Lets talk $$$, Stewardship, and Leadership w/ Sherrie Salas

In this episode, Chad and Maria sit down with Sherrie Salas, ECAR’s Board of Directors Treasurer, to talk about her journey into leadership and the important role she plays in helping guide the Association.

Sherrie stepped into leadership at ECAR and has never looked back. Her heart for her clients, her commitment to the Association, and her dedication to serving as Treasurer continue to shine through in everything she does.

During the conversation, Sherrie shares what the Treasurer role involves, why financial stewardship matters, and how ECAR works to strategically and responsibly manage member dues. From budgeting and planning to making sure resources are used wisely, this episode highlights how thoughtful financial leadership allows ECAR to provide meaningful programs, services, advocacy, and support for its members.

It’s a conversation about service, responsibility, leadership, and the care it takes to help move the Association forward.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Keys to the Emerald Coast, the official podcast of the Emerald Coast Association of World Tourist. Each episode we unlock market insights, advocacy updates, and member stories to help you thrive one key at a time.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome back, Ecar. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Keys to the Emerald Coast. I am Chad Nelson, Marketing and Communications Director with Ecar, joined by my amazing co-host, Maria Howell.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Hello, Chad.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

How are you? Good.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

How are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:26

I'm doing well. Doing well. Enjoying the weather, trying to trying to soak up a little sun. We got some vacation weekends coming up.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Oh, yeah. And summer's in full swing out there. It is. Man. The traffic. The traffic.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

In full swing, without a doubt. Yes. We were talking about that a little bit before. Trying to trying to get around on 98 is is fun right now.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

If weather would cooperate so they could stay on the beach.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Stay on the beach.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Stay on the beat. That helps. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Absolutely. All right. Well, we're also joined in the amazing JVC broadcasting studio with Sherry Sallas, our eCar board member treasurer.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yes, that's correct. Happy to be here. Thanks for asking me.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Absolutely. We we were talking a little bit before we got started, but we we realized we brought all of our area directors on to kind of highlight their areas. And I sat in the board meeting last week or week before and was like, oh, we missed a couple. We missed a couple from the room. So don't want to exact team members that we've got to bring on and highlight their role and what they do for the association. And um, yeah, I just wanted to kind of give you that opportunity. But for those that that may not know you, which I'm I'm sure is few and far between, but kind of give our listeners, our members, a little bit of your backstory personally, professionally, all the fun stuff.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Absolutely. So I have been with Ecar on the board now for two years. I have served on several boards, though, and um I started out in real estate about eight years ago. And prior to that, I was working for an investor for seven years. Okay. And he owned multifamily in Texas. And then we moved here, and three years after moving here, he decided to move back to Texas. I had just gotten my real estate license because I wanted to flip houses. And within four months, I decided I was going to be leaving his company and going full-time into real estate, which I had never done. Um, was very nervous about that and also thought, is this really a responsible thing to do as a single mom supporting my children? So I took that deep dive, did a lot of praying. My Bible study class prayed over me a lot, and we they just kept saying, you know what, just keep listening to God and just keep praying about it, and he's gonna show you what needs to happen. And that moment came and I knew that it was God and decided this is gonna be a full-time situation for me.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

So I went into real estate and it's all history from there. So yeah. So then I got into women's council as well and started on the board there, did became secretary, then became treasurer, and became president-elect, and then president in 2023. And at that time, actually, Joe reached out to me, Joe Cappolotti, and said, Hey, what do you think about joining the board as Destin Director? And I said, and this was when I was going into being president, and I said, God, I just don't know. I'm not sure. Like I hadn't even thought about that. And at the time, it just really wasn't the right timing. And Rachel Simmerley wanted to be the Destin director that year too. So she was going to be running. And I said, Why don't you do that? I think that's a great idea. And she decided to do that, and I kind of took a step back and just did president that year, which thank goodness. Yeah, that's a lot. I did, because it is, it is a lot, right? And um, and I was able to fully focus on that position, you know, and give that organization my time that year, which was so important. And we have to run a business. Yes. There's not only that, but you have to run a business. Like I have to be able to support, again, as a single mom, support my family. So at that time I decided to wait. And then uh a year later, um, Melissa actually reached out to me and said, Why don't you consider treasurer? Um, which was assistant treasurer at the time. So I ended up um deciding to actually do assistant treasure, and then I found out Kathy Alley was going to be running for that. And I said, I don't want to run it at Kathy Alley. So, you know, the the funny thing about leadership, what you're seeing here is that it's not always your time. And you have to really evaluate not only what's best for you, what's best for your business, what's best for your family, but also what's best for that organization at the time. And 100%, Kathy Alley was the person that needed to be in that position. And what that allowed me to do was join the finance committee, start learning a little bit more about it. And also when I became assistant treasurer the following year, which was 2025, Kathy Alley was my mentor. And so she got to teach me everything that she knew. And I cannot imagine a better way to step into that position. So I was very blessed to have her then, and now I'm very blessed now to have her as our president, also. So um again, I always feel like God's always moving in my life, and I feel like um he's always had his hand in this situation. And we've been very blessed this year to have Melissa Skoneki take over as our AE. And she has been amazing. And having her and Kathy working together right now, the top of that has just made things so smooth. And I've seen firsthand what it can be like. So I was on the executive committee last year.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Sherry was with me last year, the year of change.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

