Debbie White

Part One: http://activerain.com/blogsview/645303/On-my-own-and

Part Two: http://activerain.com/blogsview/645405/On-my-own-and

Part Three: http://activerain.com/blogsview/645422/On-my-own-and

I'm opening my own office! I can finally talk about it. No more hiding - no more sneaking around making plans. Everything is right on the table. While it's earlier than I planned, it's kind of a relief.

My broker at RE/MAX, Larry Telfer, has displayed an unusual level of professionalism when he decided that in order to live my dream, I needed to part ways with his office.

Thursday things really hadn't quite sunk in. I kept checking the MLS. I still had access. I kept looking at my license on the wall. I kept counting my listings. I was waiting for a shoe to drop. Finally I had to talk to Larry and see where all this was going to go.

"This is going so much smoother than I expected. I'm almost feeling guilty but it's too late to change my mind. This has been so pleasant, but we need to get down to brass tacks".

"What do you mean?" asked Larry.

"I have 23 active listings, and 9 pending files"

"When you get your broker license, you'll still have 23 active listings, provided they sign up with you. I'm not calling them, and I'm not trying to take them. As for your pending files, we may have to work something out to have someone here assist, but you can participate in them to the fullest extent allowed by law".

Now I truly am speechless. Chocked up, and my eyes fill up with tears. This man is being so kind. After all, the broker owns the listings. Larry must know my clients are loyal and most have already told me they will not list with anybody else should this happen earlier than planned.

The mutual admiration society continues. Larry gave me advice on setting up my bookkeeping system, my bank accounts, and even gave me some supplies to last until my shipment comes in. We waited until my last closing Friday to do the paperwork. I raced to the post office and sent everything to Anchorage by Express Mail. Hopefully it will be at the Real Estate Commission on Monday and they will process my paperwork quickly.

In the meantime, I hope everyone understands why I'm not answering calls or emails. Things will kick into high gear next week!

Part One: http://activerain.com/blogsview/645303/On-my-own-and

Part Two: http://activerain.com/blogsview/645405/On-my-own-and

So, five days to clean out my desk. My poor husband is probably having a nervous breakdown running his fishing charter right after getting off the plane. I run a few errands and head back into the office. Of course, the tension is in the air, and every gives me a blank stare and goes silent I walk in the door.

After quietly packing a few boxes, I just cannot stand it another moment. I go to Larry's office and ask if he has a moment, and he does.

"That went a little different than I expected. I've got to tell you a few things. I respect you more now than I did when I got out of bed this morning. I've learned a lot from you in the last six years, and I want you to know that our relationship means a lot to me. When I left my last office, it wasn't like that."

He says: "I am going to really miss you around here. You are easy to talk to. But I am looking forward to seeing you at the broker's meetings because I think you will bring a lot to the table. I don't want this to be a negative experience for you, and I hope we will always continue to be able to work together".

WOW. I'm almost speechless. (That doesn't happen very often!)

We talk a while, and I want to let him know a few of the things I've learned from him.

I've only witnessed Larry losing his temper four times. I've been told it has happened more than that, but it's a pretty rare occurrence. What I've learned is that when you don't do it every day, people stand up and take notice when you do. If you scream and shout and make everything a drama, people eventually go numb and don't even pay attention. I hate drama. That's why God didn't give me girls.

Another thing I've learned... one time that anger was directed at me. I fell apart, and I didn't even try to defend myself I was so shocked and surprised. I struggled with emotion for quite some time, and after about an hour, decided to go home. I was going to think about it overnight and approach him in the morning - if I came back at all. However, in that period of time, he'd learned what had really happened was not what he'd thought had happened, and was sitting quietly in thought. I didn't know and was trying to leave. His voice cracked when he said my name, and he asked me to come into the office. I closed the door, looked at my hands and tried not to cry. He told me what he'd learned. He spoke softly, earnestly, and his voice was so gentle and humble. He was also sitting there, struggling with his own emotion. He asked me if I would forgive him, please. Something was in his eye. I continued to look at my hands, quietly said "It's okay" and he said, "No it's not", and I said let's both just forget. We did.

It takes a big man to say he's sorry, and they'd better be pretty convincing for me to believe them.

I'm going to miss working with Larry, but bigger dreams lie ahead!

So, I last left you with a very brief description of the last time I switched brokerages...

