5 月 14 日、不動産業者はヒューストンでバハマを味わうことができました。ケラー・ウィリアムズに所属する国際委員会は、ガレリア・モール内で「バハマ文化ショーケース」を主催しました。スーザンのCIPS学生と友人の何人かが出席し、バハマ観光グループとバハマ名誉総領事リンデン・ローズからお話を聞きました。バハマの人気の食べ物コンクシチュー、鶏串、ロブスターフライなどが提供され、アンソニー・レジブ率いる素晴らしいバンドが生演奏もしていました。バハマには行ったことはありませんが、いつか行ってみたいと思います！ＵＳドルはバハマ全土で利用できるため、両替の必要はございません。KW Memorial チームの皆さん、素敵なイベントを主催してくれて、ありがとうございます。そしてイベントの成功、おめでとうございます！
On May 14, Houston realtors were able to experience a bit of the Bahamas! Keller Williams Memorial’s active international committee hosted the “Bahamian Cultural Showcase inside the Galleria Mall. Several of Susan’s CIPS students and friends were in attendance to hear from the Bahamas Tourism Group and the Honorable Consul General of the Bahamas Lynden Rose. Popular food from the Bahamas was served including conch stew, chicken skewers, and fried lobster! There was an amazing band playing live music led by anthony Rejiv. I have never been to the Bahamas, but I am ready to go check it out someday! The U.S. dollar is apparently on par with the Bahamian dollar and is accepted all over the Bahamas so there’s no need to change your money if you go there. Congratulations to the KW Memorial team for an event well done!
Did you know that The National Association of Realtors is the largest trade association in the United States, representing the interests of 1.5 million agents, brokers, appraisers, property managers, and other real estate professionals? One of the biggest and most important role NAR plays is their advocacy for issues important to the real estate industry. Having the annual May meeting in Washington DC gives realtors the chance to visit the Capitol to meet their elected officials. Susan and Mariko attended these meetings and got to actually meet with their Congressman, Brian Babin, with a group of realtors from Houston! Aside from that, Susan attended the CIPS Advisory Group meeting and made some recommendations to change the current CIPS curriculum. It is in these settings and in these committee meetings that changes like these can be discussed and realized. In the off hours, Susan spent time with her HAR Executive Team, visiting the White House on a short tour and sharing meals at different local restaurants. Before the conference started, Susan arrived a couple days early to attend her second in person NARLA (NAR Leadership Academy) session.The week ended with a short Board of Directors meeting, attended by over 900 realtors representing local associations from all over America. It was Susan’s first time to represent HAR and Texas Realtors as an NAR director! All in all, it was a very eventful week and we were happy to spend time with so many colleagues both new and old from all across the United States and some from other countries.
Last week, HAR welcomed 20 AMPI realtor guests from Mexico for a special 3 day Mentorship Program. Guests in the day time met for seminars and classes to see how real estate is conducted in Houston. They got to learn about HAR as an organization and to see some of the benefits HAR provides its members. It was a perfect opportunity for our HAR global members to meet and network with these visitors. In the evening, our Mexican guests were treated to a Blake Shelton concert at the rodeo, a multi-course Peruvian dinner, a reception at King’s Ranch, a private party inside the Wine Garden, the ride of a lifetime on a firetruck inside the Rodeo’s Grand Entry, and a formal gala at the Bayou City Event Center. The guests had a great time and wonderful friendships were made and deepened. Congratulations to everyone involved in this successful event!
The Annoura family is always affected by the rodeo season because Susan disappears for one week! HAAAA! This year was no exception. The Houston Rodeo started on February 27 and Susan was very busy with the international committee, where she serves as a Division Vice Chairman. Her committee welcomed thousands of international guests including a group of 20 Mexican realtors from AMPI! Every day in the international lounge was all kinds of fun activities, two open bars, lunch and dessert, live music, and more. The international lounge had their celebratory closing party on Wednesday March 6, concluding Susan’s volunteer duties. Spring Break is here (starts today) and at time of writing, the plan is for Joe, Sana, and Zach to visit a few Texas State Parks while Ty goes for a fishing trip and then to Iowa for a freestyle wrestling tournament. Susan and Koh should be on a plane to Turks and Caicos to spend some long overdue time together. Grace Bay Beach on Providenciales was voted the #1 beach IN THE WORLD in 2022 so we are going there to check it out! Got a studio 1 minute walk away from the Grace Bay Beach and can’t wait to see what it’s like! Super excited to get away from Houston for a few days to refresh and refocus. Will update ya’ll in the next newsletter!
The annual BBQ Cookoff took place over this past weekend. For the first time in maybe 10 years, Susan did not go volunteer at the International Village because the team from Japan, BBQ Shogun, was not invited this time. Instead, we went as regular people to actually ENJOY the BBQ Cookoff! Susan went on two days, Friday and Saturday, and brought along many friends to experience the super fun atmosphere. Having many friends and colleagues with private tents, they were able to bounce around from place to place and enjoy the BBQ, music, and dancing. They were also able to stop by the International Village and say hello to the many different countries participating this year.
This event is touted as the World’s Largest BBQ competition and the cooks are SERIOUS! They compete in several categories including brisket, chicken, ribs, and dessert. Here is a complete list of the winners:
Overall Grand Champion: Taste of South Texas Bar-B-Que Team Reserve Champion: Rancho Cerveza
Brisket Champion: Taste of South Texas Bar-B-Que Team 2nd: Telstar Cookers 3rd: Texas Lonestar Cookers
Ribs Champion: Pitmaker – BBQ Addiction 2nd: Victoria County Go Texan 3rd: Calhoun County Go Texan
Chicken Champion: San Antonio Winner – Chicken Fried 2nd: S&S Club, Inc. 3rd: RIVS Smoke & Grill (YAY! The only top 3 international finisher)
Go Texan Grand Champion: Victoria County Go Texan Reserve Champion: Metro Go Texan 4/Chase-N-Moore Smoke
