Imagine yourself out hiking in the mountains all alone…just you.  Nobody else is around. In fact, nobody even knows you went hiking. While exploring one of the beautiful caverns in the mountain, a freak accident happens.  A large boulder comes down on your arm, trapping you.  You have enough water to last for a couple of days, and a protein bar that you could stretch into meals for two days. No phone. Nobody around. You are trapped.  You have a small pocket knife. For three days you chip at the boulder hoping you can make it budge. By that point the knife is as dull as a spoon for cutting.  With your life in the limbs, would you think about cutting your arm off?  It’s incomprehensible to most.  For one man, Aron Ralston, it was reality.  Come hear his story.

The Spring Agent Conference is March 21st (THIS WEDNESDAY) at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) in Boston, MA. We have an incredible speaker lineup including one of Inman News’ 2011 100 Most Influential Leaders in Real Estate, Steve Harney; National Association of REALTORS (NAR), George Ratiu; and American mountain climber and inspirational speaker, Aron Ralston, who the critically acclaimed movie 127 Hours was based on.There are several educational sessions scheduled for the day, plenty of time to network with fellow RE/MAX Associates, and lots of exhibitors to visit in the Exhibitor Marketplace. Also, new this year, we will be bringing direct to you some of today’s most innovative Real Estate technology companies.

Hear Aron Ralston HERE

CLICK HERE to Register

* Respond back to me if you need help with registration.

Today, St. Patrick’s Day 2012, my family and I decided to venture off to find a restaurant we had never tried before.  We ended up at the old Fort Devens Army Base, now simply known as Devens, which is like a town within a town.  It is there that we stumbled upon The Devens Grill.  Before I share my rave review it’s probably important that you know our tastes.  My family and I are t-shirt and jeans kind of people on the weekends.  We like any restaurant that is casual, friendly, and quick…and The Devens Grill hit all three marks.

The Devens Grill does offer outdoor seating with a patio and wood burning stove. At 50 degrees we decided to eat inside. The inside of the restaurant is modern yet warm feeling. There is a beautiful bar area surrounded by high top seating when you walk in to the left.  To the right is the regular dining section where we sat.  Upon moments after sitting we were greeted by our waitress, Linda, who was friendly, and all dressed in green for the holiday. She took our drink orders and by the time those came just minutes later we were ready to order.  It took about 25 minutes for our food to arrive.  It was a pleasant wait with low key music in the background and a color-on place mat and crayons to keep my two year old busy.  My veggie burger was great, and the french fries were perfect.  As for the rest of my family.  One got the fish and chips, and he loved it. While the other got macaroni and cheese.  She loved that too…and even more so, she loved the ice cream sandwich that comes with every kids meal.

If you are out in the Devens Area, The Devens Grill is a great restaurant to try.  Great atmosphere….great people…and most importantly, great food.  By the way…while you are in the area, give RE/MAX Prestige a shout…we have some great houses for sale in the area, including a subdivision less than a mile away.

For a complete menu, hours of operation, and more visit www.DevensGrill.com

Join us for a free 3 Hour – NH CE Course – Navigating the Money Pit featuring Bob Gray of HiNet Home Inspections.

Tuesday, April 3rd

9am to 12:15

RSVP to MHoffmann@remaxprestige.com

Click on the flyer for more details!

Please Join us In a Celebration of Excellence

RE/MAX ThinkMAX Group will be holding an Award Recognition Ceremony on March 14 5:00-8:00pm at The famous Chase Sanborn Coffee Mansion at 15 Main Street in Winchester. Appetizers and drinks will be served. Enjoy an afternoon of networking and celebration. Professional award photos will be taken. As well, have your photo taken with the RE/MAX JD Power Awards!  Please RSVP to Stacey Alcorn at SAlcorn@remaxprestige.com by March 10th if you will be attending.

It was an amazing four days at the annual RE/MAX R4 Convention in Las Vegas. Each year, we attend this event in order to get new ideas and inspiration to bring back to our firm.  Here are just a few of the highlites that we were most excited about.

1. Zappos: CLICK HERE to check out my Zappos tour photos. Upon arriving in Las Vegas we had pre-booked a live tour of Zappos, a company that has built a business around amazing customer service.  What Zappos has realized is that by taking really, really, really great care of their people, their people take really, really, really great care of their customers. Here are just a few things that I thought could be implimented into a real estate firm.

