The Alabama REALTORS® Board of Directors met on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at the Alabama REALTORS® Building in Montgomery for their third meeting of the year to conduct business of the Association.  The Board received important association updates, held discussion, passed the 2022 budget, passed a one-time special assessment to retire the building debt, and approved several governance proposals.  A summary of the action can be found below:

• CDC Eviction Moratorium - The United States Supreme Court overturned the nationwide CDC Moratorium several weeks ago.  This is a big win for property rights and REALTOR® members nationwide.  More on the ruling can be found here. 
• Consumer Outreach Toolkit - A new consumer outreach toolkit launched last month designed to help members market their business.  You can find customizable digital print material, suggested text, and a step-by-step “how-to guide” here.   
• 2021 Statewide Forms - AAR’s Statewide Legal Forms have been a success this year and continue to grow in usage.  New forms have been added to the legal forms library along with updates to existing forms based on your feedback. Legal forms can be found here. 
• 2021 Annual Conference – The Association is thrilled to be back on the road for our Annual Conference for the first time in several years, which will be held October 18 – 20 at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL.  This year’s program focuses on professional development, fun and networking.  A schedule of events can be found here.
• 2022 Officer Elections – The election for the 2022 Executive Committee and Board of Directors will be held October 4 – 5.  The slate of qualified candidates can be found here.
• 2022 Budget – The Board of Directors passed the 2022 budget based on a projected 18,000 members. Membership has continued to increase more than expected over the last 12-18 months. The strength of the recovering economy and strong housing market have supported this growth. We are projecting a modest decrease in membership in 2022. Current membership is 18,547, and we are budgeting 18,000 members for next year.  This is a conservative approach.
• One-Time Special Assessment - The Board of Directors passed a one-time special membership assessment in the amount of $50.00 in 2022 for the purpose of retiring the building debt. The building debt has been a source of discussion for several years. Leadership has taken a measured approach and sought input from the Board and members on how best to proceed. Retiring the building debt will put the Association in the best position possible long term to keep the Association in a healthy, stable position in the face of many unknowns in the real estate industry.
• Governance Proposals – The Board held discussion and passed several governance proposals as follows:
  • Section 1: The Board passed a proposal to update, reorganize and amend Sections 1.1- 1.12 of AAR’s Policies and Procedures to better incorporate broad policy frameworks as a state association including aspects of the Code of Ethics Preamble, the vision statement, and updates to the Equal Opportunity, Anti-Trust, Harassment and Whistleblower policies.
  • Section 2: The Board passed a proposal to update and amend Sections 2.5, 2.10, and 2.11 to update the duties of the immediate past president, directors, and committee chairs.  
  • Section 3: The Board passed a proposal to update and amend Sections 3.7-3.13 to provide greater clarity on the method of notification of directors’ meetings, conflicts of interest, recusal of members due to conflicts of interest and update the minutes policy.
  • Section 4: The Board passed a proposal to update, recognize, and amend Sections 4.1-4.5 to summarize standing committees, workgroups, task forces, PAGs, recurring task forces, wholly owned subsidiaries, and subsidized NAR related groups.
  • Section 4.8 Past Presidents Group: The Board passed a proposal to update, reorganize, and revise the role of the Past Presidents Group.
  • Section 5: The Board passed a proposal to update and amend Sections 5.1-5.2 to update the REALTOR® Day at the Capitol and Annual Meeting outlines.
  • Section 6: The Board passed a proposal to update and amend Section 6.1-6.3 to reflect the reduced footprint in education, update the education school, REBAC license and GRI program.
  • Section 8.9 AREC Nominations Process: The Board passed a proposal to provide a broad general framework for AAR’s nomination process for Real Estate Commission positions.
  • Section 9: The Board passed a proposal to update and amend Section 9.1-9.11 to update the timing and method of presentation of awards.
  • Section 9.1 REALTOR® of the Year: The Board passed a proposal to update the criteria of eligible candidates for the REALTOR® of the Year award to make the award more competitive.
  • The Board passed a proposal to make consistent references to AAR and NAR throughout the Association’s Policies and Procedures.
  • The updated Policies and Procedures Manual can be found here.  

Thank you to every member who has provided support, feedback, and input to the Board in 2021.