Lueders installed as 2018 president of Arkansas Realtors Association

LITTLE ROCK — Velda Lueders, a Realtor from Conway, was installed as the 2018 president of the Arkansas Realtors Association during the ARA’s inaugural banquet, held at Little Rock’s Marriott Hotel on Sept. 20. The 2018 ARA officers and directors were also installed at the banquet. Andy Schaus, who was ARA’s president in 1988 and has served as the association’s CEO, carried out the induction.

Lueders has been in the real estate industry since March 1996, starting her career with Pam McDowell Properties in Conway, and she has been with Coldwell Banker RPM’s Conway office from June 2016 to the present.

A Conway native, Lueders is a member of the Faulkner County Board of Realtors, where she has served two terms as president, once in 2005 and again in 2011. She currently serves as secretarytreasurer for the Faulkner County Board of Realtors. She is very active in her community, serving on the board of directors for Haven House, a group home for adolescent females that provides safety from abuse and/or neglect.

Always making education a top priority, Lueders holds several designations, including Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI), Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) and Military Relocation Professional (MRP). Lueders is also a graduate of the Graduate Realtor Leadership Academy. She serves on her local board’s professionaldevelopment committee, where she conducts new-member orientation classes for new Realtor members.

On the state level, Lueders has been an active member of the ARA, chairing or serving on many of the association’s committees, including the professional development, legislative, professional standards, public relations and finance committees. She currently serves on the ARA’s executive committee and board of directors.

“You must make the choice, to take the chance, if you want the change” is Lueders’ theme and vision as the ARA’s 2018 president.

“My main goal [for 2018] is getting more members involved in their local and state activities, whether it is volunteering for an event, serving on a committee or chairing a committee,” Lueders said.

“If you become involved at these levels, you will want to move on to national activities. I want members to go to the National Association of Realtors’ website and take advantage of all that NAR has to offer,” she said. “Finally, I want us to continue as an association to be proactive in looking for more ways to serve the needs of our members.”