President Stacie got us going in style this Thursday with a great opening prayer by Brother Dave. Then she turned it over to Cara for the pledge to our great flag and then Cara led us in song, “This Land is My Land,” and boy do we need to remember that! Guests were then introduced and we were proud to recognize Dee Ann Martin as a special guest. Then we recognized our Birthday Rotarians, Pam, Carla, and Judge James, PP. WE ALL wished them a wonderful birthday. Following that the “Sunshine Report” was given and we all need to put Shirley’s husband, Ken, on our prayer list after suffering a fall.
President Stacie made an announcement about dues going up. The Board decided to increase dues after ten years from $64.00 to $70.00 per quarter.
The “Brag Bucket” was passed around, and the one striking event about bragging was that Cara was contacted by Ben Franklin School, next door from Woman’s Forum, to provide 12 flags for their “Celebrate Freedom Day.” Cara, as always, made us look good by providing 12 of our best flags. What really made Thursday special though was we brought in a new member, Braden Wood. Braden is with the Wood Group and he is kin to his sponsor, Josh Phillips.
Josh not only increased our membership, but he turned around and introduced our program for the day. I hope you were there to hear Ms. Christy Koski’s remarks about our local real estate market. Ms. Koski is President of the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors. She is a realtor herself working with Hirschi Realtors and she has been here since 2001. She did a magnificent job of leading us through the real estate market. She indicated that W.F. is a “very steady market.” The three questions she is always asked is how’s the market, is it time to sell, when’s a good time to buy? What was really interesting was that prior to COVID in 2019 the median home buy was $142,700, which ended up in 2022 with the median home being $185,000, 17 days on the market, with almost 2 months in inventory. Ms. Koski led us through all the questions that leave most of us confused. For example, when is a good time to sell, do you look at current inventory, who are the buyers, does price matter, where are prices headed, what about mortgage rates, explain to me about home equity and so forth. She handled all this in record time with the final suggestion to contact your own real estate professional for a professional guide. The Texas Realtor Association began in 1920, Wichita Falls Association of Realtors began in 1921, and they now have 412 members (several being members of Rotary) and they are committed to the highest ethics in dealing with their clients. Ms. Koski’s husband was a member of the United States Air Force which brought them to W.F. Thank you for spending your lunch hour with us and for the valuable information!
Once again good job, Josh, for a great program! President Stacie closed us with the 4-Way Test.