Serving Beyond the Sale

What does it mean to leave a legacy that extends far beyond real estate?

In this episode of Keys to the Emerald Coast, hosts Maria Howell and Melissa Skoniecki sit down with longtime REALTOR® and community leader Linde Bowman for a heartfelt conversation about leadership, resilience, and the power of giving back. Discover how one family's journey inspired a lasting impact on the Emerald Coast and why serving your community can be one of the greatest investments you'll ever make.

Transcript

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Maria Howell 0:00

Welcome to Keys to the Emerald Coast, the official podcast of the Emerald Coast Association of World Tours. Each episode we unlock market insights, advocacy updates, and member stories to help you thrive one key at a time. Hello, listeners. This is Maria Howell, your 2025 past president, here with Melissa Skineki, our association executive.

Melissa Skoniecki 0:22

Hi Maria, how are you?

Maria Howell 0:23

Good. How are you doing? I'm doing good.

Melissa Skoniecki 0:25

Thank you. No, I'm staying hot out there.

Maria Howell 0:28

So hot, hot, hot. So what's going on at Ecar?

Melissa Skoniecki 0:32

Oh, so much. But you know, we're really focusing right now on the Florida Realtors Convention. So that takes place August 18th through the 23rd. And we're um we're pulling all together the plans for that. We have about, I think, 60 members now uh between the FR committees, our leadership development program class, our board of directors. Um they're they're all en route and will be joining us down there that week. But I'd like for our members to know uh just because you can't make it to Orlando during that week, you have the opportunity to uh watch virtually. So they have a lot of hybrid sessions, and our Florida Realtors president this year, Chuck Bonfiglio, is really focused on wealth building for the Realtors and for our members. You know, we help people buy and sell properties and um we help them with their investments and gain uh financial freedom, but we do not do that for ourselves all the time. So um the the beginning of this convention and conference is gonna be about how we can build wealth on our own. So please, members, listeners, download that Florida Realtors app or just go to their website and um see when those hybrid classes are.

Maria Howell 1:50

Yeah, we're at store online. They make it very easy.

Melissa Skoniecki 1:53

Worth your time for sure.

Maria Howell 1:54

And you can check out the schedule there too. Yes. Awesome. Well, today we have Miss Lindy Bowman in the house with us. Or studio, I should say.

Melissa Skoniecki 2:05

Yeah, in the house. Lindy in the house.

Maria Howell 2:09

Uh yes. So we are here to talk about the foundation you have and um yeah, have our listeners know a little bit more about you. I know I've served with you on the finance committee. So, and I know Melissa has worked closely with you.

Melissa Skoniecki 2:28

We go way back, me and this lady. She's got a heart of gold.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Oh, that's sweet. Way back is right, and I'm excited. Um, this is my first podcast, so we'll see how it goes.

Maria Howell 2:37

Yeah, it's gonna go fantastic.

Melissa Skoniecki 2:39

It's like my third.

Maria Howell 2:40

So you're a pro. Oh, good.

Melissa Skoniecki 2:43

We're both new.

Maria Howell 2:45

Yeah. So tell us a little bit about yourself. How long you've been here? When did you get into real estate? All the fun stuff.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Sure. Um so I'm a native, which I don't know how many people can actually say that. I was actually born and raised uh in Fort Walton, Melissa can. Um, I married a guy in the military, thought I'd never do that, but I did it. And moved all over the world and came back very quickly when education was very important to me when my kids were little. Um, and raised two children and became a realtor for and I've been realtor for 30 years.

Melissa Skoniecki 3:21

Oh wow. Wow, you're knocking on the emeritus door. Yeah. I know she's like, oh which means old. No, you you don't look like a 30-year-old realtor.

Maria Howell 3:34

Yeah. So what do you um and you were with uh ERA, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:39

I am. I'm with ERA American Real Estate, and I've actually been with that brand for all 30 years. Okay. Um did three or four years in uh, it was three years in Louisiana, and then was lucky enough to force my husband to come back here and retire. And yeah, this is they're just my people.

Melissa Skoniecki 3:57

Yeah. I've had a lot of nicknames for Lindy Bowman over the years, but one of my favorites is the deal doctor.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa Skoniecki 4:06

She's a she's a good deal doctor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Negotiating is one of the funniest fine arts that we get to do. I just think it's fun. Um, it's interesting because everybody's brain works differently, and uh you get to kind of pick and choose and push and pull and figure out somebody everybody wants a win, but figure out how to make that win work for everybody.

