Marking PAR’s 100th Anniversary: Past President Todd Polinchock

Editor’s note: The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of our Member Profile feature, we’ll be highlighting some of the Realtors® who have served as president of the organization.

Name: Todd Polinchock
Company: Keller Williams Real Estate, Doylestown
Years in real estate: 19 years
Local association: Bucks County Association of Realtors®
Year served: 2016 president

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
If I go back and figure out things differently, I think what I would do is change my leadership style a little earlier. Military leadership and civilian leadership do not equate. For example, military leadership is more of “my way or the highway” and civilian leadership is a lot better way of doing things because you actually bring in people from all different viewpoints and diverse backgrounds. This way you vet situations better and you come up with great answers. And magically, I found out that I was not always right.

Why should agents get involved in their local, state and national associations?
I think getting involved, starting in my local association, right through the state and national associations was probably one of the most significant and rewarding things I’ve done in my career. Now being a state representative, I can tell you that if I had not gotten involved in the local and state associations, and jumped into what we do and how we advocate for our members and consumers, I would never be sitting where I am right now.

What advice would you give someone who was thinking of moving up through the offices in PAR?
Get involved in all of PAR’s different committees. Visit committee meetings that you know nothing about and learn about how this organization works. PAR is a large and diverse organization and it’s helpful to learn about the Finance Committee, to learn about PAR’s Standard Forms and how the Legislative Committee works. You just need to get involved and see all facets of the association and I think that would benefit both you as you become a leader and our members in the long run.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the real estate market since you started?
Since I’ve gotten into real estate, I hear the old timers tell me about the MLS books. I’m not quite that old; I’ve been in the business 18 years now. However, I have watched technology just skyrocket from when I got in the business and when we had the simple online MLS, to now we’re using our handheld devices and programs that are similar to Siri that actually let us pull up properties at the drop of a hat.

Do you think the environment or technology will have a bigger impact on real estate in the next 100 years?
When it comes to real estate, everything is always evolving and changing. I’m going to say that the environment and technology will probably both be factors. The environment is going to be based on where we are with regards to legislation and where we are with regards to how the real estate market evolves. As a business and as far as technology, is the sky’s the limit. That’s going to always be driving where we go and keeping the Realtor® at the center of the transaction.