Siegel, Edwards, Herder & Shearer Rally to Aid Rookies

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., December 21, 2005 – Last week the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation announced that Jeremy Conaway, Stephen Roney, Kenneth Jenny and Thomas Dooley had all accepted The Foundation’s invitation to become part of the Official Judging Panel for the 2006 Seasons of the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Program.   Today the Foundation expanded that list of Judges to include Stu Siegel, Dr. Kenneth Edwards, Greg Herder and Kendra Shearer (Grand Prize Winner of the 1^st Real Estate Apprentice Season). “These distinguished individuals represent notable names in real estate business, journalism, advertising and entrepreneurial activities,” said Stefan Swanepoel, Founder of The Foundation. “With each response to our Official Judging Panel invitation, the list of talented and caring individuals grows and grows,” Swanepoel added.

As CEO of eNeighborhoods Inc., Stu Siegel, at 42, is both a business leader and a technology pioneer. Early on, Stu served as President of Getko Group, Inc., which became the largest compiler of data on home sales in both the United State. Stu then spearheaded the merger of this company with Cendant. Having the vision to provide real estate professionals with neighborhood information that would be extremely important to them, Stu co-founded eNeighborhoods. Recently Microsoft and InfoWeek named eNeighborhoods the fastest growing real estate software in the U.S and the software was named Top 10 Product of the Year by the National Association of REALTORS®.

In 2000, the Eastern Technology Council named Stu CEO of the Year and in 2001, Ernst & Young named him Entrepreneur of the Year. Stu graduated with honors from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ken became a top-producing real estate professional after a distinguished Air Force career during which he enlisted as a Private and retired as a Colonel. He was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal, the Bronze Star and the Air Force Commendation Medal with two clusters in addition to service medals. Ken is a Realtor®, a licensed real estate broker and a graduate of the Realtors Institute as well as a member of the Real Estate Educators Association and the National Association of Real Estate Editors. He is also the Book Review Editor and a Feature Writer for the Real Estate Professional magazine.  Dr. Edwards holds a doctorate in education from the University of California at Berkeley as well as a BS in Sociology from the University of Oregon and a MPA in Public Administration from George Washington University. He is the author of Your Successful Real Estate Career, published by the American Management Association. This book is considered by many to be one of the best selling real estate career guides ever published. 

Greg herder is co-founder and CEO of Hobbs/Herder Advertising and Hobbs/Herder Training. Greg is recognized as one of the real estate industry’s foremost authorities on residential real estate marketing and agent productivity training. He is also a licensed certified residential broker (CRB) and owner of MegaAgent Realty and Co-Owner of JDG Investments, a real estate investment company.  Greg is a featured columnist on real estate marketing and training issues for Realty Times, New Jersey Realtor Magazine, Savvy Executive Profiles, and Real Estate Executive Magazine, as well as contributing expertise and editorial material for a variety of other industry publications, including Realtor® Magazine and Real Estate Business Magazine. He also authored the innovative how-to book “Satisfaction Guaranteed - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back.” Greg graduated cum laude from California State University with a BA in psychology and earned his MBA from the University of California Irvine. He is currently working on getting his PHD in Organization Behavior and is a Professor at California State University Fullerton.

Today Kendra Shearer is successful Realtor^® with Keller Williams Realty Signature Partners brokerage in Marietta, Georgia. A year ago she was still in the healthcare industry where she had served for 26 years as a registered nurse, administrator and surveyor with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Being selected as the first Grand Prize Winner of the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Program (Season 1 July to December, 2004) however changed her life. With her well-honed insight and vision, she recognized that the best way to meet the needs of her real estate clients and has not only adapted but blossomed as an expert in working with seniors. Last month through Kendra’s efforts her firm was the first real estate company to obtain certification as a Senior Approved Service in the State of Georgia. Kendra graduated with an Associates degree in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati, a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from The College of Mount Saint Joseph and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati.

The Real Estate Apprentice Foundation

The fourth six month Grant season starts in less than two weeks. During each six month season thousands of new licensees apply for Real Estate Apprentice Grants. There are no hidden costs or fees to applicants or awardees and no grant requires repayment. Applications are evaluated on the basis of answers to essay questions that demonstrate salesmanship, communication skills, entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, creativity and uniqueness.

The Real Estate Apprentice Foundation is widely recognized as the only Public Benefit Corporation of its kind in the real estate industry that provides real estate education, products and services free of charge to new agents. The Foundation’s mission is to assist newly licensed real estate agents in expediting a fast track to a successful real estate career.