About Oceana County, MI

One of my most valued friends is Jaime Woodall. I met Jaime about four years ago when I started attending First Baptist Church in Hart. My family and I were new to the church, and Jaime was the youth pastor there at the time. Jaime and his wife Kris welcomed us into the church family, and Jaime and I really connected.

Over the first year or so, Jaime and I would meet for coffee, and talk about some seriously deep stuff. I'd never had a friend I felt so comfortable talking with. Jaime opened up new doors for me, and encouraged me to build my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jaime is not your typical pastor, at least not the way I came to expect pastors to be. I grew up in Southern Kentucky, where I attended Southern Baptist churches, and never established a real relationship in any of those churches. Jaime is laid back, easy to talk to, and has a very approachable personality. He is a great listener, and doesn't push his opinions on you.

As we became friends, Jaime encouraged me to do some public speaking to other churches' youth groups. With my Marine Corps experiences, and the struggles I have had with my own faith, he helped me reach the conclusion that I had something to offer young adults. I have done a few of these speaking events since, and the rewards have been amazing.

In August of 2007, Jaime and I both announced that we would be leaving First Baptist. I had been given orders to deploy to Iraq, and would be gone for a year. Jaime felt called to do missionary work in Northern Michigan, planting churches. It was a tearful Sunday when we stood in front of the Congregation together and said our goodbyes. We didn't know if we would ever see each other again.

I stayed in touch with Jaime while I was in Fallujah, and we encouraged each other in our endeavors. Jaime was dealing with the upheaval of his family, and I was dealing with my family's sense of loss with me being deployed. Jaime guided me to seek strength in Christ, and I hope I helped him do the same.

I returned from Iraq last September, and returned to First Baptist Church. Jaime was having some success up in Petoskey, and I was happy for him. I missed him and his family, but I knew God was using them for His work.

Today was missionary Sunday, and Jaime came to town to speak to the Congregation. He shared with us how his ministry in Petoskey had grown, and the lives that he and his group had touched. It was amazing. Now Jaime is preparing to move to Boyne City, to plant a church there.

I love the way Jaime ministers. It is a message of love and salvation. He doesn't push, and allows you to come to Christ at your own pace. He fosters a desire for you to want you to learn more without you even being aware of it. Then when you have questions, he is there to answer them.

Jaime is affiliated with Genesis. Genesis has stripped away the dated religiousity that hinders so many from seeking out God's word. Genesis seeks to encourage building a relationship with Christ, fostering goodwill, and community service. Please visit their website by clicking the image below.

Please include Jaime and his family in your prayers, that he may continue to do God's work, and change peoples' lives like he changed mine.

Come and meet me in person Saturday, March 28 at the 3^rdAnnual Cottage and Lakefront Living Show at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, MI. I'll be showcasing some of our finest lakefront and vacation properties from 1pm to 4pm. This is a great chance to connect with Lake Michigan property owners and prospective buyers.

The Cottage and Lakefront Living Show is held in downtown Grand Rapids each year, and is attending by dozens of exhibitors from across the state. You can find me at the Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt Booth. In addition to real estate professionals, some of the other exhibitors include:

•· A wooden boat building class

•· Camping and hiking outfitters

•· Wildlife artist

•· Sandcastle building (and demolishing!)

•· Home improvement contractors

•· Builders

•· And more!

For exhibit times and ticket information visit http://showspan.com/CLG/Home.aspx

I'll be bringing along information on some of our team's spectacular lakefront home listings, and answering questions folks may have about the Oceana County area. I've been a resident here for 15 years. In that time I've fished nearly every hole in the county, and I'm a regular at the beach in the summer. I can also tell you where you can find the best meals around. Stop by and let me brag up the area, it's one of my favorite past times!

Oceana County is a premier destination for vacation living, and has many activities for all ages. Off-road enthusiasts come from all over to ride the dunes at the Silver Lake State Park. The dunes open April 1^st, so start planning your vacation now. You can get permit information HERE.

There are many other attractions in the area, as well. To find out more, visit the Hart Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce. You can also visit Localism.com, where I'll be posting current event schedules throughout the summer.

Being in the sales and service industry as long as I have been, I'm pretty daggone fussy about the way I am treated by those providing a service to me. I guess you could say I grade on a pretty stiff curve. I hold myself to an extremely high standard. Because of this, I expect others to do the same, and am often disappointed.

Not so today, however.

I purchased my domains from godaddy.com a little over a month ago, and I really didn't expect much from an internet based company that charges just $9.99 per year. So, when the next day I get a call thanking me for my business, I was pleasantly surprised.

