On January 24, 2020, Chris Reed will hang her hat on the doors of Help-U-Sell Real Estate and officially retire after 11 dedicated years of service to the company at the Sarasota-based corporate headquarters.
If you’ve ever spoken to Chris on the phone, it’s not difficult to guess she moved here from Massachusetts. Arriving to Florida in 2000 with her husband, she previously worked as a controller for a manufacturing company up north, but quickly found work with a Florida home builder.
“Once I started with Help-U-Sell, it was interesting to learn the aspects of selling real estate versus the building side of real estate. All of that knowledge has come full circle for me,” Chris said.
Whenever Help-U-Sell opens an office in a new state, Chris gets the Federal Disclosure Documents in order so the franchise will be allowed to operate there. She ensures the incoming franchisees have the right paperwork to get started, and handles anything from a change of ownership, transferring ownership from an individual to a corporation, taking care of location and name changes, and other amendments to the franchise agreement.
Moving forward, those duties will be handled by Joey Trowbridge.
Since Chris came on board during the economic recession, she has witnessed many changes. She added,“I saw first-hand how hard this industry became for everyone: the many broker/owners struggling to stay open, and the home owners and communities trying to stay afloat. What’s wonderful to see are folks who had the will to stay with us and make their businesses grow again. People with that spirit make coming to work a pleasure. They love what they do, and I’m definitely one of those people.”
Not surprisingly, once she is fully immersed in retirement, Chris will still be very busy. She will continue to volunteer for the Salvation Army, as an usher at the Van Wezel Performance Center, and will become more involved in her husband’s graphic design business.
A huge bird lover, Chris also volunteers at the Birds of Paradise aviation sanctuary, and serves as a board member for the Florida West Coast Avian Society.
“I’ve been working towards this moment of retiring for a while. Five years ago, I cut down my work week to four days. More recently, I cut down to 2.5 days weekly. I’ve really enjoyed watching what Robbie (Robert Stevens, CEO) has done with the company since taking over. Working with him, all of the people in the corporate office, and the Broker/Owners and all of their people – they made this a really good experience for me,” she shared.
The Aviary Feathered Sanctuary Friends
We wish Chris all the best in her retirement!
