Monthly member profile: Quenna Smith

Editor’s note: The Monthly Member Profile is a feature that puts a spotlight on one of PAR’s 33,000 members. Do you have an interesting story to tell? We encourage you to submit your information online.

Name: Quenna Smith
Company: Perry Wellington Realty, Johnstown
Years in real estate: Six years
Specialty: Residential
Local association: Cambria-Somerset Association of Realtors®
Designations: SRES
Title: Associate broker

How did you get started in the real estate business?
I was reaching a milestone birthday and I always wanted to be a real estate state agent, but for some reason or another, it just didn’t work out. So, I decided to take the leap and tackle it and I did and here I am today.

What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to taking every opportunity to learn as much as I can. Such as going to Triple Play, taking CE classes, to attending our association’s lunch and learns every month to PAR Business Meetings and our company-provided broker’s classes.

What is the biggest challenge of being a Realtor®?
I think it’s finding a way to step away from the day-to-day business responsibilities for those much-needed family time moments.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the start of your career?
Look at every opportunity and follow my gut and just evaluate each process.

Why do you love being a Realtor®?
I love that every day is different. You go from one moment where you have nothing on the horizon to the next where you’re answering a phone call, having a showing and onto a sale in a matter of hours. I love the flexible schedule and how you can work from wherever you are. And I love touring homes and thinking about how to update them.

What is your favorite work story?
When I was attending Triple Play and I approached, at that point, PAR President-elect Todd Umbenhauer and introduced myself and let him know that we share the same religious faith of Mennonite. That led to further conversations, which led him to ask me when was I going to step up and be president of my association. My first response was to laugh and say, “No that will never happen.” But you know the saying, “Never say never.” I’m currently slated to be the Cambria-Somerset Association of Realtors® president-elect in 2019.

What are you most proud of in your career?
First would be acquiring my broker’s license and then being voted in by my association as their 2019 president-elect.

What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I love woodworking and transforming old furniture into another purpose. For example, I took old chicken coops ramps and created a light fixture for above our island.

What is your favorite PAR memory?
That would have to be at the Fall Business Meetings, when we had set up a time to talk with our local representatives to discuss some local issues and as we were talking, Gov. Wolf stopped by to say hello.

What do you do when you’re not selling real estate?
I like to travel and spend as much time as I can with my husband Bill and grown children, Shaun and Maggie. I’ve been our church treasurer for 25 years and I recently joined my local Rotary Club.