In a personal recollection, the speaker describes being at a RE/MAX sales meeting at Raintree Country Club on September 11, 2001, when news of the attacks broke. After the meeting, the speaker was showing properties to a family from New York City when they learned they needed to return to aid recovery. This experience highlighted how tragic events can spark positive action. In the aftermath of 9/11, REALTORS® created the REALTOR® Relief Foundation (RRF). Within the first 100 days, the profession raised $8.5 million, directed toward housing relief for displaced families facing mortgage and rent obligations. Led by Martin Edwards and Richard Mendenhall, the foundation grew into a permanent disaster‑relief resource, distributing roughly $40 million over 22 years and assisting more than 20,000 families after hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, volcanoes, derechos, and the Nashville Christmas Day attack. A distinctive feature is that local REALTORS® personally deliver aid checks, reinforcing a community‑first ethos. The speaker concludes by urging listeners to remember the good that emerged from 9/11 and to contribute to ongoing relief efforts via RRF.realtor.
Chapters
Where were you on 9/11? I always thought as a kid that my parents were old because they remembered where they were when JFK was assassinated. And then one of my earliest memories is where I was when we found out that Elvis had died. 9/11 for me was a moment that I'll never forget, although for my kids it's just something that happened in their history books. On that day, I was actually at a RE/MAX sales meeting at Raintree Country Club, and I remember Ann Fogelman came dashing in to tell us something had happened, and we all cut on the TV and then quickly dispersed. However, I didn't go home because I had buyers to work with that day, and I had buyers in my car. We were out looking at properties, and that family was from New York City. Now, we were of course all shaken up. My phone kept beeping because I had a Nextel at the time. One of my good friends who worked for the FBI had told me to stay away from uptown Charlotte because we didn't know what was going to happen. It was just such a day of uncertainty and fear. And then those people that were were in my car, as much as they liked Charlotte and as much as they liked the houses we saw, they knew that they needed to be in New York City to help the recovery. To my knowledge, they never did move. We kept in touch for some several years, but of course you just fall out over time. And what you should know is that out of every giant tragic event, good things can occur. And one of those big things that's so good was the REALTOR® Relief Foundation. It came into effect after the events of 9/11 because one thing about REALTORS® that is consistent across all the decades, when something bad goes on, they roll their sleeves up and say, "How do I help?" And in the first 100 days after 9/11, REALTORS® around the country and in our territories, y'all, they raised $8.5 million. And the leadership at the time, Martin Edwards and Richard Mendenhall, they dug right in and said, "We have to do something and let's let it carry on." So that money went straight to housing relief at the time, because if you remember, people couldn't go home to those apartments. There was all of the continual damage, all of the unknowns, and we had to help out because mortgages are still due and rent still comes due. And after that, the foundation became a resource for people who need housing assistance after other disasters. We help after hurricanes and tornadoes, wildfires, volcanoes. The derecho that hit Iowa. You think about what happened in Nashville on Christmas Day with that terrorist attack. We helped out there. We are currently helping out all over the place. And in the 22 years since 9/11, the Realtors Relief Foundation has given out around $40 million in aid and helped over 20,000 families at a time when they just don't know which end is up. And one of the best things about it is it's the Realtors in those communities who hand deliver those checks to neighbors who are feeling so hopeless. Realtors say, "You know what? We got you. We are going to take care of our communities whether we have something to sell or not." I love that that came out of 9/11. While I hate what the terrorists did to this country and to the 3,000 who died, the good that has come out has been massively impactful. And our work does continue. So what I would ask you is that if you remember 9/11 and if it causes in you some memory of good, Be a part of the additional good and give today at RRF.realtor.
