Kent Anderson

SANDPOINT SUNRISE...6:25 a.m.

When I wake up in the morning and see something like this, my first thought is, "This can't be real." When I realize it is, I find myself crawling on the rocks trying to capture it. As wonderful as this picture is (shot with an Olympus Camedia C-3030 camera...$150.00), it cannot give justice to the "real" beauty the universe decided to unleash this morning.

In the words of Tom Robbins..."When a person accepts a broader definition of reality, a broader net is cast upon the waters of fortune."

Thank you Sandpoint, Idaho. The world is a good place after all...

Every day I am amazed by North Idaho. I cannot tire of the beauty around here (Sandpoint, specifically). As I was reading the blogs of some of my "associates" on ActiveRain, I ran across Steve Loynd's picture blog he submitted yesterday of beautiful New Hampshire (one of my favorite spots in the world). It happened to be another gorgeous day here, so I went out and took some shots myself.

I read Steve's blog while doing my Sunday floor duty at my office on Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Literally, I stepped outside my door and snapped this shot looking down to the Sandpoint valley and out to Lake Pend Oreille (Kootenai Bay) in the distance. Those are the Cabinet Mountains off on the hazy horizon. It was a little quiet up there (they call this the shoulder season) but with this outside my door it's a pretty fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

This is the reverse view from the previous photo. I came down to Lake Pend Oreille and took a shot of Schweitzer Mountain from Kootenai Bay. (It is a little hazy today...)

Still in Kootenai Bay on Lake Pend Oreille, I took this shot looking east at Kootenai Point on the left photo and out toward Bottle Bay on the right photo. Lake Pend Oreille, by the way, is the largest lake in Idaho (43 miles long with 111 miles of shoreline. Approximately 70% of the shoreline is state owned or owned by the railroad. This insures the continuing pristine beauty of the lake.) In addition, Lake Pend Oreille is the fifth deepest lake in the nation measuring depths over 1,158 feet!

One last shot of a wind storm coming in from the south. When this lake gets wild, it is even more beautiful and mysterious. It is my privilege to live in this spectacular environment and I give thanks every day.

(Gold Mountain sits off to the left and the town of Sandpoint rests on the shores of the lake on the right side (obliterated by the oncoming wind storm).

Today, a group of about 12 Sandpoint Rotary volunteers and a few assorted other "nature lovers" converged upon the Sandpoint Fish Hatchery to continue the efforts to revitalize this vital piece of Sandpoint history.

The Sandpoint Hatchery, located on the south shoreline of the Pend Oreille River about two miles south of Sandpoint, was created by the Idaho Department of Fish & Game in 1904 to help stock Idaho Panhandle lakes. The Hatchery survived until 1985, shut down for five years, then reopened in 1990 in response to public demand in the Panhandle Region. Hatchery production costs rose due to limited water supply and the Hatchery morphed into a small-scale specialty station rearing Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Chinook Salmon, Kokanee Salmon and Kootenai White Sturgeon.

The Sandpoint Hatchery relies heavily upon the goodwill and hard work of local, concerned citizens to bring this beautiful piece of Sandpoint history back to life and sustain it for generations to come. Given the nature of the Sandpoint residents, bringing the Hatchery back to life has not been a problem. In fact, the Hatchery has expanded it's vision and created an education opportunity on the grounds called the Waterlife Discovery Center. The original building has been refurbished into a "lecture-hall" great room where students learn about water, wildlife and how civilization impacts nature. Interpretive nature trails have been created by volunteers throughout the site. North Idaho is all about water...whether it is the lakes, rivers, streams or rainy seasons. It is a treasure that is truly cherished and respected in this part of the country.

Today our project was to create a nature-meditation bench overlooking a serene pond on the property along with smoothing out and seeding a 1/4 acre area to be enjoyed by visitors to the Center. Typical of North Idaho hospitality, it wasn't all labor. We sat down to a feast of grilled chicken, elk and moose at lunch time.

