Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage at Mel Foster Co. Inc. is pleased to announce that their Relocation Division, lead by Deb Boland, has been nominated by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® for the 2016 Award of Excellence, Incoming Referral Conversation Rate. This nomination is determined by the number of incoming closings with the number of incoming referrals. Mel Foster Co. is one of five real estate companies nominated for these awards in their size category.
The award will be presented during the Annual Performance Awards Dinner and Ceremony in Miami later this month. For the past 22 years, Mel Foster Co.’s Relocation Division has been nominated for an award from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®.
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® is a global network of over 500 premier real estate firms. Leading RE is comprised of select independent real estate companies who set the standard of quality service, while generating a highest volume of referral, relocation, and real estate business opportunities for its members.
Mel Foster Co. has been awarded the Website Quality Certification (WQC) from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, a global community of more than 550 high quality independent real estate firms in over 60 countries. The certification was presented in recognition of excellence in website design, content and functionality.
Mel Foster Co.’s website, http://www.melfosterco.com , received high marks in a variety of critical areas relating to website performance, including usability, design, content, interactivity, customer service and mobile responsiveness. The evaluation was conducted by Virtual Results, LLC, a real estate internet and social marketing firm selected by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® to review the websites of participating members.
The specific measurements for the WQC are updated each year to reflect the most current online marketing strategies, as well as evolving consumer preferences. Companies must be re-certified every two years to maintain the certification.
“The 140 companies that earned the WQC this year have created websites that engage consumers with thoughtful design, rich local content and up-to-date information on homes in the local market and around the world. We are pleased to recognize them for giving consumers a superior online experience and supporting that with exceptional customer support,” said Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® President/CEO Pam O’Connor.
“We are honored to receive the WQC award again this year and we strive to keep to the highest standards for our website users. We are always working to enhance our home buyers’ and sellers’ experiences,” said Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage of Mel Foster Co.
As a member of LeadingRE, Mel Foster Co. provides a quality real estate experience, global marketing reach and access to top real estate professionals in any market. For more information about Mel Foster Co., please visit www.melfosterco.com.
Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage at Mel Foster Co. Inc. is pleased to announce that Don Marple of their Davenport Kimberly Road office was installed as the Region 8 Vice-President for the National Association of REALTORS® for 2017. His duties include representing Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska for NAR. Don plans to continue working as a REALTOR® and serving his clients in the Quad City Area.
Don has been a licensed Realtor® in Iowa for 40 years, and has worked at Mel Foster Co. in Davenport since 1995. He has been an active member of the IAR since 1980, serving on numerous committees, including past chair of the annual convention, and member of the education, consumers affairs, technology and member services committees. He served as IAR president in 2013, president-elect in 2011 and treasurer in 2010. He received the IAR President’s Special Recognition Award in 1995 and 2014 Iowa Realtor of the Year. He has also been a member of the Realtor® Foundation of Iowa Board of Directors.
He is presently serving on the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) – Public Housing and MLS Policy Committees. Don also served as a commissioner on the State of Iowa Real Estate Commission from 2004-2007.
Don has also served in various leadership roles on his local board, the Quad Cities Area Realtors® Association, including 2002 president, secretary/treasurer, and as a member of several committees. He received Realtor® of the Year Award in 1998 and the Bert Frahm Award for Outstanding Dedication and Service to the Real Estate Industry and to the Community in 1995. He has earned several of real estate’s highest designations, including Graduate, Realtor® Institute (GRI), and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS).
Don is very active in his community. He is currently a commissioner on the Scott County Condemnation Board. He has also served as past president for the Donahue Sportsman Club and was a founding member of the North Scott Soccer Club. He has been a Junior Achievement volunteer in the North Scott School District for the past 20 years, as well as a long-time volunteer with the Cub Scouts and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Don is the husband to Laurie and father to two sons, Dustin Marple & GySgt. Nathan Marple and has two grandsons.
Mel Foster Co. is donating 45,000 pencils to children in kindergarten through 8th grades, enrolled in Quad City schools and in the surrounding districts. The donation helps ensure young students start the school year with one new item from their school supply list.
Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage for Mel Foster Co. feels passionately about supporting the community, and is especially dedicated to causes that help youth. “Back to school time was always exciting for me and my siblings as children. As adults and parents now, we realize how important it is for a child’s self esteem to be high, especially as they enter a new grade or even a new school after a move. We also know the burden of school supplies can have on families and teachers so that’s why the pre-sharpened pencils were a must. By giving school supplies, Mel Foster Co. helps to give that little boost that comes with having something new at back to school time.”
