundation Golf Outing which will be held on Wednesday, June 25 at Armitage Golf Club in Mechanicsburg. Sponsorship and player registration forms are available by calling the Association office at 364-3200 or visit http://www.ghar.info/About_Us/Meetings_Events.htm. Registration and lunch are at 11:00 a.m. Shotgun start is 12:00 p.m. Dinner, prizes and awards will occur at 5:00 p.m.

Sponsorship Opportunities are Available!
Eagle Sponsor - $2000
Birdie Sponsor - $1000
Par Sponsor - $500
Bogey Sponsor - $250

If you are interested in being a sponsor or donating a door/hole prize, please contact the Association at 717-364-3200.

Note: The official registration and financial information of the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

TRAINING FOR THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL WITH DICK BETTS!
CPML is presenting 2 days of seminars on getting the most out of your Smart Phone. Classes will be held in the GHAR building, 424 N. Enola Dr, Enola. Call CPML at 761-8440 to register.

Thursday, April 17
9 am – 10:30               Everywhere is My Office
10:30 – Noon               Newest/Latest/Greatest Technology Out There
1 – 4 pm                       Real Estate Fundamentals
4 – 4:45 pm                  FREE e-PRO Workshop (with details of the on-line course and CE credit available)

Friday, April 18
9 am – noon                 Beyond Fundamentals
1 – 4 pm                      Smartphones for REALTORS^®

$25 for one class ~     $40 for 2        ~ $75 for all classes

PARAGON TRAINING SCHEDULE
Training classes have been scheduled on the following dates for the PARAGON system:
May 29
June 5

Basic class will be held at 9:00 am. The Basic Class covers simple searches, descriptions of terms used in the PARAGON system, introduction to input sheets, CPML input rules for paragon as well as system requirements. The Basic Class also provides a brief look at the financial program.

Advanced class will be held at 1:00 pm. The Advanced Class covers creating CMA's and using the Contact Manager to manage clients as well as send automatic emails.

You need only attend one day, but you may attend more than one class if you choose. Please call the CPML office at 761-8440 to reserve a time. Classes are held at the new GHAR office at 424 N. Enola Drive, Enola, PA 17025.

HOW TO RETAIN TOP TALENT INTERACTIVE AUDIO CONFERENCE - APRIL 29
The Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^® (PAR) is proud to bring you an interactive audio conference on How to Retain Top Talent, with Kiplinger Washington Editors.

"You should be happy to have a job--and by the way, if you're unhappy, we have a long line of people behind you who might want this job." If that’s your philosophy on retaining even top performers, you're probably driving away the very people you want to keep.

Finding, hiring and training good real estate professionals is a difficult and expensive proposition. So it's frustrating when a great employee leaves your company to pursue another opportunity. But it happens time and time again. Why?

Join the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^®, in partnership with KRM Virtual Roundtable and Kiplinger’s, for a 90-minute interactive audio conference with Barry Deutsch, a nationally recognized leader in hiring and peak performance management. Deutsch has worked with thousands of CEOs and executives to improve hiring success. He’ll share his proven strategies to help you hold on to valuable employees and keep your top people happy and challenged on the job.

The audio conference will be held on Tuesday, April 29 from noon to 1:30 p.m. You can dial in from your home or office.
Cost:
            Live event - per registered site: $189
            Live event plus audio-CD: $229
            Audio-CD only: $189

Register online today
If you are unable to attend on April 29, you can order a CD of the audio conference or call 800.775.7654.

The Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS^® is proud to partner with KRM, a world-class online purveyor of business webinars and audio conferences of top-shelf business content presented from leading business and industry media such as Kiplinger’s, Harvard Business Review and Soundview Executive Book Summaries.

NAR ACCEPTING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2009 COMMITTEES
The National Association of REALTORS^® is now accepting recommendations for committees in 2009. Using an online form on the NAR Web site, members can recommend themselves or other suitable candidates for up to three committees at a time. NAR has a wide variety of Committees - to learn more information, please visit the NAR Web site.