Many thanks to the continued efforts of the volunteers working in unison with Mark Taylor and the rest of the folks from the Idaho Department of Fish & Game. This is volunteerism at its finest making a difference in the Sandpoint Community! It is this type of effort that makes my job as a Sandpoint Realtor a joy...what better place is there to live?

2009 marks the year that Sandpoint puts it's name on the "tennis map" with THE BLACK DIAMOND TENNIS INVITATIONAL...aptly dubbed, "The Most Beautiful Tennis Tournament in the Country!" (Maybe the world).

Invitations were sent out to the top players from the Inland Northwest with the idea that the first 24 to respond would get the "invite". A few hours later the tournament draw was filled. This event will be EPIC!

Not only can we look forward to great tennis, but the event dovetails with the Schweitzer Fall Fest & Music Festival...a celebration of another great summer on the Mountain. It will be just a matter of weeks before the first snowfall graces the Schweitzer slopes and Sandpoint will be burning once again with SKI FEVER. While Fall Fest is technically a microbrew tasting celebration (plus wine tasting and soda tasting) there are events for the whole family...wall climbing, mountain biking, chairlift rides, bungee bouncing, hiking and FREEMUSIC!

THE BLACK DIAMOND TENNIS INVITATIONAL will be front & center this year, however. The tournament takes place on two courts placed in the center of the village between the two major high speed detachable chair lifts on Schweitzer's front side. The format is unique:

There will be a DRAFT by the 2 Team Captains on Friday (Sept. 4) late afternoon at Pucci's Pub on the hill, all are invited, including families!

Davis Cup Team Style format. Each overall team will have 6 doubles teams, seeded in order. The top 3 teams of each will play a round robin against the other team's top 3, as will the bottom 3 teams. Awards, prizes and t-shirts!

In Part I of the AR Series challenge, I examined the importance of a Realtors® personal profile. A personal profile may reveal to a customer some of the unique qualities you possess that could weight the scale in your favor to earn him as a client.

In Part II, let’s look at the contents of your profile to find what is in there that can aid you at being the best Realtor® you can be. Let’s break it down:

1) Pledge to Clients. After you write your pledge, read it from time to time. If you are pledging a “passion” for this business or a “dedication” to your clients, then do it. As soon as you can’t live up to your pledge, it is time to re-examine your focus.

2) Education. You can never get enough education, whether formal or informal. In our industry, continuing your education is fundamental to representing your clients to the fullest. This is a no-brainer.

You keep this up with PASSION. This doesn’t mean just maintaining the required hours to retain your license…it means you are always looking for ways to augment that education…webinars, books, lectures, etc. Get creative. Learn as much as you can. ACTIVERAIN is one of the truly wonderful educational sources available. USE IT! Blog and comment! The ACTIVERAIN format is an unbelievable opportunity to grow…and at no charge.

3) Professional Experience. What have you done prior to being a Realtor® that could help you be better at what you do? Is there anything that you may have mastered that relates directly to your Real Estate?

Don’t be a Secret Agent. Make sure your potential clients are aware of how your professional experiences can help you represent them.

For me, my graphic arts background has been a lifesaver…especially given the difficult economic climate. It is my belief that it is during the business troughs that we must “plant our fields”. There are, of course, many ways to get yourself out there in front of potential clients. I have used my art background to both get my name out there and save money.

I create all of my own listing fliers, design all of my newspaper and magazine ads, design any 4-page listing brochures I need for the upper- end listings and create various custom promotion advertising as needed. I realize this isn’t necessarily rocket-science but for a good presentation, experience in the graphic design industry certainly helps…and doing it myself saves me a fair amount of money. (I also believe that my work is as good as anything available in the local Sandpoint marketplace).

As I stated in Part I, we live in difficult times. This is just one way that I can control some of my expenses as this economy struggles through the current downturn.

In Part III of the AR Series Challenge I talk about making money outside of our real estate industry just to stay alive.