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Edmonton Real Estate Board (EREB) in the 1990s

Major changes were made to the standing committee system of the Board in 1995 to increase their efficiency.

The Membership Committee continued to recruit new members and evaluate applications for membership. The Arbitration and Professional Standards Committee, which carried forward the Board's traditional interest in maintaining a high ethical standard, had a light work load.

The Education Committee expanded the program of seminars begun in 1970. The current education program ranges from an orientation seminar to many post-licensing courses. The committee also continues to improve the library to ensure that it will complement the education programs.

The Legislative and Public Affairs Committee is increasingly active through direct contact with alderman, MLAs, and MPs in an effort to protect the interests of the public and the industry. Changing the name of the committee to the Government and Political Action Committee in 1991 reflected this new trend. In 1991 the committee initiated a joint meeting between the Board and members of city council as well as meetings with the city administration. The Board appointed a former City of Edmonton Alderman, Olivia Butti, as Advisor of Government Affairs. Her first Governmental Affairs Update noted the September 1988 meeting between the directors and the members of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee with the nine members of council to discuss industry concerns. Topics discussed included acquiring extra computer data and the possibility of involving private industry in the selling and marketing of city property.

The Industrial, Commercial and Investment Committee is also very active. In 1988, the Edmonton Real Estate Board Daily Bulletin was changed to give more information on a property. It now provides month-end statistics showing listings and sales of commercial/industrial properties. Sales statistics are compared with sales from the previous year. The Bulletin was also reorganized to group properties of a particular type together, such as industrial, commercial, office retail and so on.

New committees included the Managers' Committee and an ad hoc Computer and Technology Committee. The Managers' Committee was established in 1990. It acts as a liaison between the board of directors, managers at large, and salespeople. The second committee managed the implementation of the Stellar II computer system and considers new technology.

This article is extracted from John Gilpin, Responsible Enterprise: A History of Edmonton Real Estate & the Edmonton Real Estate Board. (Edmonton: Edmonton Real Estate Board, 1997). The Heritage Community Foundation and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation would like to thank John Gilpin and the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton for permission to reproduce this material.

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