• Zappos Live: In the customer care center where customer service representatives work from, they have a monitor up on the wall where everyone can see real time when a customer buys anything from Zappos.  It’s a big map of the US and when someone places an order a picture of the item ordered will pop up in the state it was purchased.  It made me think about our http://workingforyou.remax.com/  site.  Maybe it would be cool to have monitors in every reception area to share with people the number of real time customers shopping for a home at remax.com
• Goals Wall: As you walk down the back stairwell of Zappos you’ll see writing all over the walls.  This is a hallway where employees write out all the dreams they have realized while working at Zappos.  Anything from buying a first home to running a marathon…it’s written on the walls to share with the Zappos Family.
• Dream Coach: Yes, they have an in-house coach to help employees realize their dreams.
• Core Values: What’s really impressive about Zappos is that every employee has adopted the company core values http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values  into everything they do in life.  If you were to interview ten different Zappos employees about the company values they would all share with you the mission of the company and how the core values are a vital part of their day to day organizational life.
• Culture Is Everything: What was most moving about Zappos was that their culture is their company.  The employees truly feel that their family is Zappos.  When you care that much about the people you work with and company you work for the result is an amazing company where the culture spills out into their customer service.

2. Buffini: Brian Buffini offered an awesome motivational segment about getting back to fundamentals.  He talked about how many agents spend all their resources on marketing efforts in order to get consumers to call them, yet the agents that are striving are the ones who spend one to two hours a day initiating contact (picking up the phone or stopping by the home) with people rather than waiting for people to contact them.

3. Tom Ferry: Tom’s energy is awesome.  He shared great ideas on how to create a system for success.  When you have a system for lead generation and closing then you will not feel the effects of a cyclical business. I purchased Tom’s Sales Power mentor program.  After Andy and I review the program we will discuss bringing the 14 week Sales Power training to our firm.

4. Luxury Marketing: One piece that I was really excited about was the unveiling of the new RE/MAX Collection luxury marketing program.  It includes personalized professional mailers, a RE/MAX Collections magazine, and print materials that are second to none.  I was so excited about this new initiative that I will be providing a live webinar for our firm sometime this month so that you can see firsthand all the amazing tools to attract high end, luxury listings.

5. Commercial: In 2011 RE/MAX was recognized as one of the Top 25 Commercial real estate firms in the United States.  I attended a panel discussion by three of the top RE/MAX Commercial agents in the country and was blown away by the resources available for commercial agents.  The biggest resource is the expertise of other agents around the world.  RE/MAX of New England is bringing CCIM training to Natick in April and after seeing the opportunity available in the commercial market I hope to see agents take advantage of the upcoming training.

These were just a few highlites for the week.  This, of course, was just the tip of the ice burg.  We are committed to your success and we look forward to bringing you the very best training, technology, and tools to you.

Wilbraham, MA, March 02, 2012 –(PR.com)– Peggy Soucie has joined RE/MAX Prestige as the newest member of this dynamic sales team. Soucie brings to the office 30 years of experience in real estate. Peggy and her husband have built, renovated and remodeled numerous homes for their own enjoyment and she loves the challenge of “switching things up” and redesigning home interiors. Peggy restores antiques for a hobby and loves home staging for the “perfect look.”

“My first responsibility is to help my buyers and sellers,” said Soucie. “And my move to RE/MAX will be a significant benefit to my clients, because RE/MAX has the most powerful name brand in real estate. With nearly 90,000 Sales Associates in more than 80 countries, when I list a property here in Wilbraham it’s exposed to a huge audience. That exposure is driven by the RE/MAX website, the most visited real estate franchise site, which helps my clients get the best possible price for their home in the least amount of time.”

Soucie said another advantage offered by her new company is the focus on continuing education. RE/MAX offers real estate courses 24/7, with an online platform that allows Associates to access hundreds of full-length training programs on-demand.

“No other real estate organization has a higher percentage of Associates with advanced, professional designations,” said Soucie. “Keeping on top of the changes in protocol and procedure is extremely important. As an agent, I need to know the latest techniques so I can do the best for my clients.”

Peggy resides in Chicopee with her husband Fran and their family in their latest home renovation project. Soucie is looking forward to working with Buyers and Sellers in an industry that she loves.

RE/MAX Prestige is located at 2141 Boston Road, Suite H, Wilbraham, MA.
Peggy Soucie may be reached at 413-596-8766.

About the RE/MAX Network:

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as one of the leading real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.

Come to Burlington for a ride in Big Max, The famous RE/MAX balloon! Saturday March 31st 9am – 2pm at Pine Glen Elementary School.

