Spring? Is it on its way? We can only hope. I don't know about you, but the sun and the bits of warmer weather have made all the difference in the world to me. Let's hope that spring (with no more snow) comes soon.

As we begin March and look forward to the spring and summer market, we must continue to work hard and stay positive. As I have talked with agents throughout our market, most are upbeat and continuing to work through a changed market. We all know that we must work differently yet get back to basics. Is it that difficult? For some it is, but for others, they are thriving in the market. Real estate is not just our job, it is our life.

Recently, we formed a new committee, Public Relations. This committee's objective will be to promote positive visibility of the REALTORS® Association of South Central Wisconsin. This will happen in many ways: committee and community involvement and interaction. The committee will have important responsibilities and I'm sure they are up to the task. They will be working on press releases, letters to the editors, web articles, education, community awareness, public speaking, and media interactions and connections. Our chair, Charlie Wills has gotten off to a great start. He has brought together a fabulous core of committee members that will work together with our community to spread the word about our organization. If you would like to help out or have any ideas for this committee, feel free to contact me or Charlie.

Thank you to all who attended REALTOR® and Government Day. As always, it was a great opportunity to meet with our state legislators and talk with them about issues that affect real estate and in many cases our livelihood. We also heard from Justice Louis Butler and Governor Jim Doyle. In the afternoon, there was an interesting panel with Senate and Assembly Majority and Minority Leaders. Their "give and take" along with each of their versions of what will happen with key bills and issues was enlightening. If you were not able to attend, consider going next year to support our Association and staff that works extremely hard on our behalf and ourclients.

Have a fantastic month and feel free to contact me at anytime.

Sincerely
Paula Schmelzer

"It doesn¹' pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." ­ Lucille Ball