Larry asks me if I have time at 2:15 to chat. I don't then, but I did "now". So we did it right then. I knew what was coming - I think I'd expected it even sooner. I just want to get it over with. He asks me to close the door and sit down. I do.

"I have two questions for you, and I hope you answer them honestly"

1. " I know you hope to have a brokerage someday. I've heard someday is coming up. Is it true that you are looking to do this in the near future?"

I smile somewhat embarrassed and say, "I'd hoped I wouldn't me making this move until late October with a grand opening November 1, but yes, it is the works"

2. "Have you attempted to recruit any of my agents?"

"I do not feel what I've done should be construed as soliciting the agents at RE/MAX. I have discussed my ideas for office policy, training, and my own thoughts on how I want to run a brokerage. If it was construed as recruitment, it was not the intention."

Of course, now I'm almost shaking. I respect this man, and I've worked with him for about six years. We've always been able to talk, and even when we disagree, it is always done with respect. In some ways, he is my mentor. I think I'm about to lose a friend.

Larry continues: "Of course you realize, I am going to have to ask you to leave RE/MAX and clean out your office. Do you think you can do that by Monday?"

Wow. Five days to clean out my desk. And ten minutes until I pick up my husband at the airport.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm not sure what to tell Chris when I pick him up a few minutes later. He's not quick to forgive and never forgets, and when I left my first brokerage after 3 years, it was a gut wrenching experience. First, I was deeply hurt. I cried for three days, even after I'd made up my mind where I was going and that it was the right move. Months later, I reached the anger portion of my grief. It took months to rebuild my business, and I was pretty cranky throughout the process. While it had worked out to my advantage over the long haul, it wasn't an easy process.

I don't think he really heard me when I told him it was going to be different this time.

It's been no secret to those that really know me that I've been planning to open my own office for a long time. I've had my Associate Broker license since 2002. I have set ideas about how to run a brokerage, and I really want to give other agents the opportunity to learn and appreciate what a career in real estate has to offer.

For various reasons, it got put off. While my children were growing up, I was just too busy being a mother. As they left for college and to live their lives, various causes crept in to take my time and energy. Eventually, that yearning started really burning me up inside, and I started to explore my options.

Since March, I've read four different franchise offering agreements. It was a real eye-opener in some ways, but surely dry reading in others. I began bouncing my ideas around, first within my own head, and then slowly opening my circle to those I trusted. I got a lot of great feedback over the last several months, and slowly my plan began to take place.

Over time, I started to open up that tight circle, and trust a few more people. My ideas had refined and grown into solid plans. Eventually, I eliminated three of the franchise agreements, and settled into one. I still haven't signed that agreement but I should be within a few weeks.

So, everything was going fine until... someone told my broker.

The last time I switched brokerages it was not a pretty scene. My broker called me into his office at 9:45 and told me to have my desk cleaned out before the end of the business day. My keys were confiscated on the spot, and my MLS privileges were suspended immediately. The broker had contacted my sellers and made appointments, or tried to, to have them sign new listings.

It's much different this time, which makes me wonder... am I doing the right thing?

Yesterday I told you about part one of my birthday adventures. I'd lost a nice fish, learned a bit about running the boat, and then we were approached by the United States Coast Guard Patrol boat.

My husband is accustomed to this procedure, but I'll admit I was a little intimidated. They asked a lot of questions about the boat, checked the registration, and asked for my husband's identification. They didn't actually come on board, since it's a small boat, but the announcement "Your vessel is being boarded by the United States Coast Guard" was about as comfortable to me as presenting my passport in strange country for the first time.

I later learned that with the charter fishing boats, the inspection takes about one hour because the checklist is much more intensive than with a pleasure craft. I wonder how the clients, who are paying big bucks to go fishing, feel about this. If they complain and get a refund, the charter captain is out a lot of money and with fuel prices, there isn't a lot of profit in charter fishing anyway. They say they'll only get you once per season, but they won't do inspections at the dock.

But that's another rant. We passed inspection with ONE exception. Since the boat has an actual gas tank in the hull instead of portable red tanks, we were supposed to have a marine certified fire extinguisher on board. It was labeled as a "terminatable offence". We were about to be escorted back to the harbor. By the way, that was their terminology, not mine. I love it when the government makes up words.

