Chief Executive Officer John Gronewold Joins California Desert Association of REALTORS(R)

www.cdaronline.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

May 8, 2015 John Gronewold
Chief Executive Officer
With headshot (760) 346-5637
(Media) John Hussar
PRNewsWorks (760) 567-8073

Chief Executive Officer John Gronewold Joins
California Desert Association of REALTORS®

PALM DESERT (Calif.) – John Gronewold, celebrating his 30th year as a REALTOR® association professional, is taking the helm of the California Desert Association of REALTORS® as the chief executive officer of the 3,200 member trade organization.
“We’re here to make the Realtors thrive,” said Gronewold of CDAR’s mission statement. “When the Realtors thrive, the entire community thrives. We are the only trade organization that actually fights for its clients or customers, not its members.”
Gronewold, who most recently was chief executive officers of the Portland, Oregon Association of REALTORS®, said Realtors set the table for the Coachella Valley’s economy because tourism, restaurants, hotels all revolves around real estate transactions.
He said CDAR needs to “lead the community by example,” most notably with the recent decision to replace grass around CDAR headquarters with water efficient landscaping. “It’s saving us about 22,000 gallons of water per month.”
Gronewold is encouraging CDAR members to recommend the same to their clients which help the entire community. One idea is that a Realtor might offer a monetary “credit” to fund turf removal to buy a certain house the financial incentives could come from cities or water agencies. He’d like to see sellers offer similar incentives.
Gronewold has also been an executive officer for the Tacoma, Pierce County Association of REALTORS®; Multifamily Housing Association of Oregon. He has also served on various non-profit boards including: Fair Housing Council of Washington; Home Ownership Street at a Time, World Hunger Relief, and Miracle Foundation where he was awarded the “Visionary Leader of the Year” in 2008.
Gronewold was raised on a daffodil bulb farm in Puyallup, WA. Prior to association work, he was in the Navy operating electronic warfare and nuclear submarine facility security.
The California Desert Association of REALTORS ®, The Trusted Source for Real Estate in the Desert Communities, represents more than 3,000 real estate professionals from Palm Springs to Blythe. REALTORS® hold themselves to a higher standard via the National Association of REALTORS®’ Code of Ethics, yet only about a quarter of California licensed real estate agents are REALTORS®. For more information – or to verify you’re working with a REALTOR® – visit www.CDARonline.org or call (760) 346-5637.