Pencils will be delivered to schools the week of 15 August.
“On behalf of the Davenport Community Schools and the Quad Cities First Day School Supply Drive, we are grateful for our newest partnership with Mel Foster Co. Our students always need pencils and this donation will help fill an important, basic need. A strong public education system is important to our quality of life and we appreciate your support for our students,” said Dawn Saul, Communications/Media Relations for Davenport Community School District.
Mel Foster Co, is pleased to announce that several of their agents have been named as one of America’s most productive agents as a part of REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Agents, the ranking report produced by REAL Trends and sponsored by Zillow Group.
REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Agents ranks over 12,000 residential real estate agents solely based on their excellence in real estate sales during calendar year 2015. To be included in the ranking, agents must have closed at least 50 transactions, compared with the industry average of seven, or $20 million in closed sales volume. This ensures that only the best of the best are included on the prestigious list.
The rankings are complied based on survey from virtually every national branded network, many state and local associations of Realtors®, multiple listing services, all applicant from past years’ rankings, and the 1,600 largest brokerage firms in the United States. Verification from an independent source is required for all submissions.
The real estate agents are ranked in two categories:
Individual agent – Sales volume
Individual agent – Transaction sides (in each real estate transaction there are two sides that can be represented by a real estate agent; the buy side and the selling side)
For Individuals by Volume, in Iowa, three Mel Foster Co. agents ranked in the top ten:
Brad Boeye, Kimberly Road office, ranked #2
Geri Doyle, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #3
Lucky Lang, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #7
For Individuals by Sides, in Iowa, eight Mel Foster agents ranked out of 104:
Geri Doyle, Davenport Kimberly Road office, ranked #31
Scott Kelling, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #44
Mary Leslie Douglas, Clinton office, ranked #63
Norm Marcov, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #88,
Dan Schneckloth, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #94
Rick Schwanz, Davenport I-74 office, ranked #97
For individuals by Sides, in Illinois, four Mel Foster Co. agents ranked out of 276:
Diana Franks, Geneseo office, ranked #65
Jackie Turner, Galesburg office, ranked #222
Debbie Wright, Kewanee office, ranked #235
Peggy Tossell, Kewanee office, ranked #250
“With today’s release of the 2016 America’s Best Real Estate Agents list, an elite group of real estate agents across the country are receiving well-deserved recognition. These sales associates are far above average and have built enormously successful small businesses in an extremely competitive field,” said Steve Murray, president of REAL Trends.
“We are thrilled to have our agents be a part of this highly successful real estate group, which shows how hard these agents have worked, their dedication to the industry and their business,” said Lynsey Engels, Mel Foster Co.’s President Real Estate Brokerage.
Continuing its commitment to digital innovation, Mel Foster Co. launched its new search interface for desktop, providing homebuyers with more intuitive features. The new design is fully responsive, making the new features functional across desktop, tables and mobile devices.
The new www.mMelfosterco.com search offers intuitive features such as a polygon tool, to more closely define the location. Users can custom draw search zone to pinpoint the desired neighborhood or city and toggle back and forth between three different views. The first view, search by full map view, makes it easy to identify active listings in green and pending listing in yellow. Search by full gallery view displays the listings with large thumbnail photos and then map and gallery split views are the other two view options.
View every listing detail with one fast click back to search. The meticulously designed detail page opens as an overly with stunning property images and full listing information. Photos are now ‘swipe-enabled’ for viewing on tablets and mobile devices making it easier to navigate the photo gallery. The site also allows users to flow freely between a desktop, tablet or a mobile device with a GPS search for on-the-go users. This feature saves your search information across all of your devices, enabling you to pick up where you left off on a search on another device.
Mel Foster Co. continues to offer customized websites for all agents. These agent specific websites now includes the new search interface with the same upgrades as the company’s website, www.melfosterco.com. The agent websites are also fully responsive across desktop, tablet and mobile devices. A full CRM system is included to provide agents and offices with the tools they need for success.
Mel Foster Co.’s Color the Quads raised $70,500 for local charities during its fourth and final colorful run on May 21 in Bettendorf, Iowa. Over 1,300 5K participants, 200 children racers, sponsors and volunteers contributed to the cause. One hundred percent of the proceeds from Color the Quads were distributed to local charities. Jordan’s Joy, NAMI – Greater Mississippi Valley and YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln and Youth Solutions received $23,500 each.
