RISMEDIA, March 6, 2006-(Part 2 of 5)-Whether they ride horses in Montana or surfboards in Kauai, rookie agents are not allowing time or distance to separate them from $1 million in real estate career grants. With that inspiring thought in mind, the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation announced today that Holly Olson, a former Montana executive manager in construction, and J.J. Leininger, a former high-end designer jewelry sales associate and thirteen-year resident of Kauai, are both Top 10 Finalists for Season V. Olson works as a rookie agent for Lambros Real Estate in Missoula Montana and Leininger works as a rookie agent for Makai Properties in Kauai, Hawaii.
In the Foundation's rookie competition, $70,000 is at stake for the Grand Prize Grant consisting of real estate fast track products and services. Both Olson and Leininger were chosen by an independent panel of judges from almost 2,000 applicants in the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Competition for Season V. Regardless of whether or not they move forward to receive the Grand Prize, both Olson and Leininger are guaranteed minimum grants valued at $7,000 each based on their placement in the Top 10 category. These two finalists received their respective licensing courses at America's Best Real Estate Education, Port Angeles, Washington, and Vitousek School of Real Estate, Hawaii.
Holly Olson
Olson's professional background includes more than 12 years of managerial experience working from the ground up in the construction and real estate industries, including the founding of Transaction Savvy, a real estate virtual assistance company designed to assist Realtors nationwide with transaction management, marketing and day to day operations. Prior to that Olson worked her way through college. Before moving to Montana where she lives today with her husband and four children, she lived and worked in Japan for over 2 years and fostered a deep love for the people, culture, food and gardening.
When asked to explain why she will succeed in real estate where others around her may fail Olson responded by saying: "I pondered that question for six years because I wanted to ensure my success rate as much as possible. My conclusion-Old-fashioned Customer Service. I've implemented a Service For Life program with the goal of building a business, not just doing sales. Based on feedback from my clients and friends I think I'm on the right track. I'm building a business that is sustainable, dynamic, and adds value to my clients and my fellow colleagues. Being involved in my local association also allows me to glean wisdom and build relationships with fellow agents to carry me forward."
JJ Leininger
A motivated and intelligent self-starter, JJ Leininger gets results quickly. She has already developed a name for herself since becoming licensed as a real estate salesperson in September 2006. In January of 2007 she joined Makai Properties LLC, which is the lead broker on an exciting new subdivision consisting of 70 luxury homes on Kiahuna Golf Course at Poipu Beach. Her husband was in a horrible accident in 2001 that left him disabled with a missing leg. Although he has a prosthetic leg, constant pain makes using it difficult. Adversity like this can either be a downfall or create an opportunity to become stronger through adapting and overcoming it. Today Don is helping JJ with her new "seven days a week" career. Leininger is already a member of the Kauai and Hawaii National Board of Realtors, a member of the Council of Residential Specialists, the Real Estate CyberSpace Society and the Real Estate Buyer Agency Council.
Throughout the week of March 5 -9, 2007, RISMedia will exclusively announce the names and stories of each of 10 finalists for the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Competition. The grand Prize Winner, Semi-Finalists and Honorable mentions will be announced on March 14, 2007.
Proud Sponsors of Season V include: First American, Hobbs/Herder, RealtyU, eNeighborhoods, McLean International, Thomson Publishing, iSucceed, Calculated Industries, CreateAPlan, The Real Estate Cyberspace Society, ExpressCopy, VisualTours, Broker Agent News and RIS Media.
Sponsored by RealtyU® and founded in 2004, The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation is a non-profit venture created to assist newly licensed agents by equipping them quality guidance, education, products and services designed to alleviate their concerns and facilitate their rise to successful profitability. This is accomplished by providing 5,000 semi-annual grants, totaling $1 million awarded each season with no strings attached. Grants are sponsored by various major real estate companies, service providers and industry leaders.