In reviewing recent housing data for Massachusetts, it seems as though unit sales are up in many of our local towns.  Here are some numbers where we compare January 2011 sales data to January 2012.

Andover, MA: 124 sales versus 117 for January 2011 (up 6%)

Ayer, MA: 58 sales versus 48 for January 2011 (up 20.8%)

Billerica, MA: 148 sales versus 133 for January 2011 (up 11.3%)

Dracut MA: 134 sales versus 127 for January of 2011 (up 5.5%)

Groton, MA: 72 sales versus 62 for January 2011 (up 17.7%)

Groveland, MA: 34 sales versus 20 for January 2011 (up 70%)

Longmeadow, MA: 109 sales versus 100 for January 2011 (up 9%)

Lowell, MA: 240 sales verus 230 for January 2011 (up 4.4%)

Middleton, MA: 48 sales versus 44 in January 2011 (up 9.1%)

Monson, MA: 48 sales versus 37 in January 2011 (up 29.7%)

Northborough, MA: 85 sales versus 62 in January 2011 (up 37.1%)

Pepperell, MA: 71 sales versus 64 in January 2011 (up 10.9%)

Sudbury, MA: 114 sales versus 107 in January of 2011 (up 6.5%)

Tewksbury, MA: 112 sales versus 101 for January 2011 (up 10.9%)

Tyngsboro, MA: 53 sales versus 49 for January 2011 (up 8.2%)

Westford, MA: 112 sales versus 90 for January 2011 (up 24.4%)

Wilbraham, MA: 92 sales versus 83 for January 2011 (up 10.8%)

Join us for TWO Awesome Events….

For six days, Aron Ralston kept himself alive with fierce self-control and a conviction that only logical thought could let him survive. But the epiphany when the 27-year-old climber realised how he could save his own life came from an explosion of blind rage.

Ralston had been climbing the narrow canyons of Utah alone when a dislodged boulder fell on to his right arm, trapping him against a rock. He was entombed in the wilderness of Bluejohn Canyon, carrying a small rucksack with just one litre of water, two burritos and a few chunks of chocolate. He had headphones and a video camera but no mobile phone – and there was no reception anyway. Most foolishly of all, he had not told anyone where he was going. He eked out his water, futilely chipping away at the 800lb rock and slowly entering a state of delirium, until he was eventually forced to cut off his trapped arm, with the small knife from his cheap multitool kit.

Ralston, who is now 35 and still with the wiry physique of a climber, has just attended the London premiere of 127 Hours, Danny Boyle‘s film about his extraordinary escape from certain death. The film – like Ralston himself, full of boyish energy – is remarkably true-to-life, says Ralston, talking quickly and waving his arms around animatedly. It does not, however, fully describe his “gruesome” moment of revelation.

When his blunt knife pierced his skin but came to rest against solid bone, Ralston thought there was no chance he could perform the gruesome amputation that would save his life. He brushed some grit from his trapped thumb and a sliver of flesh peeled off “like the skin of boiled milk”, he remembers. “I’m like, what the . . . ? I take my knife and I’m poking a bit more and the knife just slips into the meat of my thumb like it’s going into room-temperature butter. My hand has almost jellified. The knife tip goes in and, ‘pssstt’, the gases from decomposition escape and there’s this putrid smell. I go into this rage. I’m in this hyper-emotional state after all this regimented discipline to keep it together and in this moment, when I’m trying to rip my arm out from the rock, I feel it bend and it stops me – ‘That’s it! I can use the boulder to break my bones!’”

Today marks the 39th anniversary of RE/MAX…this is a special message from agents in Massachusetts & New Hampshire.  Thank you to Dave, Gail, and all the founders of RE/MAX!

Westford, MA, January 22, 2012 –(PR.com)– Andrew Armata, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Prestige, is pleased to announce that Joseph E. Shimer has joined the real estate office as a sales associate.

With 26 years of real estate experience, Shimer provides real estate services to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, specializing in residential, multi-family and corporate relocations. Shimer was honored as “REALTOR of the Year” in 1997 and has special real estate designations and awards such as C.R.S., G.R.I., Member of 100% Club, Executives Club and the Presidents Club.

Joseph Shimer resides in Westford, MA, and is involved in the Stephen Minister Program at his church as well as a past committee member for Young Life in Westford.

“RE/MAX represents the top of our profession and it provides excellent services to agents and clients,” Shimer said. “I am thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful organization.”

