Heinemann, a rookie agent with Blackhawk Realty in Tucson, competed against 2,128 other grant applicants via essays and background questions and rose to the top over a six-month examination period.  “Dawn received the overwhelming majority of first-place approvals from our independent panel of judges who evaluated her essays and background answers, personal biography and real estate business plan,” announced Stefan Swanepoel, Executive Director of the Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation. 

Heinemann completed her real estate licensing training with Arizona RealtyU® Affiliate Hogan School of Real Estate.  Jim and Esther Hogan, owners of Hogan School in Tucson, were elated at the news that they had, in fact, helped to train a Grand Prize Winner, and offered this encouragement to Heinemann, as well as all of their students who made it into the third round of the competition, “We are thrilled to have a Hogan School graduate be this season’s Grand Prize Winner.  Dawn Heinemann is terrific, and we are confident that she will become an outstanding Real Estate Apprentice® and REALTOR®. We are also very proud to have a total of three Hogan School students in the final round of the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Competition.”  Jim Hogan joined in the jubilant moment and commented that, “At Hogan School of Real Estate our students have big dreams. The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation helps transform those dreams into reality.  To be represented by Roberto Moreno as an Honorable Mention at the $300 level, Kelly Howell as a Semi-Finalist at the $2,500 level,  and Dawn Heinemann as the $70,000 Grand Prize Winner not only helps fulfills their dreams, but serves as inspiration to all of our students to keep ‘Dreaming Big.’”

Heinemann is confident that her life experiences make her especially well-suited for a career in real estate. Her first encounter with a real estate agent was in the mid-eighties during the purchase of her first home.  She met a courteous REALTOR® at an open house and explained what she was looking for: a small home with character – not a “cookie-cutter” track home.  The following weekend that agent showed Dawn one “cookie” after another, clearly failing to meet her original request.  Heinemann never forgot this experience.  It made her realize how important it was to genuinely listen to people, regardless of the type of business or industry she found herself working in.  Heinemann took that lesson to heart and carried it with her throughout her life.  Now it has come back full circle, as Dawn seeks to meet the needs of her real estate customers by sincerely listening to, accurately understanding, and exceeding the needs and wants of her clientele.

Exemplary Finalists
The Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation searches for many superior qualities in its awardees: salesmanship and communication skills, entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, creativity and uniqueness.  The remaining nine finalists demonstrated exemplary acumen in every one of these areas, and each has received $7,000 in real estate educational products and services as evidence of their vision and dedication:

• 2nd Place Pauline Espinosa, Anthony Schools, a Kaplan Professional School, Upland, California
• 3rd Place Steve Rosch, Armbrust Real Estate Institute, a RealtyU® School, Greenwood Village, CO
• 4th Place Michica Guillory, Champions School of Real Estate, a RealtyU® School, Houston, Texas
• 5th Place Maureen Bryand, Career Education Systems, a RealtyU® School, Wichita, Kansas
• 6th Place Linda Taylor, Long and Foster Real Estate Training Center, Clarksville, Maryland
• 7th Place Susannah Satterstrom, Armbrust Real Estate Institute, a RealtyU® School, Greenwood Village, CO
• 8th Place Heather Melchior, The Real Estate Education Center, a RealtyU® School, Sterling Heights, Michigan
• 9th Place Chris Hain, Allied Real Estate Schools On-Line, California
• 10th Place Smita Patel, Tennessee Real Estate Educational Systems, a RealtyU® School, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Heinemann Still Clearly #1
However, due the stringent demands placed upon the real estate professional, the ability to overcome hardship and adversity is viewed as a crucial and mandatory factor inherent in rookies of a “Finalist” caliber.  When Heinemann was asked to explain to the Foundation in 100 words or less what struggle she had overcome, her response was convincing.  Dawn overcame severe obesity and a poor relationship simultaneously. She found the strength to leave that relationship and spent the next six years healing her mind through yoga and her body through diet and exercise.  “I lost 120 pounds, and am now a healthy, vibrant person,” she exclaimed.    Heinemann also discovered an inner strength that she never knew she was capable of, along with a new relationship that she never thought she deserved.  “I now have a supportive man in my life, and the confidence to begin a new career,” she added.