Jordan’s Joy board member, Michelle McMullen said, “Thank you all for the incredible experience! Because of Mel Foster’s hard work and determination, the Quad City community has come together once again to help kids and their families in our area. Jordan’s Joy was honored and humbled to be such a special part of it.”
“This was a fantastic opportunity to get the word out about education resources for families living with a serious mental health condition. We are grateful to those persons who voted with their feet to support NAMI,” said Angela Gallagher, executive director, National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Mississippi Valley.
“Mel Foster and Color the Quads have done more than just provide a fun and healthy family event for our community,” said Scott County Family Y CEO Brad Martell. “Because the proceeds benefit YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln and the Solutions Outreach program, hundreds of students and their families will be supported and encouraged to be the next generation of leaders for our community! The effects will impact all of us for years to come!”
The event’s Color Extraordinaire, Color Party, Kid’s Color Dash, Color Explosion and Color Burst sponsors include; Mel Foster Co., XPAC, Tri-City Electric Co., American Bank & Trust, Active Endeavors, Perl Mortgage, University of Iowa Community Credit Union, Vollertsen, Britt & Gorsline P.C., Alcoa, Build To Suit, Enviromark, Gomez May Law, Hawkeye Paving Corp., Hy-Vee, KWQC, Mickle Communications, Pear Advertising, Pella Windows & Doors, Quad-City Times, Radon Solutions, Terrostar Interactive Media, TMI – Total Maintenance Inc., Twin Rivers Bank & Trust Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., and Victorystore.com.
“We were amazed once again by the generous support of our sponsors and this community. By raising $254,854 for local charities over Color the Quads’ four-year run, we know we’ve made a positive impact in our community, to strengthen families and support youth. It was a privilege to lead this project during its successful run and we are so proud of what was collectively achieved,” said Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage for Mel Foster Co.
Mel Foster Color the Quads is pleased to announce its 4th annual 5K Race raised over $70,000 and surpassed its four-year goal to raise a quarter of a million dollars for local charities.
Saturday’s race hit the cumulative four-year attendance mark of 10,000 participants, including adults and children.
Mel Foster Color the Quads had a four-year run in the Quad Cities and reached the following milestones:
2013 – $51,000 donated to two charities
2014 – $61,474 donated to three charities
2015 – $71,880 donated to three main charities and 13 other local charities
2016 – over $70,000 and three charities
Lynsey Engels, president of Mel Foster Co. Brokerage Division and Color the Quads committee chair, said, “We’d like to thank every runner, walker, volunteer and sponsor who helped make this event a huge success over the last four years. It’s remarkable what can be achieved when everybody works together. We know the funds raised this year and in the past help local families in many ways. Our goal was to top the $250,000 mark in our final year, so we’re really excited the community got behind this event and helped us achieve this fundraising milestone.”
Engels added, “Putting on a community event of this size takes a lot of hard work from volunteers. We could not prepare all of the swag bags, set up the kid’s race/5K race routes, color and water stations along the course without dedicated volunteers who generously give their time. Of course there is a large team of volunteers who help on race day to make sure everything goes smoothly for the racers. Mel Foster Co. agents and staff from residential real estate, commercial real estate, insurance and land development were involved in every aspect of this event over the last four years from choosing the charity recipients, obtaining sponsors, volunteering countless hours, promoting and participating in this event and it could not have been pulled off without them.”
During the race’s four-year run, 24 local charities received funds generated through sponsorships and race registration. “These numbers really show how compassionate our community is about backing charities that help children and families. Mel Foster Color the Quads has been a great way to make a significant impact and we appreciate everyone who has played some kind of a role in its success,” concludes Engels.
Charity Summary:
2013 – YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln, Youth Solutions, Children’s’ Therapy Center of the QC
2014 – Child Abuse Council, March of Dimes, Rick’s House of Hope
2015 – Bethany for Children & Families, Gigi’s Playhouse & Hand-in-Hand
13 other charities:
Bettendorf Library, Camp Genesis, Family Resources, Family Museum, Humility of Mary Housing, Kennedi’s Kisses, Living Lands & Waters, Project Renewal, Quad City Botanical Center, Student Hunger Drive, Toys for Tots, Tudi’s Tribe and YMCA.
