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:

June 13, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. sponsored by A'nS Company, Inc.
July 28, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. sponsored by Inspect-A-Home, Inc.
(Registration begins at 10:45 a.m.)

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

APPRAISAL FORUM
The Association's Appraisal Forum has not met since 2003. The Association is seeking comments from its appraiser members. Should the Association and CPML organize a meeting? Would you attend a meeting? What topics would you want to discuss? Please send your thought to Kathy Ludwig at kathy@ghar.info.

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.

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.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - DONATE TODAY!
Since 1993, the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS^® Foundation has donated a total of over $480,000 to housing and shelter related organizations in the greater Harrisburg area. To help raise the money, the Foundation holds various
fundraising events. In addition to these events the Foundation holds an annual Capital Campaign.

During the Capital Campaign, the Foundation asks each REALTOR^® to give a minimum contribution of $10. All funds go back to the communities in which we live. Our 2008 Capital Campaign goal is $20,000. To date the Capital Campaign has collected $1601.00.

Contributions may be mailed to the GHAR Foundation, 424 N. Enola Drive, Suite 1, Enola, PA 17025 by May 31st. If you have any questions on the Capital Campaign, please contact the Association at 717-364-3200. Thank you for making our community better!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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