Issue 13- Stacy Jordan feature article

The

ESSENCE of S O U T H E R N

SOCIETY

13

AUBURN / OPELIKA, AL MARCH/APRIL 2016

FEATURE STACY JORDAN

Jordan

If you have ever met the power house that is Stacy Jordan, president and owner of Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate in Auburn, you have come across one of Alabama’s most driven individuals. With a true passion for all things Auburn, a talent for making homebuyers’ dreams come true in one of the state’s most lucrative businesses, and an unconditional love for her two boys, Stacy makes a conscious choice to live each day to its fullest potential.

“Why waste a day?”

laughed.

she

77 M ARCH/ APRI L

2016

“I

‘M DETERMINED TO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY DAY WITH MY FAMILY AND MY COMPANY.” AS WE SAT WITH STACY IN HER OFFICE ONE TUESDAY AFTERNOON, IT DID NOT TAKE LONG FOR US TO REALIZE THAT HER EVERY MORNING AND AFTERNOON IS FILLED WITH HARD WORK AND QUALITY TIME WITH THE JOYS OF HER LIFE, HER SONS SAYLOR AND HAMPTON.

Stacy’s friends and acquaintances would be shocked to know that as a child she was very shy.

Until her junior year of high school, she never would have described herself as outgoing. “Reserved would be the better word,” she said. She was well liked, kind, and friendly, but tended not to thrust herself into the spotlight as a young girl. After enrolling herself in an elective speech class in eleventh grade, she seemingly “came out of her shell,” so to speak, but Stacy laughs that she cannot put a real finger on the time that she developed into the self-assured go-getter she is today. “I never thought of myself as traditionally ‘popular,’ but during my senior year I

to both my earthly and eternal life. For that I am so thankful. Anytime our church’s doors were open, we were there. My mother’s guidance and example really impressed upon me that being honest and good and making the right moral decisions is the way to live.”

Stacy is grateful that her mom stayed at home when she was a child and modeled for her the gift of precious motherhood. “Dad was raised on a dairy farm where he and his six brothers milked cows every day, twice a day! He worked for Alabama Power for over 38 years. He was the man who took late night calls, regardless of storms or snow, to repair downed lines and bring power back to your neighborhood. He

Auburn WAS LAID I’ve been in love EVER SINCE THAT FOOTBALL GAME”

“I CAN’T REALLY TELL YOU WHY ON MY HEART, BUT

was named Homecoming Queen, Miss Clay County High School, and Senior class favorite. It really helped me to realize that I could accomplish anything I set my sights on.”

Raised in rural Ashland, Alabama by her mom and dad who instilled in her values of diligence, charity, and integrity, Stacy understands the value of family. As she told us about her parents, Stacy smiled at the thought of some of her most cherished childhood memories. “My mom is a devout woman of faith who showed me that my spirituality is important

always worked hard and took great care of our family.

He instilled in me that there is no substitute for hard work.” Until Stacy became a parent eleven years ago, she did not realize the positive impact or importance of her upbringing.

Stacy’s love affair with Auburn began almost thirty years ago when a close friend invited her to a football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Instantly she knew that living on the plains would one day be her future. With no ties to the city or the university, some wondered what led her to the area. “I can’t

78 SOUTHERN

TAT L E R

“

DAD WAS RAISED ON A DAIRY FARM WHERE HE AND HIS SIX BROTHERS MILKED COWS EVERY DAY, TWICE A DAY! HE WORKED FOR ALABAMA POWER FOR OVER 38 YEARS. HE WAS THE MAN WHO TOOK LATE NIGHT CALLS, REGARDLESS OF STORMS OR SNOW, TO REPAIR DOWNED LINES AND BRING POWER BACK TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. HE ALWAYS WORKED HARD AND TOOK GREAT CARE OF OUR FAMILY. HE INSTILLED IN ME THAT

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK.

really tell you why Auburn was laid on my heart, but I’ve been in love ever since that football game.”

Stacy received two degrees at the university and worked in retail and hospital pharmacy throughout school. During those years, she quickly realized that the career environment she craved necessitated client interaction, portability, and flexibility. Inspired by her passion for cooking, she opened a restaurant called Eatigan’s near her hometown of Ashland.