RE/MAX Prestige, 234 Littleton Road, Westford, MA, 01886, 978-692-9292

RE/MAX Prestige is affiliated with RE/MAX of New England and RE/MAX International. Since its inception in 1985, RE/MAX of New England has grown to over 275 offices with 3,500 sales associates throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, providing residential and commercial real estate, as well as relocation and referral services. RE/MAX of New England’s Internet Web address is www.remax-newengland.com.

Dracut, MA, January 22, 2012 –(PR.com)– PJ Mercier has joined RE/MAX Prestige as the newest member of this dynamic sales team. Mercier brings to the office 15 years of experience in real estate and the land development field working as a land surveyor and environmental specialist throughout Massachusetts.

“My first responsibility is to help my buyers and sellers,” said Mercier. “My move to RE/MAX will be a significant benefit to my clients, because RE/MAX has the most powerful name brand in real estate. With nearly 90,000 Sales Associates in more than 80 countries, when I list a property here in Dracut it’s exposed to a huge audience. That exposure is driven by the RE/MAX website, www.remax.com, the most visited real estate franchise site, which helps my clients get the best possible price for their home in the least amount of time.”

Mercier said another advantage offered by his new company is the focus on continuing education. RE/MAX offers real estate courses 24/7, with an online platform that allows Associates to access hundreds of full-length training programs on-demand.

“No other real estate organization has a higher percentage of Associates with advanced, professional designations,” said Mercier. “Keeping on top of the changes in protocol and procedure is extremely important. As an agent, I need to know the latest techniques so I can do the best for my clients.”

Mercier believes in giving back to his community and is a member of the Dracut Conservation Board and an active member of the Tyngsboro Sportsmen Club.

RE/MAX Prestige is located at 2100 Lakeview Avenue, Dracut, MA. PJ Mercier may be reached at 978-957-1700.

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About the RE/MAX Network:
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as one of the leading real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. Please visit www.remax.com or www.joinremax.com.

Dracut, MA, January 22, 2012 –(PR.com)– Andrew Armata broker/owner of RE/MAX Prestige in Dracut, is pleased to announce that Dick Anctil has joined the real estate office as a sales associate.

With 9 years of real estate experience, Anctil provides real estate services to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, specializing in residential, multi-family and corporate relocations. Anctil is certified as a Listing Agent, Buyer Agent, Relo Specialist and Rental Agent.

Dick Anctil resides in Lowell, MA, but was born in Nashua NH and has lived there most of his life. He was educated in the Nashua school system through high school and then attended Bentley College of Accounting majoring in business management. He is married and has 2 daughters and 5 grandsons, all living in the Nashua area. In his spare time he enjoys dabbling in antiques.

“RE/MAX represents the top of our profession and it provides excellent services to agents and clients,” Anctil said. “I am thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful organization.”

RE/MAX Prestige, 2100 Lakeview Avenue, Dracut, MA. 01826, 978-957-1700

RE/MAX Prestige is affiliated with RE/MAX of New England and RE/MAX International. Since its inception in 1985, RE/MAX of New England has grown to over 275 offices with 3,500 sales associates throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, providing residential and commercial real estate, as well as relocation and referral services. RE/MAX of New England’s Internet Web address is www.remax-newengland.com.

Wilbraham, MA, January 20, 2012 –(PR.com)– Karen King with RE/MAX Prestige, has recently been presented with the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award, which honors successful agents who have earned more than $1 million in commissions during their careers with the company. In 2009, only 16 percent of all RE/MAX Affiliates earned this prestigious award.

King has been working in the real estate industry for more than 25 years and has extensive experience in Residential Real Estate. Among King’s achievements are 2008 Realtor of the Year for the Pioneer Valley Association of Realtor as well as being the #1 agent for transactions sold for the past 5 years in the Pioneer Valley.

“King has been an integral member of our team and is more than deserving of this very prestigious award,” said Andrew Armata of RE/MAX Prestige. “Winning this award is a tremendous accomplishment. King continues to raise the bar in real estate, making us, and this community proud.”

Since the devastating tornadoes of 2011 Karen has dedicated her life to giving back.  She is one of the pioneers of the Street Angel program as well as other local Western MA organizations dedicated to rebuilding the homes and lives of those affected by the tornadoes.

RE/MAX has nearly 80,000 agents in more than 75 countries who continue to out-produce the competition, averaging more sales than other real estate agents. With one of the most recognized brands in the world and one of the most trafficked web sites, www.remax.com, RE/MAX leads the industry with experienced, professional agents – agents who are trained and educated through the award-winning RE/MAX University.