It was a lot of change, yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

But but Sherry was was very supportive of what we had to do.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

And we spent a lot of time working as the executive um board, you know, making the right decisions for eCar at that time. Um, and we were lucky that we had the people in place that we did that were ready to make those decisions and stand together. So that got me into treasurer this year. And man, what an incredible opportunity to be able to serve our organization. Um, and I've really, really enjoyed that. So it's still, does that, you know, mean that that's it? Probably not. I'm probably gonna uh run for vice president this year, so we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

That's what I heard.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

You heard it here first.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

I like it. So probably, you know, right now there's a a lot on my plate with treasurer, so I know that um whenever that changes, I'm still gonna want to be involved because it's a I love being a part of the association, so it's important to me.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Oh, that's great. Yeah. Well well, I guess for a little bit of maybe behind the scenes, um, for those that, you know, don't necessarily look into the numbers, all that kind of stuff, but what does the role of the treasurer really involve? What does that look like for e-car?

SPEAKER_01 7:03

So it is a lot more than what I anticipate.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Yes, it is a lot.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

It is hard to tell um from the outside looking in how much actually goes into that. And it is more than just budgets, you know, it is a daily operation of approving bills, it's a daily operation of talking to the AE to make sure that we're moving in the correct direction. It is reviewing financials, um, it is constantly looking at investments and making sure that we're making wise decisions with our members' money because we are ultimately responsible for their money. And that is a bigger picture too. Like, are we providing the education that's needed for our members? Um, and we want that's a huge part of what eCar feels is very important. At our association, we actually provide a lot of free education, and some associations do not do that.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

I don't.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

A lot of associations make them pay for the education, and so that's something that we have always wanted to be able to provide for our members, so we're constantly looking at that. As well as we're looking at travel for our members as well when they're on committees, you know, they're uh Florida directors. It's important that we're supporting them in all those spaces, and as far as advocacy also. So there is a whole lot that goes into that position and making sure that we're making the right decisions for the association at large.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Yeah, no, it's great. Yeah. This might lead into the next question, but I I just I want to give you your flowers in terms of making these decisions prayerfully. Um that that's a big part of and and from an outsider that you know is coming into an association that might not have the opportunity to talk about their faith, to talk about those things. I appreciate I I hear it so much from you, I hear it from so much, I mean from so many of our members, but I love the fact that we're able to, you know, bring those bring those pieces up and and have those conversations and that we are really thinking about the membership as a whole, the association and everybody really because that's what matters at the end of the day. Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

We have to remember that we don't own that association and it doesn't belong to us. We have to remember every day when we get up that we are serving our members and we are serving that association. And so we have to constantly put that at the forefront of are we doing that? Are we hearing from our members um and listening to them? Because what most people want is just to be heard. So it's important for us to make sure that we are listening and listening to what they're actually saying and not just listening to things too.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yeah, that's that's the key. What they're actually saying. I learned that last year.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Well, and it's easy because we all have our first of all, we already have our own vision when we walk into a situation, so we already have how we see it. Um, but we need to be able to hear how they see it. And that and even though we think we've got it pinned down, right? We think we know exactly what it looks like. Um when they actually tell us how they're seeing it, then it actually can open our eyes to something that we haven't even thought of um and in a direction that maybe we need to consider that course.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

Yeah, I love it. Yeah, definitely. I guess how how have you in in your time um in this leadership role or uh you know, with the board, how has that shaped your perspective about the industry, about our association, um just in general?