It grew in popularity, and for more than six years Stacy made the commute from Auburn to Ashland to oversee the restaurant. Opening this first business on her own kicked into gear an entrepreneurial spirit and helped provide the capital for the purchase of her first home.

With a desire to grow and learn more about property allocation and real estate transactions after buying her own home and building her own business, she enrolled in a local real estate course, but the insight she gained was more than she could have imagined. Stacy became exceptionally adept in real estate law and the processes of home buying and listing, finally making the decision to pursue the occupation wholeheartedly. She quickly rose to the top of her game with matchless productivity, speedily earning a reputation for proficiency and distinction. What started as a venture for her own self-interest became a profitable and gratifying career. “As an up and coming realtor I looked back on the experience I had buying my first home and knew quickly that I wanted to provide a very different experience than my own for my clients.” She sold the restaurant after concluding that she should devote her time to her talent for selling homes to Auburn families.

In the years following, Stacy grew as a respected real estate agent but she experienced no shortage of challenges and opportunities to give up. The companies where she worked her first six years in real estate did not operate with the same values and morals that she had been raised to live by. She changed companies several times but could never feel comfortable with the environment or business practices of other Brokers and Owners. So in 2006, she decided to build her own future and a company with a reputation that she could be proud of. A company where other agents felt “at home” and knew that it would always operate on trust, integrity and stability. A company that would show

respect, appreciation and encouragement, not only in business but personally as well. Stacy founded her business in October 2006 through Prudential Real Estate, her own independently owned and locally operated real estate company with a respected name as the franchise, based on her values and business practices. It opened for business at the new location in January of 2007 and gained high esteem as a leader in real estate.

While Stacy’s almost immediate success was both dynamic and encouraging, her plans seemed to come crashing down again just one year later in 2008, during the pregnancy of her second child, when the market crashed. She was forced to mortgage her own home to keep her once thriving business alive. It was a kind of a gamble, but one she believed in. Again, no one would have blamed her for giving up, but Stacy stood firm in her belief that coming close to failure is one of the best teachers.

As the real estate market’s health gradually improved, Prudential of Auburn began the climb to its former glory. “I felt a responsibility to my agents, customers and clients and a huge passion for real estate,” Stacy explained. “My success was and is not mine alone. Today it’s about my staff members, my realtors, my associates, and everyone who has helped me through the years. Our success is due to the exceptional people I have surrounded myself with. I didn’t get better all by myself.” When Prudential rebranded to Berkshire Hathaway in 2015, Berkshire Hathaway called it “Auburn-Opelika’s largest real estate brokerage and sales volume leader, almost doubling the output of its closest competitor.”

“We found this to be a consequence of extraordinary leadership and vision, skilled and tenured agents, and a passionate service for Lee County real estate consumers. We invited Stacy and her team to join Berkshire Hathaway for many reasons, starting with their market leadership and superb reputation in the community,” said Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates and leader of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices corporate team.

Stacy enlightened us as to why she is so excited to go to work every morning: “The culture in our office is so different from any other real estate company. We operate more as a family, so it’s nice to be able to apply some of the family values I learned growing up.” We toured Berkshire Hathaway’s

84 SOUTHERN

TAT L E R

“

MY SUCCESS WAS AND IS NOT MINE ALONE. TODAY IT’S ABOUT MY STAFF MEMBERS, MY REALTORS, MY ASSOCIATES, AND EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME THROUGH THE YEARS. OUR SUCCESS IS DUE TO THE EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE I HAVE SURROUNDED MYSELF WITH. I DIDN’T GET BETTER ALL BY MYSELF.

sonal livelihood and fulfillment, but a tool for her to make meaningful contributions to deserving Auburn organizations. “I am so blessed in my ability to give to others. This community has done so much for me, and I really enjoy returning its gifts.”

Even with her career accomplishments and respectability in the business world, Stacy’s children are her first priority and her most wonderful blessings.

“Becoming a mother completely changed my priorities,” Stacy explained. In her words, her perceived purpose seemingly shifted when she became ‘Mom.’ Motherhood gifted her with a transformative determination- a need and a want to provide for the true joys of her life. Seven-year-old Hampton is a sprightly comedian, affable and witty. Older brother, Saylor, takes slightly more after his mother, and carries himself with more reservation and seriousness, while still displaying confidence. If you took a snapshot of Stacy’s morning, you would see her rise at 5:30 for one of her favorite parts of an all ready frenzied day. The boys get up and she prepares them for school. They always have a hot meal at the breakfast table. “Most days we have biscuits, eggs, sausage and hash browns.