Maria Howell 4:28

Yeah, like what's everyone's win-win. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Right.

Maria Howell 4:31

That's good. And what is your role at ERA?

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Well, today I and hopefully for the next few weeks. Um I am the vice president and head of the brokerage. Okay. Um, basically, I guess if it's it's my fault is what that means. Um you're the go-to. Yeah. We it's the power of yes. Yeah.

unknown 4:53

Yeah.

Maria Howell 4:54

Or everyone calls Lindy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

But I love it. I love every and I can't believe that I would ever um be in some sort of leadership position because I love helping people buy and sell homes. Um, but somewhere along the way, um, I found a uh place that I also fit in and am very comfortable with, and that's helping other agents grow their business, um, helping buyers and sellers come together, and um, you know, making sure that all of the wheels are greased and running properly. Um so uh taking that executive position has has been fun and exciting. Well, congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you.

Melissa Skoniecki 5:36

Very good, well-deserved. You're welcome.

Maria Howell 5:40

Yeah. So how about eCar? What have you done um on our association? I know you've finance committee, you've been on that for several, several years.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, did budget and finance uh leadership, uh MLS a lot. A lot um I it is hard for people to not think of their situation. And um, so I I do love being on there and on that committee, and I think also in that MLS committee, you have to have some history because you have to remember what you did or did not do and why you did it. So having some historical data in that committee is important. Um, also I think it affects all the members. Yeah, maybe not everything affects all the members. This does, and so I feel like I've I've got a footprint there, and you know, I can leave things maybe better to than they were yesterday. So I I do love that. Um task force and crazy stuff. Yeah, I do.

Melissa Skoniecki 6:38

The fun thing about Lindy is you we have a we have a lot of uh exciting committees, you know, the YPNs, the public policies, all that. There's a lot of fun information and drama. And then you have the the the like the deep-seated leaders in inside of our uh profession like Lindy who sign up for budget and finance and and some of those. But I will tell you, you left off the most exciting committee that I know that you're in charge of now, and that is our facilities task force. Yes. So so we are working on suckered in the you did a little bit.

Maria Howell 7:16

Um told right here.

Melissa Skoniecki 7:19

Uh, but she is working with uh me, our operations director, and other members. Uh it's a very small task force on maintaining our assets and maintaining our buildings and putting together a schedule of a maintenance, basically. You know, how old's the roof? When's the roof need to be replaced? These are not $10,000 and $15,000 repairs. These are $50,000 to $100,000 repairs that in time on commercial buildings, you have to uh you have to buy the bullet and make it happen. So Lindy has helped us uh organize quite a bit. So um the good news is we have discovered uh uh a lot of software that can help us. We just have to go back to her budget and finance background and find the money to pay for that.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

Yeah, money. I know. That's always the hard part. But if you don't invest in the now and the future and the plan for that, who else is gonna do it? Back to that historical data, you know. Correct. Maria, Lindy, Melissa, there may be in three years that this is not our passion or what we're doing anymore. So who's gonna know that? So you kind of gotta spend and and it's really silly not to do it in some sort of tech tool so that there is something that's always the truth, right? Um, because yeah, I agree.

Maria Howell 8:39

Because we dealt with a lot of building issues last year that came up, and then I know Melissa shared with me the other day some more things. So it's it's a constant, you know, and and we have to have money set aside to take care of those.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Yeah, because nothing on any of these commercial buildings is gonna be, you know, five thousand dollars. It's gonna be fifty-two two hundred thousand dollar investment that you're gonna have to make tomorrow. Yeah. Um, and getting the finance committee together to say, yes, we have to spend it, then going to the board and saying, okay, yes, um, you know, that's two weeks while the air conditioners don't work and your staff is working from home or not working.

Melissa Skoniecki 9:18

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Um hurts everybody.

unknown 9:22

Yeah.

Melissa Skoniecki 9:22

So thank you for serving on that. I really appreciate your input and your knowledge uh in commercial space on that because it's been very helpful to me.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

So well, thanks for asking or telling.

Maria Howell 9:33

Yeah, yeah, or telling. All right. Well, let's shift into your um, yeah, the foundation and what you've been doing um personally there and and hear more about it.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Yeah, so this one's a hard one to talk about. Um 16 years ago, my daughter, who was 16, uh, was hit by a drunk driver in our driveway and she was killed. And um I was devastated. My whole family was devastated. Uh, and once we could breathe again shortly thereafter, um, my son, unbeknownst to me, said, I really wanted to start a scholarship foundation so that Laney can go to college. And um some great friends of ours heard that and they started a bank account that I had no idea about and put a bunch of money in there and said, You can give away a scholarship this year. And we said, Oh, okay. Um, I didn't know what that meant. Had to go to an accountant, start a start an official fund, not just a friends putting money in an account, um, and go to an attorney and write out what all this would do. So it was a big learning experience. I'm very thankful for that experience because that did teach me tons of different things. But most importantly, is every year for the last 16 years, we have been able to grant total given to uh uh high school seniors a hundred over a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars today.