SPEAKER_01 10:25

So what I have found is that realtors are very passionate people. They are very passionate and they have very strong beliefs, and we don't all serve the same um client a lot of times. We there's very different types of clients that we serve in this area. So as far as a leader, we have to be able to see all those um different clientele that they're serving and also their perspective, and then we have to actually be able to bring that together in one um circle and be able to move that needle forward for everybody, right? And so that can be hard sometimes, but one thing that we all have in common is that we all are wanting to serve our members to the best of our ability and we want to protect our property rights too for both us and for our homeowners. So when I think when we put that at the forefront, we all want to move in that same direction. So we just got to figure out how to do that. And I know for me as a leader, um you know, always handling things with integrity and putting that first and remembering that really helps shape how I want to be as a leader and how I want to represent our association.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

That's good. I and I I think it correlates with with how you conduct your business, how you lead, that then in 2025 you were awarded Realtor of the Year for eCar. Yes, yes, very surprising.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

Yeah, very much shocked, was not anticipating that at all. That was awesome. And we have, I mean, at the time we had over 5,400 agents. So to receive that award is huge because I know several people I can think of personally that I know definitely deserve that award. And um I just want to make sure that I'm constantly representing our association in the right way, you know, and that's that's always putting that first foot forward um and thinking of them first. So and it's it's crazy because there's so much that happens in our industry. It's like a constant evolving, especially these days, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:28

I mean, you look check your email every day and there's some new news story, and it's like, what now?

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yes, and they're and it's it's constantly evolving. It's not just the association now. Now it's the association and the MLS.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

MLS, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

And now we've got these huge MLSs or these huge associations that are joining and are larger than you know, whole state associations. So it's like we're we're we're hitting on things that we've not ever been a part of before, and lawsuits, and um, we have to keep keep our people constantly engaged and educated on what's happening. And we have to be willing to adapt too in this constant changing atmosphere that we're in in our industry. And I I just think that it's really important that we are able to be on at the very forefront of that, both on a local level, a state level, a national level, to be able to communicate that information back to our members at all times.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah. I think we put out something yesterday with yeah, what came through with uh Florida and the governor and legislation.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

So yeah, really trying to find those tidbits that are going to help not only our association, but yeah when the state makes a decision that is going to impact us and homeowners. We've got to know.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

So it's how quickly can we get that out? We want to, you know, we talk a lot about you know the podcast being the voice, but we really want e-car to be the voice for the state. And yeah, and how can we be at the forefront of giving knowledge and and information to our business, our industry, our clients? Um yeah, it all matters.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Well, and they're looking to us for that too, right? I have people stop me in the I had somebody stop me in the gym today and go, hey, I didn't know that you could not, because they haven't been in the the work field for a while. I didn't know that you could couldn't put compensation or bonuses or anything in the MLS, and I was like, how do you not know that? But people don't know that sometimes, you know, and so it's like they are coming to us for that information, and we have to be able to provide that. And we also can't speak out on something that um Florida Realtors hasn't taken a stance on either. So it's we have to be very careful on how we're moving forward whenever we're addressing these situations and bringing the information to our members. It needs to be accurate information.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yes, yeah, yes. I think that's that's an important piece. I think there's a lot of times where even myself now I'm waiting uh a day or so or waiting for some the correct person to be in the office or for the correct information because it comes in, but I don't necessarily know if it's are we in line or is this true? There's so much information that we get inundated with, whether it is national, Florida, local. Um I mean, we we receive I'm all of us, we receive our information, whether it's social media or the news. Correct. And we've got to it's it's a sad state that we're in sometimes, but we have to differentiate between is this legit or is this something that we need to put out? So yeah, it we want to be the first, but we also want to be the correct voice. Right in the truth.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

And you know, I'm really passionate about the legislative side of things. Um and so when I got into real estate, what I found very quickly is there's a lot more than just buying and selling of houses. Like I love to hear about what's coming out, uh, what they're trying to pass, like ADUs on how important that can be for our local area. Now we're talking property taxes, and I think it's easy as leaders to walk in and, well, this is what I want to see change this year. This is what I want to do, but we have to remember that's not always the best situation. We need to be part of a solution a lot of times, and sometimes we come in wanting to fix what we consider a problem. And then what you think you're gonna address that year a lot of times gets pushed to the side. And I she's probably la she's laughing, Maria's laughing because what you come in as a goal a lot of times isn't what you end up dealing with.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

You just have to pivot completely different change. That was, yeah. And as a leader, like you said, you have to be able to do that very much and keep the members top of mind.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

