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It is my honor and pleasure to serve as your 59^th President of the Great State of California.

My legacy with Women’s Council started as a young woman, traveling with my mother to Women’s Council conferences throughout the State and the Country. I am proud of my legacy and the fact that I am President exactly 40 years after my mother was California President.

Women’s Council has done so much for our lives personally and professionally and we want to give back and share all the good things this organization has to offer. We invite EVERYONE to be a part of our organization. We are looking and striving to be as diverse as our State is, when everyone has a seat at the table the organization is stronger, more inclusive and more productive. In this time of heightened awareness of diversity and inclusion it is our duty and obligation as Realtors and good citizens to reach out and bring those members of our Realtor community into the fold of our organization. We invite you to step into our house and feel the warmth and love that our community has to offer.

I look forward to our journey together. We don’t know what the future holds right now, but we do know that we will continue to bring you, our members and our Strategic Partners, valuable networking, timely events and meetings and we encourage you to participate in as much as you possibly can. Because sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to just “show up.” We encourage you to show up for your network events, governing board meetings and become involved at the State level also. Please interact with your partners and show them the Women’s Council love and support by utilizing their goods and services, because without them we cannot do the work that we do.

I like to use my analogy of the gym membership, you join, pay your dues but never go to the gym or participate in what they have to offer, and then wonder why you are not getting fit or losing weight. It is the same with your Women’s Council membership, you only get what you put into it, and believe me what you get out of your membership far outweighs what you put into it. I challenge you to give it a try, the time investment you make will pay off in many ways and you won’t regret it. Be the best that you can be in all ways, no excuses, just do it!

Best wishes for a successful and fun 2021!

 I thank you in advance for the opportunity to serve alongside each of you.

Welcome to a new year and a new decade! I’m thrilled and excited to serve as your 58th President of Women’s Council of REALTORS®, California and work alongside such a dynamic team. We have great things in store for our members throughout the year starting with our Winter Meeting and Installation in my own back yard, Anaheim. In addition to our Spring Meeting and Fall Leadership Summit, we will also have mid-year business plan reviews in June and July, the State Leadership Team Road in September and so much more.

We are ready to level up our mentoring and training in 2020 to elevate more leaders for the industry and strengthen California for years to come. Most of us are discovering new skills and revealing areas where we have room to improve, and it may be difficult to step outside your comfort zone. But in order to grow, we must challenge ourselves and Women’s Council is the safe place to show courage and be vulnerable.

California’s mission is for all our members to thrive and to ensure local network success.

Our goals are:

1. Create a culture of servant leadership to help each other grow and develop at your highest level possible

2. For our members to find their own unique leadership style to inspire others to begin their own leadership journey

3. To bring more diversity in our membership

4. Focused support to continue to strengthen each and every network with .

It is an exciting time to be a Women’s Council member. We are growing. We are strong. We are an amazing network of leaders. Working together, we will shape a better and brighter future. When you elevate yourself, you elevate the industry. Level up and change the world one leader at a time. We got this!

#letsgrowtogether #levelupleadership #elevateyourself #elevatetheindustry #goforthandslay #leadersmadehere

Eileen Oldroyd
2020 President, Women’s Council of REALTORS®, California

Message from 2019 President Fiona
by Fiona Theseira

It has been my absolute honor and pleasure to serve as your 57^th and 2019 State President for Women’s Council of REALTORS®, California.  I humbly thank you all for this amazing opportunity. It has been a year of successes for the Council, learning opportunities and embracing change.  It has been a tremendous experience and I have been thrilled to be able to visit and connect with so many of you during the year.

During the 2019 year we have provided several opportunities for training locally and at State meetings.  We started last September in San Diego with the State Leadership Retreat where the 2019 State Leadership team gathered. During this time, we learned facilitation skills from Jim DeLizia, which prepared us for the inaugural Fall Leadership Summit and also received leadership preparation from Otto Catrina.

The Winter meeting started off with the welcome reception at Tommy Bahama’s in Downtown Palm Springs.  Our Governors and District Vice Presidents led best practice presentations on recruitment & retention, events, branding, and protocol.  Our local leadership teams went into position specific breakouts for best practices and leadership education.  Susan Packard, prior C.O.O. of H.G.T.V. provided insights into business principles, branding and culture and how freeing it is that you do not need to master every little thing to add value.  Elizabeth Mendenhall, 2018 N.A.R. President, gave a fabulous presentation on unicorn leadership, and how such leadership strive immediate and solid results and returns.

In 2019, we added a new element to the State installation. For the first time, a V.I.P. pre-event reception was held. This V.I.P. event, held in my suite, allowed us the opportunity to invite State and other Dignitaries along with upper tier Strategic Partners and Installation Sponsors to attend.  This gave the Council added visibility and the opportunity for any State V.I.P.’s to drop by, even if they were not able to stay for the Installation.

Another first for Women’s Council, California was electronic elections during our Spring meeting in Sacramento.  We do consider the election process a success, and one upon which we will make improvements moving forward.  During the Spring meeting in Sacramento, we received an insightful economic update from CAR’s Sara Sutachan.  Our local leadership teams went into position specific breakouts to receive best practices and leadership education.  Amber Barnes, a certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, helped attendees explore the skills of courage-building and the willingness and ability to “rumble with vulnerability”.

Our State elections brought in a good number of applications with multiple applicants running for positions.  We are happy to report that a number of our local Networks also experienced multiple candidates for leadership positions.  This is great news as it means that our networks are creating interest in their members to embark or further their leadership journey and take on leadership roles.

Congratulations to Inland Valley who won the State Second Chance membership contest. Greater Fresno was close on their heels!  Great job to all bringing on new members.  Keep up the good work!

Transitions workshops were reintroduced this year.  We named them 2020 & Beyond; very fitting as we move into a new decade.  We had 28 of the 34 networks and 190 members attend our three events.  Kudos and thanks to all who helped set up and to those who attended.  Major thanks go to all of our Governors and District Vice Presidents who contributed to the success of 2020 and beyond!  To the Networks who contributed “seed money”, thank you, and you will receive your checks next week. Click here for more information

The 2019 Fall Leadership Summit was held in Downtown LA, at the Hotel Indigo.  This location was not where we were originally scheduled to have the event, however, the location was a success. Thirty-one Network leadership teams were in attendance.  The primary function of this meeting was to train the incoming leadership teams; and there was value for all attendees.  For more information click here

Thank you all for the journey you have shared with me.  I have so many people to thank and appreciate.  In the interest of your time, included in the thanks are the 2019 Leadership Team, Governors, District Vice Presidents, Strategic Partners, Sponsors, Local Network Presidents, Past State Presidents, Committee Chairs, Project team leaders and committee/team members, this list is by no means exhaustive.  THANK YOU ALL for your time, your wisdom, your creativity, your mentorship and your feedback! The learning on my journey was beyond anything I ever had imagined.  I have absolutely loved this year’s experiences, each one of them has been invaluable.  Both the joys and challenges will be forever treasured.

You are in great hands in 2020 with the State leadership team led by President Eileen Oldroyd.  They are excited and ready to lead California into a new decade and State Network model.

Dream | Believe | Achieve | Enjoy The Journey!

Fiona Theseira
2019 State President
[email protected]
858-344-2213