Bray's Quarterly Internal Newsletter, Q4 2023

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Q4 2023

GJARA INSTALLATION BANQUET Grand Junction Area REALTOR Association Installation event was a roaring success, with a BIG presence from Bray!

Our very own Merrite Wyatt was inducted onto the Board of Directors, and of course Katie Davis and Ron Sechirst reclaimed their spots on the Board and as Treasurer, respectively. Tyler Harris and Stewart Cruickshank were awarded the Distinguished Service Award for their exceptional work!

CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE Bray Real Estate revived its longstanding tradition of the Circle of Excellence Dinner at Maison La Belle Vie! We love to celebrate the dedication and success of our agents.The Circle of Excellence Dinner honors agents who have been at Bray for 10+ years AND reach $60+ million in sales.

We even welcomed our two newest members: Brian Donaldson, and John Duffy.

Congratulations, everyone!

REALTOR Action Award winner; Stewart Cruickshank!

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QUARTERLY Our 2023 Bray Cares Grant Recipients!

HomewardBound The House, A Safe Place for Teens Mesa County RSVP, Inc. The Joseph Center

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Q4 2023

QUARTERLY BREAKFAST NOVEMBER 15, 2023 Last breakfast of the year. See you in 2024!

Another great breakfast for the books!

With a big focus on the Bray Cares Foundation, handing out grants to six local foundations and charities. We had another Bray Cares 50/50 Raffle and announced the annual Bray Cares 100% campaign. For two consecutive years, our entire team has shown unwavering support for Bray Cares.

Foster Alumni Mentors Habitat for Humanity of Mesa County Colorado

Core Value Champs Mekhiya Montoya, Kayla Howell, Gina Williams, Ron Sechrist and Jesse Calhoun.

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Q4 2023

DARAH GALVIN, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY VICE PRESIDENT

JANE REED BLOOD DRIVE

She has showcased an unwavering commitment to enhancing the lives of families in Mesa County, supporting the belief that everyone deserves a place to live.

Thank you and congratulations, Darah!

We’re so proud!

On October 12, we lost our beloved Jane. She was always so kind and giving of herself. She was an advocate for donating blood. In her memory, we held our first-ever public blood drive on December 13. Thank you to all who attended and donated! You’re all lifesavers.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

According to Vitalant, our blood drive helped approximately 75 patients! The team at Vitalant was amazing and helped the day move along smoothly. We look forward to making this an annual tradition, continuing to honor Jane's legacy and making a positive impact in our community.

SALVATION ARMY COAT DRIVE

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Q4 2023

2023 GRANT RECIPIENTS

$320,000

20 23 NEWSLETTER

Homeward Bound of the Grand Valley: Emergency shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Karis Inc.: Bonnie’s House improvements.

Mesa County RSVP: Handyman Project to help seniors and disabled persons remain in their home.

The Joseph Center: General Assistance Program (G.A.P) Foster Alumni Mentors: Rental and deposit assistance for youth aging out of foster care.

Habitat for Humanity: Door for homes for affordable home ownership.

WANT TO JOIN? Donations are appreciated and better yet – tax deductible!

Choose to donate to the general fund or the endowment.

Make checks payable to Bray Cares Foundation/WCCF and in the memo note “Funding” or “Endowment” Mail to: Bray Cares Foundation/WCCF 1015 N 7th Street Grand Junction, CO 81501

Thank you for supporting our HOME community!

Bray Cares Foundation is a 501.C(3) donor advised fund, administered by Western Colorado Community Foundation.

SINCE 2019 $140,00 in funding has been provided to 11 different organizations Endowment Fund is $180,000 100% Bray Real Estate employee and agent participation

ABOUT US The Bray Cares Foundation provides funding to programs/projects that address housing-related needs in Mesa County.

Bray Real Estate pays 100% of the administrative costs, so all donations go directly to needs.

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Q4 2023

RIFLE CHILI COOKOFF Bray should be known for chilis at this point! We went out to Rifle to compete in their annual chili cookoff. We didn’t win anything, but we sure did have a good time!

NEW AGENT! We’d like to welcome the newest Bray Agent, Jeff Hanson! (R.I.P. the beard)

SOUPS, STEWS, AND CHILIS - OH MY! We had a scary good time at the Soups and Chilis contest!

Our esteemed group of judges came to taste 4 soups and 8 chilis on Halloween, but we could only have a few winners!

Best Overall: Ally Back Best Soup: Lauren Jobe Best Chili: Stewart Cruickshank Chili Runnerup: Tyler Harris We had a blast! Thank you, everyone! Until next year.

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Q4 2023

THE BATTLE OF THE CHRISTMAS DOORS & SPACES

1st Place - Christine Ransier

Best Overall - Front Desk; Mekhiya Montoya and Sharon Tackett

2nd Place - Brenda Sullivan

We jumped into the Holiday Season with some office decorating! And nothing says Christmas Spirit like a little friendly competition. Thank you to everyone who participated!

BIG GIVE Speaking of the Holiday Season, we had another successful year for the Big Give!

3rd Place - Joyce Rausch

Best Hallway - Gnome Hallway; Christine Ransier, Brenda Erickson, Tammy Zollinger, Barb Hecht & Peggy Cutter

The Big Give started in 2010 for Santa’s elves to pick up toys from the real estate offices and deliver them to local kids to help their Christmas be extra magical! A great way for agents all over Grand Junction to unite for an amazing cause!

Thank you for giving.

The Big Give First Year

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Q4 2023

JINGLE AND MINGLE Jingling and Mingling all the way home at our annual Bray Holiday Party! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate the holiday season and a wonderful year of decking halls and closing deals. A special THANK YOU to Stewart for putting those decorations in the men’s restroom. We couldn’t have done it without you!

