President’s Message—General Membership Meeting
Dear CAR Members,

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has hired an Executive Officer who will start her employment with CAR on February 11, 2008. You will have an opportunity to meet her at the CAR General Membership Meeting, scheduled for Thursday, January 17, at 10 a.m. at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City. 

Below are the topics to be discussed:

• Introduction of Executive Officer
• Sentrilock Demonstration
• Committee Reports
• Financial Update
• Questions from Members

Please encourage all CAR members in your office to attend and RSVP by clicking here. I hope all of you will attend and give our new Executive Officer a warm welcome.

Sincerely,
Cassie Mead
CAR President

Tax Rate Increase
As of January 1, 2008, the "Non-resident withholding tax" rate increased from 6% to 6.75% for individuals and from 7% to 8.25% for corporations. This increase effects all transactions occurring after January 1, 2008.

Form Change
The CAR Listing Agreement has been removed from ZipForms. Please use the MAR Listing agreement.

2008 Awards of Excellence
Entry forms for the 2007 Awards of Excellence have been faxed to all offices. Please note that the deadline for entries is Friday, February 1. Entries received after that date will be ineligible. Please use the guidelines online when applying for an award (available in Word and PDF formats).

Community Service Update

• Thank you to all the many volunteers who worked at the "Hot Cocoa" stand, donated canned goods and monetary gifts to feed the less fortunate, made and donated holiday stockings for "Children By The Sea," went Christmas caroling at local nursing/assisted living homes, supported the Community Services Committee’s first annual Toy Drive, aided in shopping and the delivering of food to the less fortunate, those who donated coats and warm clothing, and for helping a local friend and REALTOR® who lost his Fruitland home, pets and personal belongings to a fire.
  THANK YOU!!!
• MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The 10th annual Beach Blanket Blood Drive will be held January 29 &30 at the Ocean City Convention Center. We are looking for blood donors and volunteers to work the event. The Ccommittee is trying to beat last years record by 10%. The DelMarva Blood Bank and the Community Service Committee need at least 700 qualified donors to make that goal. Please e-mail Terry of Shamock Realty Group at tltestani@mchsi.com or Cindy Poremski of ReMax Premier Properties at cindy@OCconnection.com to volunteer your time to man the event. The time slots are listed below. Seven persons are needed for each time slot to man all stations.
  • Tuesday, January 29: 9:30-11 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 1-3 p.m., 3-5 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.
  • Wednesday, January 30: 8:30-10:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 1-3 p.m., 3-4 p.m. and 4:30-6 p.m..
• "Reach out and touch someone"—By donating a used, functional, cleared of all contacts cell phone in the month of January. Prudential/Carruthers offices from Salisbury to Ocean City and the World Gym on 67th Street, Ocean City are drop off locations. All proceeds will be donated to the Sunshine Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer. They provide positive group activities and emotional support for young cancer patients. The Sunshine Kids also provide a variety of programs and events, free of charge for kids who are receiving cancer treatments in hospitals across America. This donation may be used as a tax deduction. For additional information and the organization’s tax ID number please visit The Sunshine Kids Web site.
• Bill Ragusa, a long-time REALTOR® with Century 21-New Horizons, has lost his Fruitland home, the contents and beloved pets due to a untimely fire on December 9. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, but it is believed to be electrical. The Community Service Committee is asking for donations to help defray our friend’s overwhelming replacement and housing costs. Please make checks to: CAR and drop off all donations to the CAR office at 314 Franklin Avenue, Suite 106, Berlin, MD 21811.
• At this time of year so many of our members help others, so please let us know by e-mailing realtor@intercom.net. Whether it was adopting a family, collecting "Toys for Tots" etc. Even if it was through your church or a local organization. We want to know about it. Next year we would like to collect another C.A.R.E. award at the MAR Covention. With your help we can do that. We just need to know:
  • Who it benefited?
  • Dollar amount collected?
  • How many man hours you volunteered?

EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!
Not registered? Moved since last election?
Register by January 22

On Tuesday, February 12, Maryland will hold its Presidential Primary Election. The deadline to register to vote in the Maryland primary is Tuesday, January 22.

Click here for a Maryland Voter Registration Form >>
Click here to find your polling place >>