Reflections from REALTOR Rally ...

Mary Kuykendall reports: Hi, everyone ...

The heavy March rain which pounded down on the St. Paul Center and threatened to distract Linda Gifford in her 2-hour CE class prior to our State House visi.....no, wait a minute, it's late May, isn't it? Well, the temp on my porch at 7:15am as I shuffled to my car and headed for Augusta was 36F, so I just assumed ...

Anyway, Linda's class was lively, informational and helpful, as usual, and we soaked up her insights and headed off to our vehicles at about 10:40 to rendezvous in the Hall of Flags to get our name badges and finish composing our notes to those legislators we felt we had, at least, a minimal "in" with.

Some of us trouped up to the House gallery to listen to proclamations concerning Camp Sunshine, hear a welcome from House Speaker Pingree to her mother who was on the floor visiting and who, in a moment of confusion, she referred to as her daughter, and then caught the bulk of the enthusiastically-supported or, just as enthusiastically-opposed, debate on clotheslines and solar panels being permitted in rental properties and condominiums. In an increasingly energy conscious state, this is not a trivial issue.

We had been issued stickers with the red circle with the slash / through the "1088" which is the LD number of the bill concerning the transfer tax "modernization". These had to be removed, however, in order to enter the gallery to observe the floor action. They would re-appear when we returned to the Hall of Flags for lunch and chatting with legislators.

While Linda admitted that she thinks the stickers are a little tacky, they do seem to work at getting attention.

We kept focused on our tasks rather than too much time for chatting with each other.

One of the highlights of the day had to be when Linda Gifford announced that the flags flying over the State House this morning were to be presented to the Bangor Board as a gift from Rep. Andre Cushing R-Hampden, who is a member of the Bangor Board of Realtors. The proclamation was quite touching and referenced the "dedicated men and women who serve their communities by making the dream of home ownership possible for Americans."

We hope, at most, to have made some legislators consider and vote favorably on those issues which are important to us, and, at least, to make our presence and concern a part of their consciousness.

If you missed Rally Day, I am sorry. If you were there, thanks.

REALTOR Mary Kuykendall serves on the MAR Board of Directors