2016 – Jordan’s Joy, NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley, YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln & Youth Solutions
“Our goal when we started this journey was to provide a unique experience for the Quad City area that was only available in larger cities while raising awareness and funds for charities in the areas we serve. It speaks volumes for the Quad Cities as a whole that we were able to accomplish this together and serves as a great reminder about what a great place the Quad Cities is to live and work,” commented Engels.
Final preparations are underway as Mel Foster Co. prepares for the final Color the Quads charity 5K Run. The race will be held this Saturday, May 21. The 4:00 p.m. 5K starts and finishes near Cumberland Square at 2300 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf. The American Bank & Trust Kids Color Dash, a 400-yard race, is at 11:00 a.m. at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Bettendorf and registration includes an after party sponsored by Tyson Fresh Meats.
Registration is still open at www.colorthequads.com. The 5K registration fee is $40 and all proceeds support local charities including Jordan’s Joy, NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) of the Mississippi Valley, and YMCA for Camp Abe Lincoln and Youth Solutions Programs. The registration fee includes race entry, t-shirt, pre- and post-race parties and a swag bag.
It’s not too late to get the kids into the kids color dash. $20 registration fee includes race entry, t-shirt, pre-race festivities and activities prior to the 11:00am start, post-race party and a sway bag with lot of fun stuff for the kids.
Lynsey Engels, president of Mel Foster Co. Brokerage Division and Color the Quads committee chair, said, “Each year we are amazed at how great the community supports local events and raises money for local charities. In the last three years, Color the Quad has supported over 24 local charities and we are looking forward to another record total amount raised in our final year.”
“The weather forecast is calling for sunny and warm temperatures, which is a welcome bonus after last year’s cooler than expected temperatures. Saturday is going to be a perfect day to be outside, whether you’re a serious runner or just want to walk with a friend for a little exercise. Every race participant is invited to attend the XPAC pre-race color explosion party where the color packets start to get opened and the racers gear up to start through a sea of orange foam. Participants will enjoy live music on the course as they get “colored” with foam, paint and corn starch. After the race, there’s a great outdoor party sponsored by Tri-City Electric Co. at Cumberland Square. Plenty of food and beverages will be available at no charge to race participants and it’s a fun way to wind down after the race. Tickets for non-participants to attend the after party are just $20 and can be purchased at www.colorthequads.com. It’s an easy way for non-race family and friends to join in without going through the race course,” continued Engels.
Packet pick-up starts Thursday, May 19 from 5-7 p.m.; Friday, May 20 from Noon-6 p.m. and on race day at 9-10 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. at Color the Quads race headquarters, 2304 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf, next to Dollar General in Cumberland Square.
Street closures will start at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. The route starts in front of the Mel Foster Co. office in Cumberland square, runs north on 18th Street; turn west on Crow Creek Road; turn south on Greenbrier Drive, turn east on Tam-O-Shanter; turn south on South Hampton; turn east on Spruce Hills Drive; last turn is north on 18th Street to finish line. The race map can be found at www.colorthequads.com.
Integrity Insurance, a property and casualty carrier, is proud to announce Mel Foster Insurance has earned a spot in the 2016 Leadership Circle, which honors the top-tier of agencies for their work in 2015. To achieve Leadership Circle status, Mel Foster Insurance met specific criteria based on premium, profitability, growth and loss ratio.
“We’re honored to work with the incredible team at Mel Foster Insurance and happy to welcome them to Integrity’s 2016 Leadership Circle” said Integrity Insurance President Jill Wagner. “Mel Foster is a major contributor to our success providing top-notch service and expertise to policyholders. We’re grateful for their commitment and partnership.”
“This recognition is a testament to our entire team’s commitment to making our clients insurance experience first class,” said Mel Foster Insurance President Marc Engels. “We feel fortunate to live and work in such a great community and can’t express how appreciative we are to our clients for putting their confidence in us.”
Mel Foster Insurance is located at 3218 E 35th St C, Davenport, IA. For more information on their services, visit melfosterinsurance.com.
Lynsey Engels, President, Real Estate Brokerage at Mel Foster Co. Inc. is pleased to announce that their Relocation Division, lead by Deb Boland, has been nominated by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® for the 2016 Award of Excellence, Incoming Referral Conversation Rate. This nomination is determined by the number of incoming closings with the number of incoming referrals. Mel Foster Co. is one of five real estate companies nominated for these awards in their size category.