The little boat is a little overpowered and there is no speed limit on the water. By the time they caught up with us, we had a fire extinguisher AND a full tank of gas. Well, kind of. They didn't follow us all the way back because they decided to check another boat just leaving. I've got to admit, leading them on a high speed chase was fun!

So... back to the fishing grounds we go. On the way, I saw humpback whales, seals and when we started fishing a porpoise came really close to the boat! I saw his eyes and his "smile".

It wasn't long before the downrigger line started screaming again. My husband says "You've got a really big fish on there!" I say, "No, I don't, I have that seal over there!" The seal I pointed to took a quick dive, stripping a hundred yards of line from my reel, then pops up, let's out a squeal, and shows me a flasher hanging from his chin.

I let the professional take over while I handled the boat. Even though we were in neutral the boat wanted to drift a little too close to the rocks. My sweetie managed to get the flasher back but I have a feeling that seal will not be biting any more herring.

After all that excitement, we decided to head home. Chris dropped me off at Tee Harbor and I walked home while he took the boat back to Auke Bay and drove. By the time he made it home, I was showered and changed and even had on makeup, ready to go out to dinner since I blew my chance at fresh King Salmon. We had a great time, and on the way home, I took this photo with my new i-phone.

My husband kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday. All I really wanted was to go fishing.

We went in the "little boat", an 18 foot Almar that was just equipped with 4-cycle motors. For those of you that don't know much about small engines, the old 2-cycle motors rattle, make a lot of smoke, and roar like a chain saw. A 4-cycle motor purrs quietly like a kitten with very little exhaust, more like a car engine. You can even talk on a cell phone while sitting right by the motor!

When we bought the little boat, my husband and his father said that perhaps I could learn to run that boat and be able to use it when the big boat was not available. That was about five years ago. While we flirted with the "lessons" now and then, I really didn't get to operate it much.

I even made notes. Step by step, from checking fuel, to untying the lines, to the rules of the harbor.

What a beautiful day. Sunshine, very little wind, and almost flat calm water. Chris showed me how the easy steer bracket mounted from the larger motor to the smaller one so that we could steer with the wheel instead of by sitting on the stern. SWEET!

Lines go into the water. One gets a downrigger and the other is a flat line. The herring are cut expertly by my husband, the charter boat captain. We talk about the equipment on the boat, the shoreline, water depth, the weather which is outstanding. Hardly a word about work or teenagers - pure bliss!

Then it hit. That beautiful sound of the screaming reel every woman loves to hear. (Okay, guys love it too) Deceptively, the fish played gently, making me think that perhaps it was a "shaker", or an undersized King Salmon under 28 inches. We played around in the magic tug of war for about 10 minutes. I'd gain a little, the fish would gain - the back and forth that makes fishing so fun.

Just as my husband went to net the fish, the battle ended. I'd tugged too hard or maybe tightened the drag too much or maybe I didn't set the hook right, but I had the classic "Unauthorized release of a legal King Salmon". I'd lost my fish. My husband, being the sweetheart that he is, announced that it was MY birthday fish to catch, or NOT.

Well, I lost the fish, but the day wasn't over. Just as I started to relax, along came the Coast Guard.

If you live in Juneau, you know about our energy crisis unless you live under a rock. On April 16, at about 4:00 AM there was a series of avalanches that took out over 1.5 miles of power line and several towers, cutting Juneau off from the hydroelectric plant that powers the community.

As a result, the entire capital city of Alaska and our 30,000 residents have been running on diesel fuel. It was estimated that it would take 100,000 gallons per day to keep the lights and heat on. Due to drastic conservation by members of the community, we have been burning half the projected amount.

Of course, much of that conservation was due to the fact that we are experiencing an increase of almost 500 percent in our per kilowatt rate. We will be paying nearly 55 cents/KW for the next few months while repairs are made.

For most of us, this is going to hurt and for many it will be a budget breaker - especially young families with children and the elderly. When your average bill is $100 it will be $500. Our average bill is $200 so that would have made our bills $1000. That was simply not acceptable.

My husband and I are fortunate to live in an energy efficient home that doesn't have electric heat, but we've taken steps to conserve diesel too because that is over $4.00 per gallon. The heat is turned down and so is the water heater.

