RPAC Hall of Fame inductees honored

Ron Croushore with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty in Pittsburgh, Al Perry with Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia, Helen Hanna Casey with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in Pittsburgh, Jane Maslowski with Keller Williams Realty in Blue Bell and Deb Weidman-Phillips with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. in Blue Bell were all honored at the National Association of Realtors®’ RPAC Hall of Fame Ceremony last evening at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Croushore, a current NAR RPAC Hall of Fame member, was recognized for moving up to Level 2 in the RPAC Hall of Fame, while Perry, Casey, Maslowski and Phillips are new inductees.

“In college, I worked part-time as a legislative assistant in Harrisburg, and had a dream of someday becoming a legislator myself. As other opportunities opened-up to me, I embarked upon a different career, real estate, which I have absolutely loved for 40+ years. Over those years, I have gotten great satisfaction from making numerous RPAC investment contributions to help our association lobbyists promote legislative action that benefits our Realtor® Party. Success there translates into success for consumers and Realtors® in the realization of the American dream of homeownership,” said Croushore.

Weidman-Phillips said she invests because she believes in RPAC.

“I have an amazing career in real estate and I enjoy the privilege of owning real estate,” she said. “There is no better reason to commit to RPAC. We need to protect everyone’s rights. It isn’t about a political party, it is all of our responsibilities to protect our property rights and the real estate business.”

Casey said she appreciates the honor of being an inductee because it shows commitment.

“I strongly believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that legislatively, we work together to achieve the goals for the industry, for buyers, sellers and for our agents,” she said. “To me, it has always been a no-brainer to be a part of the association and I feel it is my responsibility.”

Perry said an investment in RPAC gives returns that far outweigh the cost.

“We can certainly spend our dollars ourselves in political races, but I’d rather invest in RPAC and combine my money with others who share a desire to promote and protect private property rights, along with the dream of homeownership. Most importantly, I trust that our RPAC Committees will invest our dollars wisely, because they are scientifically tracking which candidates support our causes, regardless of the political party,” he said. “They have a much broader knowledge of where the money can be useful. RPAC is the best bang I can get for my buck.”

Maslowski added that RPAC doesn’t just benefit Realtors®, but the general public as well.

“These investments help assure our voices will be heard at the local, state and national levels concerning issues such as local property taxes, flood insurance and double taxation on income for the self-employed, to mention a few. I wish I would have understand RPAC”s level of involvement when it comes to staying on top of these and many more issues much earlier in my real estate career. My active involvement would have been much earlier,” she said. “I am able to use the accomplishments of RPAC as part of my listing presentation and show the client how we just do not list and sell houses, but are advocates for consumers’ rights, as well as protecting our business.”

The Hall of Fame recognizes dedicated members whose RPAC investments total an aggregate of at least $25,000. Members are recognized with a lapel pin, a plaque commemorating their support and an inscription of their name on a plaque on NAR’s Washington, D.C. building rooftop.