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With the number of positive Coronavirus cases rising in North Carolina, Canopy President John Kindbom has an important message about continuing to comply with CDC guidelines, best practices and Governor Cooper’s mandate to wear face masks.
While this video references specific Mecklenburg County messages, the majority of the information is relevant to all members.
A transcript of this video is below:
Hello again! John Kindbom, 2020 Canopy President. It's been a while since we've talked. What a year it's been!
We continue to be impacted by the coronavirus. We have been communicating with your local government officials on behalf of our members, our industry, and our consumers. It started with working with Dena Diorio, our county manager, way back in March and April and collaborating with her to clarify the local stay-at-home orders.
It was very challenging at the time for all of us, but we got through that. We offered a ton of training on virtual tours when business couldn't be done in person, and as we entered Phases Two and Three we saw a healthy rebound in the real estate market that was just mind-blowing. What a year it's been! Far better than we ever dreamt it would be back in March and April, but all the while stressing the need to be a good example for our customers and the public by complying with the governor's executive orders and CDC guidelines.
Knowing that the positive numbers of cases continue to rise in North Carolina, we thought it was important to let you know what we're doing and what we should be doing going forward. We recently sent County Manager Dena Diorio, Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris, and all of the County Commissioners a letter of appreciation for their leadership during the ongoing pandemic. You know, they were in a tough spot. They've been challenged by something they've never been challenged by before, but their leadership has helped get us through that, as well as your leadership. The fact that you are able to adjust your way of doing business has been spectacular, and we should all be very proud of what we've done.
But the fight's not over. We've got to continue to do that. Clearly, based on the statistical data, they've been navigating this pandemic in the right manner for all of us. We're in the lowest tier of North Carolina’s COVID-19 county-by-county system. That's a tribute not only to our leaders, but to all of us on this call. I am so proud of what we've done and we will continue to do.
So, like the county, our priority is to continue doing everything in the right manner to minimize our risk. Let's dig in and just stay the course a little bit longer following the CDC guidelines.
A good friend of mine from over at RE/MAX, Tiffany Johannes, said, "John, do me a favor. You know, there's so many things we have to do. Can you just review them a little bit again just to keep us informed?" Thank you, Tiffany, for doing that! I hadn't even thought about it until now, and I thought, "That's a great call." So, I just want to review them real quick:
- Maintain social distancing six or more feet apart.
- Ensure fewer than 10 people are touring a home at any given time.
- Consider allowing only one buyer group to tour the home at any given time.
- Require potential buyers to wash their hands or to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer immediately upon entry and to remove shoes or cover footwear with booties.
- Drive separately when going and showing homes.
- Leave interior doors open and lights on.
- Disinfect the lock box, countertops, doorknobs. You know, don't touch things in the house. Just stay away from that for now.
- Homes should be cleaned between tours. Space out showing appointments so there's time in between to get all these things done.
- Lead by example and follow the governor's mandate to wear face masks.
It's important that we do all those things. You see, you're very important, our consumers are very important, and they're looking to us to lead the way. Share the guidelines with them! Share the guidelines with your consumers, your buyers, and your sellers that NAR puts out, that our local government puts out, the CDC guidelines so they know why we're doing things the way we are. They will respect and appreciate that if they understand why.
Everything that I've talked about is on Matrix, and every week in eHeadlines it is brought forward again. I'm going to make this personal. I care about every single person that's on this call. I know we're competitors, but you know we need each other. We need to support each other. This is a challenging time still. It's not over yet. It looks like things are getting better, but we want to make it through all the way, and we want to do it safely.
Thank you for all of your efforts. Thank you for your consideration of at least letting me say my piece. I appreciate every single person, competitor or not, as we go forward and have a successful 2021.
Have a good evening.
