REALTORS® like Gina McKenzie give back to their community
As a group, there is no doubt that REALTORS® enrich the area in which they live and work. Certainly, they enrich the Inland Northwest in many ways.
A case in point is Gina McKenzie, an associate broker with John L. Scott Real Estate, who is a fourth-generation Spokane resident and holds the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) and the Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) designations.
Along with real estate, education is one of her major inputs into the community.
She holds a master’s degree in teaching from Whitworth College, and bachelor’s degree in English and radio-television journalism, along with minors in French and theatre.
She puts these degrees to work by tutoring high school students — mostly Russian and Asian. She holds a Washington State Continuing Teacher Certificate and is endorsed in five areas for teaching at the secondary level in English, English/language arts, French and drama.
This REALTOR® gets involved. Gina was a strategic and driving force in organizing the Corbin Park Homeowners Association in the summer of 1989 and in placing the Corbin Park District on the National Register of Historic Places.
When she first obtained a Washington State Real Estate license, she saw the need to preserve historic properties.
“I have always felt that it is important to serve and contribute to the community which sustains me in being able to provide my business services,” McKenzie said. “I truly cherish those good clients and customers whom I’ve had the opportunity to serve and with whom I have developed wonderful friendships. That is the main focus and delight of my business endeavors — to help people maximize their real estate investments while serving them.”
As a REALTOR®, she serves the Spokane Association on the Grievance and Forms committees.
She supported the recent “Save the Rookery Block” by driving a grand old seven-passenger touring car complete with a protest sign.
“I feel strongly the importance of preserving our heritage buildings and landscaping for the benefit of generations to come,” she said. “Preservation instead of deterioration brings pride and sense of place and helps to build Spokane financially, culturally, and in many other ways. Corbin Park has developed that sense of place.
“It is a rare find as far as neighborhoods go,” McKenzie continued, “because of the efforts of the neighbors working positively together, we know our neighbors. We sit on our verandas on warm evenings and say ‘hello’ and visit and watch the babies, joggers, walkers, and dogs go by. This unique sense of community provides safety.”
This way of working to make the city a better place to live is how one REALTOR® is saying, “Thank you, Spokane!”
We respond by saying, “Thank you, Gina!”