2007 REALTOR of the YEAR, Charley Sawyer

We are proud to announce that Charley Sawyer of Dayspring, REALTORS has been selected as the 2007 REALTOR® of the YEAR! This award is given to one member of the Association that has contributed outstanding time and energy to the betterment of the Board.

Charley Sawyer
Charley Sawyer

Charley, a member since 1995, has been actively involved in all levels of the Association, volunteering his time and talents locally and on the state level for many years.   In 2000, Charley began his service in the  Board of Directors elected leadership pathway, having been elected to various different officer positions on the Board of Directors and eventually, elected President of the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS in 2004.

On the state level, Charley has received many prestigious appointments.   Having served as a Berkshire State Director for four years, he was elected to serve as the Western Regional Vice President of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS.   In this role he serves on the 12 member Executive Committee, which governs the association on the whole.

Elected Leadership Service to the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS®

  • REALTOR® Member Since 1995
  • Board of Directors Leadership Pathway:
    • 2000 Central Berkshire Council President and Director
    • 2001 Board Secretary
    • 2002 Vice President
    • 2003 President Elect
    • 2004 President
    • 2004 Ex Officio, Berkshire MLS
    • 2005 Past President
    • 2006-2007 Board of Directors
      Non-Voting Ex Officio [due to RVP election

Voluntary Commitment to the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS

  • Professional Standards Tribunal Training every 2 years to qualify for service.
  • RPAC Contributor

Appointed Leadership Service to the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS®

  • Professional Standards Committee, 2004-2007 Chaired 3 hearing panels, served on 4
  • Contract Committee, 2006-2007
  • Government Affairs Committee, 2005-2007
  • Orientation Committee, Chaired 1997-2003, presenter 2003-2005

Special Accomplishments Made on Behalf of the Local Association:

  • Hosted Berkshire County Board of REALTORS® luncheon with Congressman John Olver to present RPAC contribution at the Board Office.
  • Hosted meetings and discussions with Berkshire’s State Senator Andrea Nuciforo Jr. regarding Agency Legislation. Subsequently, Senator Nuciforo filed legislation on MAR’s behalf and supported its passage as written.
  • Led a Professionalism Workshop designed to solicit feedback about ways to raise the level of cooperation and service in our industry. Eighty Berkshire REALTORS attended and a customized ‘Pathways to Professionalism’ brochure was developed from the comments received. This brochure was mailed to all DR’s, print-ready color materials are provided on our website at no charge and the concept of service standards beyond ethics is now incorporated into the New Member Orientation program.
  • As a member of the Leadership Team, had the privilege of serving on many critical committees in the past, such as the Finance, Personnel and Administration, Chaired the Nominating Committee and served as Ex Officio on all committees during my Presidency.

Special Speaking roles on behalf of the Berkshire County Board of REALTORS.

  • Served as a real estate expert on a panel before the Pittsfield Office of Community and Economic Development Housing Task Force.
  • Guest Speaker at the Rotary Club, regarding housing issues in Berkshire County.
  • Participated in the developmental meeting for the Pittsfield Master Plan, hosted by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.
  • Invited to participate in a large economic development program “selling the Berkshires” to site selectors and companies seeking relocation in a 2 day event sponsored by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and the Berkshire Economic Development Corp. Responsible to speak to potential relocating companies about workforce housing availability, affordability and overall impact of housing market when relocating a business in Berkshire County MA.

Elected Leadership Service to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®

  • Western Regional Vice President, 2006-2007
  • MAR Executive Committee, 2006-2007

Appointed Leadership Service to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®

  • State Director, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
  • Alternate State Director, 2002
  • Leadership Development Committee, 2007

Voluntary Commitment to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®

  • REALTOR® Political Action Committee Contributor
  • REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill, 2005, 2006-no bus

Past State Service of Importance

  • Chaired the Forms Content Advisory Committee 2004 and 2005, member 2003
  • Served on the Government Affairs Committee, and Local Issues Sub-committee 2005
  • Member of the Agency Task Force Charged with creating agency law in MA, 2002

Voluntary Commitment to the National Association of REALTORS®

  • REALTOR® Action Center Subscriber
  • RPAC Contributor
  • Midyear Meeting Attendee in Washington DC, 2005
  • Annual Meeting and Trade Show Attendee in San Francisco, 2005
  • NAR Voting Delegate, 2005
  • Met with Congressman John Olver, REALTOR® Day on Capitol Hill
  • Met with Senator John Kerry’s Aide, REALTOR® Day on Capitol Hill
  • Attended Presidential Meetings, Roundtables and Educational Sessions for the Board

Current Civic Involvement:

  • Board of Trustees, Berkshire Athenaeum (Pittsfield’s Public Library), 1986-Present
  • Board of Trustees, Dalton Community House, 1990-Present
  • Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity, 2007
  • Chair, Habitat for Humanity Annual Golf Tournament, 5 years running
  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Choir
  • First Congregational Church Oratorio Choir

Past Civic Appointments

  • Former Chairman of the Pittsfield Planning Board
  • Member of the Berkshire County Regional Planning Commission

Other Information:

As a life-long resident of Berkshire County (born in Dalton), my life passions and interests are very connected to the beautiful place in which I live. They include:

  • Golf (Wahconah Country Club member)
  • Running (Including Several Marathons)
  • Canoeing (Racing and Recreational)
  • Great Josh Billings Run-Aground Triathlon Participant: (This is includes a 27 mile bike ride, followed by a 5 mile canoe or kayak sprint around Stockbridge Bowl, and a 6.2 mile run ending at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox. Proud to say that we are twice defending champs in family category)
  • Singing (St. Stephen’s Choir and First Church Oratorio Choir)
  • Gardening (My wife doesn’t trust me to go to the nursery by myself)

I have been married to Carolyn Sawyer since 1965. She is a speech therapist at Berkshire Medical Center and we have two grown children and 2 growing grandchildren. Life is good.

 

REALTOR Spirit Essay

In 2004, during my term as President of the Berkshire County Board, I was frequently contacted by members with concerns about a lack of professionalism and collegiality in their dealings with other members. It became apparent that this was due in large part to a rapid growth in membership. The inexperience of the many new members led to misunderstanding, miscommunication and a general lack of professionalism.

Contributing to this problem was the fact that many members with only a few years of experience chose to open their own offices. These new broker / owners often did not have the time or experience to adequately train themselves or their associates.

The Code of Ethics component of our orientation program is excellent, and clearly new members understood the importance of the Code in the performance of their business. What was missing was an appreciation of the importance of courtesy and respect – to the public with whom they were interacting and to their fellow Realtors® with whom they were working.

Early in 2005, a notice was sent to the membership inviting them to participate in a Professionalism Workshop designed to seek ways to raise the level of cooperation and service in our industry. As we all know and have experienced, people will often complain about things but not be willing to do something about their complaints.

In response to our invitation, eighty Berkshire Realtors® attended the first workshop. To understand the significance of this response, one should know that this number represented over sixteen percent of the entire membership of the Berkshire County Board! Beginning with this gathering, a “Pathways to Professionalism” brochure was developed and made available to the membership. To me, this initiative represented a great example of “REALTOR® Spirit” – a commitment by Realtors® to respect what they do and the people with whom they do it.