You wouldn't know it from the history, but really, we were lazy about electricity. We kept our hot tub at 105 degrees all the time. It wasn't uncommon to leave lights on when nobody was in the house, or sometimes even in the room.

Necessity forces conservation. I've got a landscape plan I'd rather spend money on!

Here's what we've done so far, reducing our consumption by over 50%

•1. Obviously the hot tub is turned off. I miss it and so does my husband but there's no way it's worth $1000 per month!

•2. We are very careful to only use lights we need, and in some ways have even changed our habits to work with the increasing daylight hours. We have more compact fluorescent bulbs than we used to and try to use those lights that are equipped with them.

•3. I unplugged everything not in use. The electric ovens are only used once a week or so and are now turned off at the breaker box. The microwave has an LED display so I didn't need two.

•4. Instead of using the automatic feature of my coffeepot, I plug it in each morning to make coffee, and unplug it as soon as the coffee is done. I have the kind with the insulated carafe so it stays warm for several hours.

•5. The instant hot water dispenser under the sink has been unplugged.

•6. We use our propane cook top or the propane BBQ much more often. Baking is a serious luxury.

•7. I try to get to the dishwasher before the cycle is complete in order to air dry the dishes. Many times I just hand wash the dishes, but the jury seems to be out on which is more efficient.

•8. We adjusted the aerator on our septic system to come on and off periodically instead of running constantly.

•9. I let my hair dry naturally and rarely roll or curl it now. I'm lucky to have some natural curl in my hair, but when it's only 40 degrees outside it is no fun to leave with a wet head!

•10. I use our high efficiency washer to wash clothes, mostly in cold or warm water, and hang them on a rack or hangars to dry. At first I hated this. Crunchy towels, stiff clothes and misshapen socks and undergarments did not appeal to our family at all. An older friend taught me a little trick that has really helped! After the clothes are dry, put them in the dryer for just a few minutes. The action of the dryer knocks down the scratchy and rough spots. You don't even need a heated setting to do this.

There is still so much more we could do, but we to give up TIVO and we still aren't fully trained to turn off our computers completely. We are not giving up our 55 gallon aquarium which fortunately isn't heated. We are delaying the setup of a 300 gallon aquarium though!

It is my hope that someone reading this can reduce their own bills as well. We will keep you posted on our family's efforts and continue to be thankful this happened in April instead of January.

When I go to Haines next weekend, I've got to meet Roger Maynard. For a fresh new look at issues in Alaska, I invite you to visit his website: http://www.rogermaynard.net . It is with Roger's explicit permission I bring you the following.

I'm sure you've all read about the supposed boondoggle of the "Bridge to Nowhere". Many of us within the state understand the real story. We've all discussed it at one time or another, but I've got to admit, Roger's got me beat when it comes to telling this story!

Alaska: Ketchikan's Bridge to Somewhere

Once again Ketchikan's Gravina Access Project is in the news. Ten years ago we thought the bridge was expensive; now estimates are approaching $398 million. There are plenty of arguments pro and con-especially considering the price tag, but it's time to lose the misleading label, "Bridge to Nowhere."

News media pundits have described Ketchikan's Gravina Access project as a bridge from Ketchikan to an island with only a few dozen residents, but that's not an accurate picture. Each year over 500,000 people travel between Ketchikan and its international airport on Gravina Island. With no roads and limited boat service, the Ketchikan International Airport is the only way in and out of the city for most folks.

For those who are still having trouble picturing the transportation issue in this popular-but-isolated Alaskan city, let's use your home town as an example. Use your imagination:

• First, dig a moat around the International Airport near your town. Make that moat about a quarter to a half mile wide with varying terrain on both sides. Put ships in the moat-ships on which your community depends for its existence; ships tall enough to require a 200-foot clearance to pass under any bridge.
• Put one ferry on the moat that makes a round trip to the airport every thirty minutes. Charge each passenger 5 dollars to walk onto the ferry and ride one way; much more if they want to take their vehicles. The ferry is small, often filled to capacity, with minimal room for passengers to sit during the 7 or 8 minute ride across the moat.
• Make folks walk from the ferry to the airport terminal, uphill, on a concrete sidewalk (no escalator) that is sheltered from frequent wind and driving rain by a plexiglass roof and windscreen on one side. Most people carry their own bags regardless of size or number, age or infirmity, unless they want to pay a private "airporter" service for assistance.
• Now place your community emergency services on the side of the moat AWAY from the airport, except for one or two crash trucks and one or two firemen. In an emergency, additional ambulance personnel, firemen, rescuers, policemen and bomb technicians will all have to wait for the little ferry in order to respond to any emergency at the airport. All of your airport employees will ride the little ferry to work, and home again at the end of the day.
• Put a small parking lot near the ferry terminal on the city side of the moat, where folks can park while they stand in the rain and wait for the ferry.