Northborough, MA, January 26, 2012 –(PR.com)– Malissa Butterfield has joined RE/MAX Prestige as the newest member of this dynamic sales team. Butterfield brings to the office 7+ years of experience as a residential appraiser and more recently as a sales agent. Malissa is a proud member of The Foley Team.

“My first responsibility is to help my buyers and sellers,” said Butterfield. “And my move to RE/MAX will be a significant benefit to my clients, because RE/MAX has the most powerful name brand in real estate. With nearly 90,000 Sales Associates in more than 80 countries, when I list a property here in Northborough, it’s exposed to a huge audience. That exposure is driven by the RE/MAX website, www.remax.com, the most visited real estate franchise site, which helps my clients get the best possible price for their home in the least amount of time.”

Butterfield said another advantage offered by her new company is the focus on continuing education. RE/MAX offers real estate courses 24/7, with an online platform that allows Associates to access hundreds of full-length training programs on-demand.

“No other real estate organization has a higher percentage of Associates with advanced, professional designations,” said Butterfield. “Keeping on top of the changes in protocol and procedure is extremely important. As an agent, I need to know the latest techniques so I can do the best for my clients.”

Butterfield believes in giving back to her community. Butterfield is a former President of the Westborough Newcomers Club in which she lead many large scale fundraising events to support town and local charities & programs.

RE/MAX Prestige is located at 155 Otis Street, Northborough, MA. Malissa Butterfield may be reached at 508-393-5000.

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About the RE/MAX Network:
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as one of the leading real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. Please visit www.remax.com or www.joinremax.com.

Burlington, MA, January 26, 2012 –(PR.com)– Andrew Armata, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Prestige in Burlington, is pleased to announce that Kwan Kim has joined the real estate office as a sales associate.

With 10 years of real estate experience, Kim provides real estate services to Middlesex County specializing in residential, multi-family and corporate relocations. Kwang also has 10+ years expertise in retail sales from his family owned business in Woburn. His knowledge of the industry and market trends will take you to your desired real estate destination.

“RE/MAX represents the top of our profession and it provides excellent services to agents and clients,” Kim said. “I am thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful organization.”

RE/MAX Prestige, 127 Cambridge Street, Burlington, MA. 01803, 781-272-8100

RE/MAX Prestige is affiliated with RE/MAX of New England and RE/MAX International. Since its inception in 1985, RE/MAX of New England has grown to over 350 offices with 4,000 sales associates throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, providing residential and commercial real estate, as well as relocation and referral services. RE/MAX of New England’s Internet Web address is www.remax-newengland.com.

Westford, MA, January 26, 2012 –(PR.com)– Gary St. Martin, a twenty five year veteran real estate agent doing business throughout the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire, has joined RE/MAX Prestige. The St. Martin Team, including Team Leader, Gary St. Martin, his partner, Colleen Murphy, as well as Eileen Barrett, Bette Galligan and Angie Jordon sold more homes in the Westford market than any other agents in 2010 and 2011. As well, they have significant market share in Chelmsford, Tyngsboro, Groton, Pepperell and surrounding towns. What’s interesting about Gary St. Martin’s move is that Gary originally brought the RE/MAX real estate system and name to Westford and Chelmsford twenty years ago. He sold his business many years ago and joined DeWolfe Real Estate which eventually sold to Coldwell Banker. “I’m proud to be back with RE/MAX. I believed in this real estate system when I brought it here twenty years ago, and the brand is even stronger today,” said St. Martin.

Stacey Alcorn, co-owner of RE/MAX Prestige said, “We are absolutely ecstatic to have Gary, Colleen, Eileen, Bette and Angie with us at RE/MAX Prestige. With this addition to our team, RE/MAX Prestige is on pace to earn number one market share in Westford in 2012. More importantly though, the contribution that Gary and his team brings is the expertise of building a business in a challenging market and a thirst to be the very best. RE/MAX Prestige with 13 offices and more than 250 agents, has been built on the foundation of great real estate agents sharing their knowledge with others so that everyone may be the best that they can be.”

RE/MAX Prestige is located at 234 Littleton Road, Westford, MA. 01886. Gary St. Martin may be reached at 978-692-9292.

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About the RE/MAX Network:
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as one of the leading real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. Please visit www.remax.com or www.joinremax.com.