REALTOR® of the Year 2019
January 29, 2020
DMAAR Realtor® of the Year: Eric Webster
From serving as a Realtor since 2001, to the Training Director at Iowa Realty University and to now the General Manager at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Realty, Eric understands what it takes to serve the client at the highest level of professionalism. He is well respected among his peers and DMAAR Board Leadership and will have a positive influence on this generation of Realtors and the next generation for his giving spirit through education and music. Eric has a voice that is heard, beyond training in prelicensing, he actually trains the trainer as well, and he speaks at outreach programs like this past summer for the Des Moines HBA 2019 Home Show as a panel expert and DMAAR Leader. Should you ever need someone to successfully be the Master of Ceremonies at an event and keep it on topic; look no further than Eric Webster.
Eric is charitable in business and personal life. He is a Major RPAC donor and spends many hours donating time and money to those in need. While leading a brokerage inhouse annual training program, he required those attending (50-60 agents/year) to donate 6-hours of community service to graduate; to instill in agents the value of serving a community, skills that they will need well beyond those required to serve clients in buying and selling a home. He leads his office in an annual book fair fund-raising drive for the Youth Emergency Shelter and Services of Iowa (YESS). Eric highly values the donation of time. He just finished a year as the Grand Knight for the K of C Chapter for St. Cecilia in Panora - always looking for a way to lead and to serve those in need. He has served dozens of clients, and by now in the thousands of Realtors; simply likes to give back to a community that has provided so much to him.
Eric is active in DMAAR. Serving on the DMAAR BOD and on the MLS Committee since 2017 and MLS Committee Chair 2018 and 2019. He Co-Chaired the Forms Committee with Doug Burnett in 2018, and was able to adopt the DMAAR Uniform Purchase Agreement for brokers to use in the spirit of cooperation and professionalism. Eric tends to focus his time and leadership at the local board level. His gift of education to all members goes well beyond DMAAR to the state and national level as he epitomizes what it means to be a Realtor in your professional and personal life.
Eric has been married to his lovely wife Ammy for 29-years. They have four children: Charlie, Chance, Sam and Chloe. And just this year they were blessed with a grandson, Maverick. The family is very musical - lead by Eric who is proficient in the piano and guitar. These talents cross over to church where he has been a Music Director and now can be found playing weekly with his daughter Chloe at mass at St. Cecilia. In 2016, his musical talents were witnessed by DMAAR when he rewrote the lyrics to the '80's hit by Men Without Hats, "Safety Dance", and had it professionally recorded to bring about higher top of the mind awareness for Realtor safety.
We are thankful to have Eric's unselfish leadership serve our community: a family man first and foremost, a Realtor, educator, leader and to complete the package, a musician.