Now that you've customized your airport to provide the same level of service as the Ketchikan International Airport, let's modify your town:

• Erase all of the roads leading into or out of your town. That's right, they don't exist. Your only way out is by ferry or air. You will likely find yourself flying several times a year.
  
• Surround your town with water and mountains, leaving little room for expansion or small industry of any kind.
• Add a statewide ferry system-a few 350-foot vessels that will carry up to 499 passengers. Let these boats stop in your town several times each week, usually at inconvenient hours; only once a week does a boat connect to Seattle, a 3-day trip each way. Make them comparatively expensive to ride.
• Finally, take another look at the small island on which the airport sits. It is quite large-95 square miles-with large areas of gentle terrain and room for some small industries, warehouses, shipping companies, boat marinas, recreational opportunities, parks, and some top-notch waterfront residential property.

Now that you have the picture, we can start discussing the proposed bridge. There is plenty to talk about in terms of costs, benefits, economics and aesthetics. Some folks are in favor of the project; some are against-but let's stick to the facts.

This is clearly a bridge to "somewhere." It's time to lose the politically inspired, misleading and insulting title, "Bridge to Nowhere."

Just goes to show you cannot judge a story with a sound bite!

Everyone in Juneau is trying to find ways to reduce their energy costs. A catastrophic avalanche took out over a mile and a half of power line from our hydroelectric plant and cut off Alaska's capital city. Everything is operating on huge generators. It's estimated to take 100,000 gallons of diesel every day to keep things running. In turn, our rates are soaring to an estimated 50 cents per kilowatt hour.

Needless to say, every little bit helps. If we all conserve enough, maybe we won't need to ship in so much fuel. After all, it takes a lot of time to find that kind of supply and get it here, and it isn't cheap!

Here are some examples of what our family has done so far:

• Obviously, turn off lights when we aren't in the room. I was surprised at how I automatically reach for that light switch when I enter a room. Sometimes it isn't even dark! Part of that reflex may be because we are just coming out of winter when it was dark all the time.

• We switched out some of the more commonly used lights for compact fluorescents. We'd purchased these but never had gotten around to installing them. Talk about money lying around! HINT: I've been told that many of these have a warrantee. The catch is, you need to keep the receipt and the packaging and take them to the place you bought them!

• Close off the rooms you are not using. We are recent empty-nesters. There are a few rooms in the house that are rarely used. Surprisingly, I found electrical devices plugged in. Phone chargers with no phones attached, lamps, alarm clocks, televisions, and even a stereo that was ON but with the volume turned down!

• After cleaning these rooms, I turned down the heat and closed the doors. Since then, I came to realize that I have less carpet to vacuum (Now there's an idea - an excuse to vacuum less!)

All this was on the first day. I've tried to improve a few other habits, but it takes a while to break routines. Baby steps, baby steps, and one day at a time!

Feel free to share your ideas!

If you didn't already know, Juneau Alaska is having a huge problem. Our electricity is generated 40 miles south of town at a hydro-electric plant. Yesterday, at about 4:00 AM there was a huge avalanche, over a mile and a half wide. This took down our power and the city is currently running on diesel generators. We don't even have enough fuel in town to keep this up for long, and we are thousands of miles away from a refinery. Everyone is being asked to conserve as much as possible. There is more information in my blog.

The Assembly will hold an Special Assembly Meeting

TONIGHT - Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.

in the Assembly Chambers.

The purpose of this meeting is to ratify the City Manager's Declaration

of a Local Disaster Emergency.

The regularly scheduled Assembly Finance Committee previously

scheduled for 5:00 p.m. tonight in the Chambers will take place

immediately following the Special Assembly meeting.

For additional information, please contact

Special Projects Officer Maria Gladziszewski at 586-0218.

Photo by Mike Laudert / Alaska Electric Light & Power Co.