COVID Success Stories from
Women's Council Networks
By Kim Morris
“What can we do right now, in this time?” That’s the question Becky Klein and the St. Charles County (MO) network asked themselves when COVID hit. “We didn’t know if people would be receptive or not, but we had to do something to get us back in front of our membership.” They needed to make people realize they were there and they needed to connect.
“When the gavel passed to me,” Marge Peck says, “we got into our planning session and we worked our tails off.” That planning session yielded the hybrid class idea and opened up an avenue of fun events for their network.
“My mission,” Taunee English says, “is to create community across the nation.” Her tagline is, “Sharing is caring.” Virtual events allowed Taunee and the LA/Beverly Hills network to get to know other REALTORS® in other states. They offered 2-3 monthly Zoom events that focused on topics relatable to all cities nationwide, like Radius Agent.
Taunee and her network were reaching out and touching their membership, people felt connected. They offered, for the first time, a celebration of Women’s Council Black Leaders during Black History Month—249 people joined in. For their Women’s History Month Nationwide Mega Event, 149 people joined. They celebrated Asian Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month with the same program format. Because of COVID, Taunee and her network were able to appreciate the energy it took to connect us all. They came up with programs that connected members, allowed sharing of ideas; programs that helped members talk and share referrals during the pandemic.
“When you’re a leader,” Marge Peck says, “it has to be win-win. Member, network. People want to be a part of it.” During COVID, Marge and the Arizona East Valley network worked with the Arizona West Valley network to offer courses. They realized people needed to network and get together. “We like to brand who we are, wherever we go, we are FUN.” Events they offered in hybrid form (attendees can choose to attend virtually or live), like Duel in the Desert and Last REALTOR® Standing, offered education and fun. Marge says, “If it’s educational, it should be fun.”
When Becky Klein took over as president of her network in June 2020, they were floundering with Zoom-only events. “In our county, we had no mask mandate,” Becky says. So they made a bold move and offered The End of Summer Jam. Held in a park by the lake, with boxed lunches, it gave the network an opportunity to hang out. Forty people attended, some members, some not yet members. In October 2020, their network hosted Real Estate Nightmares—a chance to have lunch and share stories and lessons learned—and another 40 people attended. After making the hard decision to cancel their December event, Becky says, they didn’t want to lose momentum, so they came up with a plan based on the time they were living in: simple. They put emphasis on connection. They put together gift bags and delivered them to every member and strategic partner. They created video footage of fun Christmas tasks and presented 12 Days of Women’s Council Christmas. “We had so much fun with that,” Becky says. From December 30, 2020, to the end of January 2021, their network added 22 members.
Success stories popped up throughout the Women’s Council Networks and National was able to adapt to the new normal with new programming and virtual events. The 2020 Midyear Meeting was the highest attended conference, with 878 registered when COVID first started. With the switch to virtual events at the peak of the pandemic, National hosted small events from March – June 2020, events that attracted over 1000 registrants. Due to National’s successes with virtual conference events, we added the new Elevate Conference at the beginning of 2021, which saw 508 registrants. Coming out of COVID, the 2021 Midyear meeting welcomed 580 registrants.
What are the takeaways from these experiences? “Everyone wants to see themselves included,” Becky says. Her network’s events were shared repeatedly on social media, “which helped us build momentum.” Their January 2021 event attracted 60 people. By focusing on their network’s membership and making sure they were a part of marketing, Becky was able to keep the positive momentum going. “A lot of positive energy came from that, it helped us build into our year, gave us more visibility in our area and catapulted us into a great 2021.”
“When it’s magic and it works and people want to sign up when [an event] is full—you want that, you want to make room for that, that’s how we landed on the hybrid event idea,” Marge says. It all comes down to fun, and sharing the fun. “We work hard, have fun. I love my board members. We’re a train going in the same direction, at warp speed.” Hard work, loyal support, and a lot of fun were the ingredients for success for Marge and her network. “Why should someone join? Because Women’s Council has benefits for them.”
“Usually we see each other only three times a year,” Taunee explains. “Because of COVID, we could connect nationally, share ideas, and help each other. We came up with ways to talk and connect with sister networks for referrals.” Taunee created a nationwide Facebook group where all networks can share events. She celebrates all president and president-elect birthdays—posts that are shared repeatedly. For every cultural event, they acknowledge every leader, and most importantly, they create and post flyers for the events and tag leaders, which allows clients to see the honors. It’s a lot of research and hard work that’s producing success stories beyond COVID.
“I am on a personal mission to create more of a culture of sisterhood nationwide,” Taunee says. “We do this by active communication—sharing innovative ideas with one another, being flexible, supportive and understanding so that we can all succeed and thrive.”
About the Contributor
Kim Morris is a Chicago-based freelance writer and editor with more than 25 years of writing experience.
