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Group Aims To Reverse Real Estate Job Losses

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By LENORA LAKE

llake@tampatrib.com

Published: December 22, 2008

TAMPA - Jon Brown is finishing a room addition - and that's all the work in the pipeline for his 41/2-year-old construction company, which used to build custom homes.

Like many in the real estate and construction business, the market downturn has hit the 31-year-old owner of JPB Construction hard.

But Brown, a married father of two young children, is being helped by a new group, Real Estate Lives. The organization is trying to place anyone who has lost his or her real estate-related job in another job or career.

The 2-month-old organization, which hopes to soon obtain nonprofit status, is the brainchild of Tampa lawyer Ron Weaver. He sought out leaders from the professional group Commercial Real Estate Women as the organization's other founders.

"They Real Estate Lives have been trying to make me aware of job fairs and professional meet-and-greets," said Brown, of Riverview. "They also have gotten me a resume review and a mentor who is an architect."

"We are focusing on how I can transfer my construction management experience to other types of management," Brown said.

Weaver said he started hearing about architects, planners, construction managers, brokers, real estate agents, skilled tradesmen and other professionals leaving Tampa to take unrelated - and often menial - jobs across the country.

"We were sending them to mine coal in Colorado," Weaver said. "We decided there had to be something we could do."

Real Estate Lives founders began calling people in various businesses and asking about any jobs or other contacts. It grew to a network of about 150 contacts.

Weaver said the organizers had come across 72 jobs as of last week. "But if they didn't have a job, they would offer to help us in other ways," including giving leads to more contacts and providing information about available resources, he said.

One of Real Estate Lives' founders, Pam Winchester of Focus Real Estate Services, said the group has four goals:

•Help meet immediate financial needs of families by working with social service agencies

•Restore a sense of hope

•Retrain the individual for another position

•Place them in a job

Winchester is working directly with Brown.

Winchester is "on top of everything and very motivated. It has been a good, uplifting thing for me," Brown said.

Real Estate Lives has worked with Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, United Way, Hillsborough Community College, the Hillsborough County school district and other groups to seek referrals and training opportunities.

It meets every two weeks to plan and share information and leads. The group hopes to place 300 people in jobs in six months and continue to call and look for all options.

"It's a personal contact thing," said Brenda Dohring Hicks of The Dohring Group, another founder of Real Estate Lives. "About 80 percent of the businesses employ less than 20 people. So it's not like we can go to one big builder or one big architectural firm."

Elaine Kennedy of GVA Advantis said she got involved "because people were hurting out there."

HOW TO HELP

Those wanting to volunteer with Real Estate Lives can attend the organization's meeting 10 a.m. Jan. 7 at 2918 W. Kennedy Blvd. For information, visit www.realestatelives.org.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851.

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