Sometimes it’s cheese grits, bacon, and toast, but I never send them off with a Poptart or a granola bar.

It is one of my greatest joys to cook breakfast for my boys before school. Ever since my grandmother pulled me up to the kitchen counter at five years old with my own bowl of biscuit dough I’ve loved to cook for my family.” While Saylor and Hampton get ready for school, Stacy packs them each a kind of “everything but the kitchen sink” lunch box that their classmates envy. “They may be little people but they know what they like,” she said. “Their friends always play the ‘what did Saylor and Hampton bring for lunch today’ game at the cafeteria table.” After the boys leave for school at 6:45, Stacy’s work day begins when she checks her email and starts receiving and responding to phone calls and messages from clients while getting dressed for her engagements that day. She generally pulls into Berkshire Hathaway around 8:30, and works through the day, rarely ever stopping for lunch unless it is brought to her at her desk.

“I reserve lunches and leaving work for my children and their activities. I don’t miss a school program, party, field trip or book fair. I’m at their

“

beautiful and well-loved facility and sensed a fast paced but genuinely positive environment. Upstairs, individual cubicles and offices are a mini community for several of the company’s 41 agents. A living area is decorated with framed photos of Bible verses and quotations written by many of the agents and their family members. “Before we opened, I invited all of my agents in to write something meaningful to them and to our mission in the concrete of our foundation,” Stacy smiled. “My favorite one reads, ‘some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard for it.’ It’s all covered by tile and carpet now, but we have the photos as reminders and we all know what’s underneath!”

Berkshire Hathaway of Auburn is a top tier sponsor for Auburn’s Hudson Family Foundation and the largest supporter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in East Alabama. Stacy’s company also supports more than 25 additional charities and organizations, from local youth athletics to FACES, Kiwanis, and The Salvation Army. Stacy enjoys being able to give generously to worthwhile causes. Her highly regarded business is not only part of her per-

85 M ARCH/ APRI L

2016

golf tournaments, football, baseball and basketball games. I won’t miss out on these memories or activities, because the reason I own my business is to take care of my boys. My career and any successful business requires more than a 40-hour week, but because my boys are the highlight of my days, I don’t put them in second place. It often requires a ‘split shift’ where I’ll work from 8:30 until 5:00, leave for ballgames, dinner, and other activities, and then return to the office until 10:00. I have commitments at work, but my priority is time with my children. Whenever I am home I am relishing that quality time,” Stacy told us.

“One of my favorite quotations is ‘being a mother is learning about strengths that you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fear that you didn’t know existed.’ I know that I am a better mom because I work. My children see my example and we don’t take for granted the hours we spend in one another’s company.” After school, if the boys have no activities planned, they head to Berkshire Hathaway with Mom. Right next door to Stacy’s office they have their own office, complete with a computer and a company phone. Both Saylor and Hampton have afternoons filled with basketball, baseball, and football, and Saturdays full of golf lessons or tournaments.

They never miss a beat, and neither does Stacy. “They know that hard work pays off. They understand that working hard provides us the opportunities to enjoy vacations, holidays, and special occasions. They’ve never made me feel guilty for working, instead, they compliment my efforts and celebrate our accomplishments.”

Stacy’s independent spirit has always been a personality trait. Even as a little girl, she assured her parents that she would make her own way. She was a self-starter with high expectations for herself. Today that outlook has not changed. When we asked her to name three components of success most important to her, she named determination, hard work, and a love for what she does. She stressed to us, however, that her journey has been greatly enriched and aided by the climate of Auburn, Alabama as one of the state’s most desirable places to raise a family and own a business. Stacy does not love to talk about personal success, her honesty, her loyalty, or her work ethic, but when we asked her what makes her the proudest, she had a simple answer: “If I have loved and appreciated others, shown kindness and generosity without expectations, and if I have raised my children to love God and to be happy, compassionate, caring, and responsible individuals, I have lived a good life.”

“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish,” she told us. “It will satisfy hunger but it won’t taste good.”

“

“

I’m at their golf tournaments, football, baseball and basketball games. I won’t miss out on or these activities, because the reason I

memories

own my business is to

take

care of my boys