June 30, 2011 - Vendor Alley

Great local recognition for Bob. Congrats!

Full Press Release below:
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PRSA HOUSTON HONORS HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® PRESIDENT AND CEO BOB HALE AS 2011 CEO COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR

HOUSTON — (June 30, 2011) — The Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) honored Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) President and CEO Bob Hale with the 2011 CEO Communicator of the Year Award during the organization’s annual Excalibur Awards Gala at the InterContinental Hotel on June 23.

The award is given to an organizational leader who demonstrates the ability to communicate effectively to general or specific publics; has public visibility as a communicator; is a respected member of the community; and invests his or her time and talent communicating a specific message or messages.

PRSA Houston recognized Hale for leading a successful integrated communications program that combines public relations, social media, a website (HAR.com) that draws more than 1.3 million unique visitors per month, and print and outdoor advertising campaigns to establish REALTORS® as the trusted resource for real estate consumers and HAR as the trusted resource for its membership.

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2011 CEO Communicator of the Year Award from PRSA Houston, but would be remiss not to share the credit with the HAR staff,” said Hale. “Association staff works hard every day to make sure consumers understand the value of a REALTOR® in real estate transactions and to communicate the benefits of the Association to our members. To have what we do recognized with this honor, and to know it comes from communications practitioners, makes it particularly meaningful.”

Hale has led HAR since 1988. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to become the largest trade association in Houston and the second largest local REALTOR® association in the country, with more than 24,000 members.

Thanks to Hale’s vision and drive, HAR.com is a household brand in the greater Houston area and the most frequently visited website in Houston real estate, with more than 1.6 billion hits each month.

HAR’s progressive communications include a Facebook page, which has more than twice as many fans as the next local REALTOR® association in the U.S., as well as extensive use of multiple social media platforms. The HAR YouTube Channel features nearly 600 videos that were all produced in HAR’s in-house studio and editing suite and have garnered more than 120,000 views. Among the videos are 61 that are part of HAR’s Consumer Knowledge Series, programming designed to educate consumers about real estate transactions and home ownership. The series has been so well received that the National Association of REALTORS® purchased 20 of them for use by associations across the country. HAR also produces The Edge, a weekly eNewsletter containing timely real estate industry information and data that is distributed to real estate brokerage managers to share with their agents.

During the awards presentation, HAR surprised Hale with a video containing personal congratulatory messages from former Houston Mayor Bill White, Houston Chronicle Publisher Jack Sweeney, legendary restaurateur Tony Vallone, Realogy Franchise Group President & CEO Alex Perriello, Great Day Houston host Deborah Duncan, Houston Business Journal Publisher John Beddow and U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

The CEO Communicator of the Year Award was created in 2006. Previous honorees include Mayor White, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, Imperial Sugar President and CEO John Sheptor and Chevron Phillips Chemical CEO Greg Garland.

In 2010, Hale was honored by another prestigious communications group as he received the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)-Houston Communications Leadership Award.

I like to say every time a vendor leaves the real estate industry, an angel gets his wings.

Best of luck Ted!

Full Press Release below:

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Senior Vice President Ted Young Leaving Rapattoni Corporation

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., June 30, 2011 – Rapattoni Corporation (Rapattoni) announced today that Ted Young, senior vice president, has elected to leave Rapattoni at the end of June, 2011.

Andy Rapattoni, president and CEO of Rapattoni Corporation, said, “It is with regret that we accepted Ted’s resignation but we honor his desire to tackle another career and as Ted has said, ‘do something different’.”

Mr. Young, who started as a programmer with Rapattoni in 1980, has served on the company’s executive committee and assisted in overseeing the company’s operations. He was responsible for the development of four generations of Rapattoni’s association management software products, and he was the principle software architect behind Rapattoni Magic, a product which is used by approximately 250 real estate associations throughout the United States.

When tendering his resignation, Mr. Young stated, “During my long career, I have loved the people I’ve worked with, the customers I’ve served, and taken great pride in what I’ve done individually and what we together have accomplished as a company. I deeply appreciate the opportunities that were offered to me and how I was allowed to flourish. I’m thankful for the wonderful times we’ve enjoyed over the years and wish Andy, Niki, and the entire company the best of luck and success in the future. It is simply time to do something else and fulfill more of my dreams.”

Niki Rapattoni, chief administrative officer of Rapattoni Corporation, said, “We will miss Ted greatly and we send him off with love and many good thoughts for his future.” The company expressed their thanks and good wishes to Ted this week and culminated in a send-off under the trees in front of their facility in Simi Valley, California.

About Rapattoni
Rapattoni Corporation has been serving the real estate industry under the same name and management for over 40 years. The company provides an array of integrated products and services for real estate associations and MLS organizations, including an internet-based MLS, association management software, and key-less Rapattoni Secure Logon with SSO identity portals for online security and convenience. Rapattoni’s MLS products are serving approximately 300,000 users nationally and its association management customers represent more than 85% of the nation’s REALTORS®. Rapattoni’s headquarters are in Simi Valley, California.

For more information, contact Rapattoni’s Public Relations department at (800) 722-7338 or visit the Rapattoni website at http://www.rapattoni.com/.

If you would like to be removed from the Rapattoni News mailing list, please send a blank email to unsubscribe@rapattoni.com.

Bob Hale honored as 2011 CEO Communicator of the year.

Ted Young VP of Rapattoni exits company.