And it has to be what's actually affecting them today, and whether that's uh lawsuit or the way we're doing buyer brokerage or how the contract has changed, or how our AE is now being replaced, or we have a new AE, or you know, so it's like um our idea of what we want to do when we come in, I think always needs to take a back seat and we need to address what needs to be handled today. And you know, we also need to walk out of there as one voice, just as Kathy Ali says, one voice, one team. You know, we we need to walk out of there together um once we made that decision. So that's great.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Yeah. I I guess uh I've got two amazing leaders that that have been, you know, within eCar and and on the board. What's one piece of advice that you would give to either a new realtor in the area? Um, how can they get more connected? How should they get connected with eCar to be more successful?

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Well, I would say that uh find out what your passion is. There are so many different areas of real estate that you can get involved in, and there's so many different committees um at eCar. Find out what you're passionate about, get involved, join that committee, get involved, and be ready to work as part of that committee, as part of that board, um, and do it as a team member. So really just find out what your passion is.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah, that's good advice. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

We've got endless amounts of committees and task force and opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Education, take classes, meet each other, you know, out there. So go to our events. Go to the state.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

I mean, go to the conventions, go, you know, conferences, go to the legislative meetings, find out what's actually happening on the day-to-day state level, national level, and what you can do to help move our industry forward.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

You you kind of mentioned it, uh in terms of being at the forefront and loving to know what's you know coming up around the bend, maybe. What what is something that you're really looking forward to maybe in the ne in in the future of e-car, um, whether that's you know as an association or even just in the industry? What's what's something that you're looking forward to?

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Wow, so I really like the legislative part. So for me, it's always seeing what's changing. Um it's like sh actually hearing what's coming up, the pipeline, you know, and um being involved in making sure that my clients' voices are being heard. And what that means is that they have to be heard through me, right? I'm the one that actually is taking it to the legislative side of things, whether that's state, the local, however that happens. So for me, I want to be that voice for them. And if they're experiencing issues, whether it's the condo association, HOA, or somebody is you know, giving them issues with their property rights, I want to be able to communicate that back to our people at the state level so that we can hopefully make changes.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

But they don't necessarily have that seat at the table. So when we're able to provide that for them, and like you said, the property rights and um however, you know, whatever realm they're having issues with, we're able to kind of be the professionals. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

Yeah, and I think, you know, Melissa Garza, our governmental affairs director, you know, we have her here locally, and then she can um, you know, call state, our regional and state and help us help back us up in the world.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Yeah, local level and a state level. Um, she is constantly working for us. I mean, she's incredible. And she knows all the people. So if we have something that comes up, she picks up the phone and she makes those phone calls. And to have somebody to be able to do that at your local association is huge. We are way up in the panhandle, and a lot of South Florida gets, you know, a lot of they have well, they're right there, so they are in there all the time at Tallahassee or at Orlando. We're not. So, but we are we're our name is out there. Like we're on the map. They're hearing from us, they know that we're important too. So, and that has a lot to do with Melissa because she's always stepping up to like to do that. Yeah, she's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

She's she's away on vacation right now, so in the office a little bit, but we'll see her.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

We'll see her next week. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Well deserved. And she's over in England too, which is a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

I know. I can't wait for her to get back and tell us how that went.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Well, well, Sherry, thanks so much for joining us. I know you're busy, don't want to keep you, but it's been incredible having you in and getting a a a different perspective on um something that we don't talk a lot about in terms of you know the treasurer side of things and your perspective as a leader. So just really appreciate you taking the time out to talk with us.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Yeah, this was wonderful. I'm happy to do that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

And I got to give one more shout out to our treasurer is we paid off our building. Hey, Santa Rosa Beach. So way to go. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Yes, that was huge on our part. There was a lot of discussion about that. Um, we got all the numbers together and went to the board, brought everything to them, and they made a decision that that was a very wise decision to do so. And we've been complimented by our CPA, our investing, you know, they've all said that was a wise decision on your part. So big win. That is a big win. Congratulations. That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Well, awesome. Well, thanks so much again. And thanks for joining us. Thanks for listening in. We appreciate you uh taking the time out of your day to listen to, you know, just a couple of people hanging out, having a conversation. But um uh if there's anything you want to hear, please let us know. Give us a call, shoot us an email. We'd love to bring you um that information. And until next time, we'll talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Yes, goodbye. Thank you. Bye bye.