HISTORY OF WCR
In 1924, the California Real Estate Association formed a Women's Division after
members founded the idea on a train ride home from the National Association's
convention in Washington, D.C.
Fourteen years later, Joseph Catherine, the 1938 president of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (then called the National Association of Real
Estate Boards) encouraged the formation of the Women.s Council after being
impressed by the California group and the immense potential of women in real
estate.
At the time, NAR was already 30 years old and most decisions were still made
at the Local Board level. Unfortunately, most Local Boards were still resistant to
women. However, the National Association was ready to recognize women in
real estate and a positive vote resulted in the formation of a women's division at
the Annual Convention held in Milwaukee in November of 1938. Thirty-seven
ambitious women represented nine states at that meeting and WCR's inception.
Through the decades, WCR's membership growth reflected the vast number of
women choosing a career in real estate. Women began to recognize the
immense benefits of careers in real estate combined with a WCR membership,
including:
- Salaries equitable to men's since "commission in commission".
- Flexible work schedules allowing REALTORS® the ability to raise a family
and have a career instead of choosing one or the other.
- A support system of women in the same field garnering many friendships,
networking capabilities and referrals.
- Gaining confidence through association with other professional women
REALTORS®.
- Recognition for their own achievements and success as well as
inspiration and courage to strive for greater successes.
In 1984, WCR established the Leadership Training Graduate (LTG)
designation. Courses covering communication, personal power, group
dynamics, meeting management, leadership, public speaking and technology
were part of the program, which fostered leadership and professionalism in
career and personal life.
In 1989, WCR established the Referral & Relocation Certification (RRC) and in
1994, the RRC was incorporated into the LTG program.
1998 saw the creation of the annual WCR Leadership Academy, which in its
very first year won the prestigious Leadership Development Trophy in Chapter
Relations from the American Society of Association Executives. The Academy
provides over 200 local chapter presidents-elect with in-depth chapter
management training so that they embark on their year truly equipped to lead
their chapters with confidence.
In 1999, the Council approved a Statement of Diversity: The Women's Council
of REALTORS® empowers its members to embrace and celebrate diversity in
the marketplace.
WCR publishes Connections and the Referral Roster . Connections is
particularly unique in that it offers articles on business and personal growth
topics specifically targeted to real estate professionals, especially women. The
Referral Roster is a critical resource for WCR members, which lists the entire
membership and provides links for referrals. WCR's Web site, launched in
1996, is an additional referral tool with daily updates to all member records and
over 20,000 active hotlinks to members' e-mail addresses and Web sites.
At the 2003 National Conference in San Francisco WCR launched the
Performance Management Network Designation. It's a next-generation
REALTOR® designation designed from the ground up to bring you real-world
skills that will keep your business out front and on top of a dynamic real estate
market. The first course in the new curriculum, Effective Negotiating for Real
Estate Professionals, premiered at the National Conference with record-
breaking turn out. With 330 students, it was the most highly attended initial
offering of any WCR course to date.
Today, with more than 260 Chapters and 14,000 members, WCR is the 17th
largest U.S. Women's professional organization and has one of the most
successful communication networks in the NAR family. Chapters include men
and women who support the objectives of WCR and are interested in serving
the industry, the community and fellow REALTORS®.
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Wine Country *
Chapter Presidents
(*Originally Sonoma County
Chapter, name changed in 1998 to
include Mendocino and Lake
Counties)
1964 Caryl Weis
1965 Florence Smith
1966 Caryl Weis
1967 Harriet O’Neil
1968 Nancy Bjorge
1969 Oma Carpenter
1970 Ester K . Witherall
1971 Hilda Price
1972/3 Marie H. Waskow
1974/5 Gladys M. Rose
1976 Nan K. Bardes
1977 Nan K. Bardes
1978 Sally Crain
1979 Joan Church
1980 Janet Baguio
1981 Sof Selsh
1982/3 Sheila Furze
1984 Carol Otterlee (Alexander)
1985 Warner Samson
1986 Mickey Cooke
1987 Sandy Geary
1988 Lee Daniels
1989 Betz Tyler
1990 Sue Kaetzel
1991 Gloria Rosen
1992/3 Pam Leazer
1994 Pam Francis
1995 Jo Lasley
1996 Shirley Mallin
1997 Terriann McGowan
1998 Mike Kelly
99/2000 Terriann McGowan
2001 Shirley Mallin
2002 Judy Gollan
2003 Delia Nieto
2004 Denise Ridley
2005 Rachael Simon
2006 Rose Dommer
2007 Carol J. Shields
2008 Terriann McGowan
2009 Denise Horner
2010 Suzanne Drace
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