Heinemann’s Real Estate Business Plan
Heinemann will receive an astounding array of real estate educational and mentoring products and services designed specifically to help her become a superstar agent.  However, before receipt of these tools, Dawn was asked how she planned to use them.  After careful consideration, she answered that she would use all of the tools given to her to establish a business and marketing plan designed to help empty-nesters transition from the homes after they raised their children into the homes where they will retire and spend their remaining days.  She explained, “I hope to continue my education – especially my knowledge of seniors and their needs, establishing myself as a leader in this niche market.  I believe these clients require a special sensitivity from their REALTOR®, as it can be a very emotional time for them, and I’m confident that I can make their experience a positive one by providing both professional and emotional support through the entire process.”

$70,000 of What, Exactly?
Heinemann will receive the following success tools, courtesy of the various benevolent and visionary Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation Sponsors:

• The reimbursement of fees for all licensing courses the winner has already taken, as well as unlimited attendance to any other real estate course offered by a RealtyU® Network school for one full year. This award can be used to obtain real estate designations, or even to complete future continuing education (CE) requirements. Courses can be taken at any of the 205 RealtyU® campuses across the USA.

• Unlimited access for two years to an online real estate mentoring service offered by iSucceed, including weekly Tele-Seminars, hundreds of business tips, tools, money-making systems and marketing strategies, a special “Ask your Mentor” program, and Home Seller’s and Buyer’s Workbooks.

• The composition and publishing of specific and focused articles designed to illuminate and increase visibility of the Real Estate Apprentice Grand Prize Winner, sponsored by CourseDates.  

• An open platform Transaction Manager Software Solution by First American Residential Group that provides an integrated set of tools used during all phases of a real estate transaction, from listing to closing. This highly configurable technology currently serves many constituents, including the residential real estate professional, Multiple Listing Service (MLS), commercial agents, new homebuilders, title and closing operations.  The Transaction Manager automates and documents manual processes, increasing user efficiency and enriching the experience. 

• Saris Technologies provides a unified real estate management and business platform to meet all of the Real Estate Apprentice’s crucial business needs with one application.  Tools include property management, marketing assistance and contact management.

• Hands-on technology and business systems consulting set up at the winner’s office by McLean International.  The technology includes business vision and marketing plan coordination; office setup for maximum functionality and efficiency; the selection and set up of electronic signatures and voice messaging; file organization and sales support consulting on a pre-listing package, listing package and buyer package; and the creation of a listing system, closing system, and contact management system.

• CreateAPlan will facilitate business planning needs for two years via an online business planning software that provides complete monitoring of all key business indicators, including marketing events, listings, sales, expenses, and much more.

• A comprehensive personal identity and marketing package created by Hobbs/Herder including: custom logo and stationary package, marketing campaign and corporate brochure, personalized PowerKards™ and the design and construction of a branded website. 

• Thomson South-Western is providing a comprehensive set of real estate books such as: 30 Days to Success by Santamaria, Starting and Succeeding in Real Estate by Nash, How to List & Sell Real Estate by Kennedy, Real Estate Field Manual: An Official Selling Guide by Nash-Price, Real Estate Dictionary: A Pocket Guide for Professionals by Jacobus & Olmos, 5-Minutes to a Great Real Estate Letter by Mayfield, and Real Estate Confronts the Future by Swanepoel & Dooley. 

• The highly acclaimed Accredited Seller Representative® (ASR) course and designation sponsored by the Seller Agency Council.

• A versatile and easy-to-understand Mortgage Calculator and Laser Dimension Master with the complete starter package for the Qualifier Plus IIIx Calculator provided by Calculated Industries.
• A comprehensive suite of detailed information about any neighborhood in the country, including facts about schools, home values, crime rates, cost-of-living and other demographics.  The eNeighborhoods sponsored Power Suite also includes Neighborhood Report, contacts, CMA, BuyerTour, Flyers, Campaign Manager and website. 

• Membership to The Real Estate Cyberspace Society with a treasure chest of secrets about marketing real estate on the Internet.  
• ExpressCopy provides complimentary printing from the best online digital printing and mail house specializing in low-cost, high-quality, full-color direct mail with 24-hour turnaround.

• Full year’s subscription to the online and print magazines Broker Agent News and RISMedia Real Estate, the most trusted names in real estate news.
• A starter kit plus a 12-month subscription that allows you to create stunning Internet and CD-based virtual tours for your listings, including neighborhood tours for those out-of-town buyers sponsored by VisualTours.

Season V Now in Full Swing!
The fifth season of the Real Estate Apprentice® Foundation’s grant competition began on July 1st and ends December 31st, 2006.  To apply for a free Real Estate Apprentice Grant, simply visit www.RealEstateApprentice.org  and follow the directions.  All applicants receive a minimum $250 in real estate-oriented educational products and service, just for answering three essay questions.