After logging in, members can review each Committee's structure, purpose statement, composition (how many members), length of term you would be expected to serve, and specific qualifications for consideration. Please note that if you are appointed to a Committee, you are expected to attend all of its meetings and serve the full length of your term. Click here to visit the Web form on the NAR Web site (please note you will need to login using your NAR user name and password). The deadline for submitting a recommendation for a committee is May 27, 2008. For more information, please contact the Association.

VOTE ON TUESDAY, APRIL 22!
Tuesday, April 22 is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Voters in our area will be going to the polls to elect candidates for various offices, including United States President, PA Attorney General, PA Auditor General, PA Treasurer, members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and more. Polls are open on April 22 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. To find out more information, including where you vote, please visit the Department of State’s voting Web site at www.votespa.com. Or, for more information, please contact Sherri Pursel.

NAR ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH OPTIONS PROGRAM
On March 2, Senators Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota) introduced S. 2795, also known as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). The National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR) joined these four Senators at their press conference to offer the Association’s support. According to NAR, “SHOP would offer tax incentives to encourage states to reform group insurance markets and make health insurance premiums for small businesses and the self-employed more affordable. It would also develop a nationwide insurance small business purchasing pool that would still be subject to state insurance regulation to protect those who choose to participate.” For more information on this legislation, please visit the NAR Web site.

REVENUE DEPARTMENT ISSUES NEW REALTY TRANSFER TAX REGULATIONS
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued new regulations governing the collection of the Realty Transfer Tax. GHAR is working with PAR to identify the impact of these new regulations. GHAR will provide more information to brokers and agents in the following weeks. Click here to view a copy of the new regulations on the Pennsylvania Bulletin Web site. Click here to view a copy of the PA Department of Revenues Realty Transfer Tax Bulletin that contains example scenarios of when the RTT applies or does not apply. For more information, please contact Sherri Pursel.

GOV. RENDELL’S BUDGET PROPOSAL INCLUDES EXTENSION OF KOZ PROGRAM
In early February, Governor Ed Rendell presented is 2008-2009 budget proposal to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Included in that proposal was an extension of the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program. Currently, the tax benefits associated with the KOZ program are set to run out in 2010. The budget proposal does not specifically state how long the extension would last. However, a report from the Central Penn Business Journal indicates that the Governor is working with his Cabinet and legislators to agree on a specific extension. The 2008-2009 budget must be approved by the General Assembly and the Governor by June 30, 2008. Please watch for more information on this issue, and please contact Sherri Pursel with any questions.

DAUPHIN COUNTY TO CONSIDER “UNIFORM PARCEL iDENTIFIER ORDINANCE”
The Dauphin County Board of Commissioners intends to consider an Ordinance entitled the “Uniform Parcel Identifier Ordinance”. The proposed Ordinance would require the use of an uniform parcel identifier on submissions to the Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds and Assessment Appeals Office. Submissions include any conveyance of real estate, mortgage of real estate or release, right-of-way, easement, lease, subdivision plan or any other document affecting real estate in Dauphin County. Submissions to the County Offices would be required to include the uniform parcel identifier. For a copy of the proposed Ordinance, or for more information, please contact Sherri Pursel.

SIGN-UP to be a MUNICIPAL Political CONTACT!
GHAR is still searching for volunteers to be Municipal Political Contacts. As a Political Contact, GHAR will work with you when issues impacting REALTORS^® and the real estate industry arise in your municipality. GHAR’s goal is to identify REALTORS^® from each municipality in our tri-county area to be Political Contacts. We are still in need of contacts for the following municipalities:

If you are interested in participating in this vital program, please contact Sherri Pursel.

CONDOLENCES
Our condolences go to the family of Jack Rupley who recently past away and was a past member of the Association.

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