The Realtors Association of Edmonton presented St. Albert’s Lynne Pipella with a Life Membership Award earlier this month. The award recognizes Pipella’s 27 years as a top-seller in the industry as well as her many years of service to the association and to the community of St. Albert.
Pipella won the award in the board development category, because of in-house work she does on a number of real estate association committees.
“She has previously been awarded the medallion for being in the top five per cent of membership sales. She’s won the medallion multiple times. But in addition she is someone who builds the industry,” said Jon Hall, spokesperson for the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
“I’ve always been concerned about maintaining professionalism in the industry. The main board I sit on is the Arbitration and Professional Standards Board,” Pipella said as she explained that the work involves settling disputes over commissions and establishing and confirming the rules of her trade as well as protecting consumers’ rights.
“Our focus now is towards consumer satisfaction and making sure the public is aware of their rights and always protected,” she said.
Pipella, 68, began her real estate career in Saskatoon in 1986 and credits the help of an older salesman in her Royal LePage office there, with helping her get established.
In 1989 Pipella moved to St. Albert with Royal LePage. Later she worked with Re/Max for some years before changing to Sutton Group. Now selling real estate with Realty Executives Masters, Pipella still loves her profession and has no intentions of retiring.
“I like working with people. Selling a house can be a stressful time but we work to try to make it go more smoothly. We help counsel them through the sale. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all the years in the business, it’s not that we have to know everything – for example, I’m not a building inspector – but I know where to find the answers,” Pipella said.
In addition to selling real estate, Pipella has several volunteer commitments with Habitat for Humanity, Krystal Kids, STARS Air Ambulance and at the Edmonton Fringe. She is also a member of the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce.
“I make time for the volunteer work,” she said simply.
In her younger years, with a growing family, Pipella admits there were times when selling real estate was a bit of a juggling act, but it’s a profession she would still recommend to others.
“We all pulled together and made it work. It couldn’t have been too bad because now two of my three children are in the home-building industry,” she said.
She often mentors the new salespeople in her Realty Executives Masters office in St. Albert and ran the office-training program.
“It’s a rewarding profession, but to get started you need a lot of support,” she said. “You have to be self-motivated and you have to be able to keep your spirits up when things don’t go as you had hoped.”