That representative further went on to ask if there were any questions I may have about my new subscription with GoDaddy. I had a bunch of 'em! The rep took the time to answer all of them, and I was left speechless (a very RARE occurrence for me, take my word for it).

Well, today I was trying to configure this crazy new Vista Windows Mail, and I was going nuts doing it. My old laptop had Outlook, and I was fairly adept at that, but I haven't purchased a new copy of Outlook, so Windows Mail is what I have to work with for now.

For the first time I can remember, the idea of calling a customer service department didn't fill me with dread. I wondered if GoDaddy would be able to repeat the level of service I had experienced on my first call. They surpassed it.

The representative, Jay, admitted he wasn't overly familiar with the Vista version, but said he was willing to walk through the set up with me, and help however he could. After going through and figuring out all the POP3 and SMTP watchamacallit thingamaroos, it looked like I was all set.

I thanked Jay for his help, and prepared to say good bye when Jay said, "Hold on. Why don't you give it a test and make sure it's working ok before I let you go. Just in case." He could have bailed, but instead, he stuck around to make sure I was 100% satisfied. How cool is that?

Jay didn't even try to slip in a last minute sales pitch to try to get me to buy more services, like some cable companies I could mention (I'm saving that for a "rant" blog).

So, if you ever want to experience what customer service should be like, and get a great deal on domain registrations, head over to You won't be disappointed.

Thank goodness I learned to preview listings before taking my clients to see them!

A fellow agent and I took part of our day today to preview some homes that we were preparing to show our respective clients. Of the six that we looked at, two were actually worth showing and met our clients' prerequisites.

One of the homes was a particular disaster. It looked like a good deal on the MLS, but the next thing we know, we are on a muddy, rutted, seasonal county road, in the middle of nowhere, wondering if we were about to drive off the face of the earth.

The listing said it was conveniently located near town. I suppose this would be true if the buyer owned a helicopter, or a teleportation device. My car would have never made it out there, and my friend's Explorer was a mess by the end of our trip. I would have been in an awkward spot with my buyers waiting for a wrecker to come rescue us.

Anyway, we got there, and the outside looked great, just like the picture on the listing. A quiet, country setting, with acres of trees surrounding. My mood was starting to lift, and I thought maybe this wouldn't be a total loss, after all. I was wrong.

We open the front door, and begin looking around the home. Overall, the home was in good shape except for one minor detail: someone, presumably the foreclosed upon previous owner, had ripped the electrical wiring and fixtures from the wall. Notice I didn't say "removed", I said RIPPED. The home's wiring was completely trashed, so my Rural Development possibilities were drifting away...

Instead of showing six homes tonight with my clients, I showed two, and they are putting in an offer on one of those. When I told them that I had already previewed the homes earlier in the day, they were shocked, and thanked me for putting in the extra effort.

The moral of my little story is that had I taken my clients there without checking it first, I would have looked pretty foolish. Instead, my colleague and I had a funny story to tell back at the office, and I had something to blog about tonight!

For the last several years, I worked in Grand Rapids, driving over a hundred miles one way everyday. When establishing rapport with my customers, eventually the subject of my long commute would come up, and they would invariably ask, "Oh my! Why do you drive so far? You should move down here."

In truth, I have considered it over the years. But every time I drop my kids off at school, and I recognize nearly every parent and teacher, I realize: THIS IS HOME!

Sure, Grand Rapids is a bustling hub of activity, and the fastest growing city in Michigan. Make no mistake, I love Grand Rapids, too. I will always feel a connection to the big city, and my taste for excitement will always take me back. Grand Rapids has a feel like no other city I have been too, and I have been to a lot of cities.

But when it comes to truly enjoying family life, Hart is where my heart is. The small town community provides a feeling of safety and security. I love going into the grocery store and being welcomed by name. It's amazing that I haven't been in an auto accident yet, because I can hardly pass a car without having to give or return a friendly wave to a local friend or neighbor.

Sure, some of my city friends complain because I live out in "The Sticks", but when they want to go fishing, hunting, or camping, guess who they call? That's right, ME! We have everything here. There's fishing on Hart Lake, camping out at Silver Lake State Park, and whitetail deer galore.

I've spent so much time working outside of town, that I was starting to lose that connection with the town itself. Now that I am back to working locally, I am excited that I will be around to partake in all the classic events. I'll be here for the pancake breakfasts at the VFW. I'll be dragged by my kids to ride the rides and see the animals at the county fair. I'll even throw on my dress blues and march in the Parades if they want me to!

If you've never visited Hart before, I suggest you plan on doing so soon. Why not this summer? The dunes open next month, so you'd better start planning your trip now, and give me a call if you need a tip on a goof place to eat or a good place to stay. If you're a local already, I'll see you around town!