Selinsgrove Area Rotary Club
Rotary Newsletter
Rotary Opens Opportunities
Vol. 93, No. 23 – President – Dan Mahoney – Editor – Carol Handlan
Next Meeting – January 14 – Courtney Krick, Manager of Selinsgrove Aaron’s, will share how much more Aaron’s is than a rental store. Carol Handlan, host
January 7, 2021: 14 Rotarians and 1 guest joined us via ZOOM, to hear Rotarians Melissa Laniewski and Kristine Horten share their experiences with buying and selling properties during the pandemic. They were introduced by host, Bob Bertram. When all non-essential business was shut down in March 2020, realtors were included and that wreck havoc in the realtor world; as you can imagine. There was no in-person contact allowed and numerous transactions were caught up in process due to all the business closures and/or businesses transferring employees to working from home. Unfortunately, real estate transactions are numerous and need to be processed timely and that wasn’t happening; deeds couldn’t be recorded, bank loans couldn’t be processed, needed repair work couldn’t get done during this shutdown. When the state relaxed restrictions and opened back up in May 2020, it wasn’t business as usual. Additional documents are required related to property access and risk assessment; and also required for every single home a person is viewing. Limited entry for buyers (one person at a time) to view homes and PPE’s are mandated for all and only the realtor is able to touch anything (light switches, drawers, doors, etc.). Currently, the market in our area reflects more buyers than sellers, interest rates have dropped and appraisers are in high demand. Some advice to buyers, because of the high demand, it is a good time to sell now and rent until more homes become available. In spite of all of the obstacles, these two realtors were able to stay focused and go on to still be recognized as top sellers!!
Announcements: 1) President Dan mentioned that we had a good board meeting; which was held prior to our lunch meeting; 2) It was decided that we will continue with weekly meetings via Zoom, until we can safely meet in person; 3) Marv Rudnitsky introduced, the November Young American – Laura Malehorn, a senior at Selinsgrove Area High School. Laura is very active in school and is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and the Spanish Club. She is very interested in the environment and is planning to study civil engineering with an environmental focus. She has already been accepted to Penn State but is waiting to hear from the Naval Academy, West Point and Bucknell.
Sergeant at Arms: Marv Rudnitsky provided a bit of humor and recognized birthdays for Dan and Dottie that we missed over the holidays. He collected happy fines from Jody (son), Toby (son), Dave (glad 2020 is over), John F. (Marv’s spice shelf; which was really jars filled with sand from all their travels) and Dan )board meeting and 2021).
Future Programs:
Jan. 14 – Courtney Krick, Manager of Aaron’s. Carol Handlan, host.
(Begin Nominations for Distinguished Service Award)
Jan. 21 – TBA. Kristen Horten, host.
Jan. 28 – Holly Morrison, President/CEO of CSCF. Marty Blessing, host.
Birthdays:
January 5 – Michael Damiano, 17 – Wesley Knapp, 24 – Mike Flock,
Quotation: “The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” – Unknown