BINGOOOOO! The holidays wouldn’t be complete without Christmas Bingo, Breakfast & Ugly Sweaters!

We all wore our best and merriest sweaters to celebrate the last day before Christmas Break.

Thank you, Cindy, for coordinating and announcing! It was a yummy and fun-filled day!

We all had a BLAST! And congratulations to all the lucky winners.

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Q4 2023

AIRBNB OR BUST

NINJA SIGHTINGS

Tom unfurled the welcome mat, inviting guests into his wondrous Airbnb open house. Thanks for the margaritas!

Ninja Author, Larry Kendall, and his wife, Pat, stopped by Bray to join Vicky and Robert for lunch!

COMES FROM COSTCO We’re sad to say that as soon as that new Costco opens up, Stewart will be quitting immediately to go work over there. He will be missed.

BEER & PIZZA CALL NIGHT You gotta make the calls, might as well have fun with it!

Beer, Pizza and Clients - what could be better?

Lauren’s daughter, Jolene, even joined in on the fun with Landon - a future REALTOR in the making? Hard to say.

Now that we‘ve jumped into the new year, make sure to check in on your contacts!

Remember, it’s the little things that make a difference in your business!

BRAY & COMPANY

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, MAINTENANCE AND BOWLING

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Q4 2023

VACATION MODE, ACTIVATED! We’re jealous of anyone who was able to get away for a few days this quarter! Here are a few highlights:

Fun and friendship! This night of bowling was much needed. Let’s do it again soon!

Ron Jens in Mexico

Louise in New York

WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Commercial also had some fun this quarter with their annual White Elephant Gift Exchange! It’s too late to exchange anything now...

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Q4 2023

LOLOS

MOVING ON UP!

December - FREE Fly Fishing Lures from Western Anglers (Use by 1/21)

If you can’t find Mekhiya at her usual front desk spot, it’s probably because she is our new Transaction Coordinator! You can now find her in the staff bubble hallway.

Congratulations, Mekhiya!

January - FREE Smoothie from Café Sol (Use by 2/18)

February - FREE Toffee Popcorn from Enstrom’s Candy (Use by 3/17) Make sure to like and share the video!

BRAY-BIES Desiree is a grandma! Welcome to the world little Atlas James Dollar, born Oct 19, 2023!

LICENSED TO SELL! Sarah passed her test for the real estate license, making her a fully licensed commercial assistant for Brian Bray.

Congratulations, Sarah!

BIRTHDAYS

Ally Back, October 5

Darah Galvin, Sarah Glidden, October 5 October 7

Brian Bray, Jessica Stassen, Jason Wilbur, November 13 November 15 November 19

Brenda Sullivan, December 11

Dante Pelletier, December 12

Brian Donaldson, October 14

Manny Montoya, October 24

Theresa Englbrecht, October 24

Rick Harper, October 31

Katie Davis, Kory Kenworthy, Danielle Smith, Tom LeValley.

November 21 November 24 November 25 November 28

Mike Urlacher, Decemeber 16

Deb Braffett, December 22

Lauren Jobe, December 22 Not Pictured: Natalie Hardman;, December 21

ANNIVERSARIES

Isabel Borman Clark, 6 years

Kayla Howell, 3 years

Bobby Boe, 9 years

Ron Jens, 9 years

Kory Kenworthy, 6 years

Jason Wilbur, 7 years

Harry Perry, Maureen Vickie Badini, John Crawford, Amanda Jeremy Westin Pease, Michelle Kaitlin 9 years Wixom, 5 years 19 years 37 years Hill, 14 years Hayden, 2 years 4 years Urlacher, 4 years Vanroosendaal 2 years

Brian Donaldson, 13 years

Quincy Clarke, 16 years

Mike Urlacher, 1 year

Mekhiya Montoya, 2 years

Merrite Wyatt, 8 years

Rick Harper, 18 years

Theresa Englbrecht, 8 years

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Q4 2023

Bray Family, As we depart 2023 and enter 2024, we can’t help but feel immense gratitude for the support we’ve received throughout another eventful year. This year we not only celebrated 77 remarkable years of Bray but also embraced growth and achievement across all areas.

Our Residential agents reflected our devotion to learning, evolving and ensuring that each client transaction is handled with unparalleled expertise. Even with the “wait and see” year, our full-time professional agents represented over 600 buyers and sellers in 2023.

While the commercial market in Western Colorado slowed compared to previous years, our commercial department continued its pursuit of assisting commercial tenants, owners, investors and users across the retail, industrial, office and agricultural sectors. 125+ leases were signed and 65+ sales took place in 2023.

Property management has been preparing for the on-slot of units coming in 2024, preparing for the addition of over 13 large-scale multifamily developments. This arrival caters to the increasing demand for quality living spaces, reflecting our proactive approach to community development. They now oversee the management of over 575 residential properties and 106 different commercial properties!

Our Maintenance and Construction team has revolutionized property enhancement. By updating and refreshing properties, we have enabled homeowners to expedite sales and maximize property value. The team’s commitment to excellence extends to routine maintenance, ensuring homeowners can effortlessly manage their property upkeep.

Through Bray Cares, we have given $35,000 in grants to six excellent local nonprofits and charities. We proudly hosted the first annual Jane Reed Memorial Blood Drive to honor our friend and give back to the community. In total, we committed over 200 hours of volunteering to our community in 2023!

This past year has taught us that while a positive outlook is important you must be prepared for anything – even when the horizon looks different. We are thankful for our team’s dedication and the lessons that we have learned. We look forward to 2024 and hope for a healthy real estate market that brings positive movement in the years to come.

Michelle Urlacher Upcoming Events: Next Quarter

Home Expo

Leading RE Conference

BANFF Film Festival