Maria Howell 10:52

That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Um it's a blessing and Elena gets to go to college a lot, yeah, which I'm super grateful for. Yeah. And her sweet little brother, who is now a grown man, 30, um, and a realtor, also uh, you know, that he had that dream and that passion at 13 to be able to say, let's do something good. So um Yeah.

Melissa Skoniecki 11:15

Well, Laney spoke through him for sure on that one.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Absolutely. And um, you know, she's she she speaks through a lot of people and she's taught me so much. And the most important thing is leave it better than than it was. And those footprints that you do every day makes a difference, and that's has stuck with me and it's important to me, and it is it builds a culture, it it makes you think right before you lose it, you gotta back up or lose it with a protected group. Yeah, um, um, but also it you have a purpose every day, and that was important for a long time for me is to find my purpose.

Melissa Skoniecki 11:55

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you, um, my nephew, Landon, was the beneficiary of one of your scholarships. Uh, I don't know, about five, six years ago. He just graduated the University of Central Florida in the nursing program there and scored a big gig at that big hospital there. Not sure quite what he's doing. Um, but uh I I come from a family of nurses and they were all like, hey, this is a big deal for a guy coming right out of college. So uh I want to thank you again for helping him and so many because um the Elena Bowman Foundation, uh, did I say it right? Scholarship Scholarship Foundation. Uh there's a big tournament every year, golf tournament. Okay, and it's local, it's in Fort Walton Beach, and they really depend on sponsors and also golfers um and and contributors to that fund. But when you see all those kids stand up at the end of the golf tournament and they award the money.

Maria Howell 12:53

Oh, they do it at the golf tournament.

Melissa Skoniecki 12:55

Yes. I mean, it is just it really, it really makes it um real and tangible, and it puts such a beautiful uh cherry on top, you know, when you can see how excited those kids are uh to have their name called and and for you guys to hand that check over. So and you do it every single year. How many years did you say are you doing this now?

SPEAKER_02 13:16

It's 16, right? Second 16, right? Um and it is very rewarding to see those kids and those parents to know that they're not gonna have that burden. Now, you know, I know I'm not paying for their entire college. We're you know, every little bit every little bit helps. It is it it's a relief from those parents, and and that's cool. And the kids are funny because they call me, a lot of them call me, um, every year. Oh, Miss Lindy, I did really, really good this year. Um, you know, and and then they always try to find something that's kind or giving that they did to give back, right? Which, you know, then Elena did make a difference.

Melissa Skoniecki 13:54

Girl, that is paying it forward. It's not just about the money, it's about the impact that you've made on them that they continue to make on others.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yeah. Oh the impact that Elena made on and and that's super that part's good for mommy. Yeah. Um, of course. Yeah, that means that you know, I did maybe some good things too. Uh, but yeah, she she definitely her story gets to be told. Um, and then she's leaving a legacy, and uh, those kids are doing incredible things, which is very I mean, it's great, and it's great for the community.

Melissa Skoniecki 14:26

It really is.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

They come back and volunteer, they donate. It's crazy.

Melissa Skoniecki 14:30

So, how can we help you? How can the community help you inside because another thing is I've known this woman for a very long time. Uh, and when this golf tournament comes up in the summertime, she is so busy. Her family is so busy, her closest friends are just so overwhelmed with the with the entire event. Um, can your realtor community help you with time? Can we help you with money? What are the best ways forward that we can provide to give back to what you're doing here?

SPEAKER_02 15:06

A handful of ways, you know. Uh one of them, of course, is to volunteer or to play in the tournament. Um, and that is it's both fun, but it's also very hot. And I'm totally understand that because maybe that's not for everybody. Um, but you know, uh leaving things for the goodie bags, or um, maybe you have a friend that has a business that that would benefit from getting involved in something like this. Um, and uh the other thing is of course sponsoring a hole or doing something like that, but it also just coming. You know, we do a great barbecue with one of my really good friends um at Kinfolk's. Uh and so we do a great barbecue and the scholarship presentation and also auction off some things so you can also come buy some things, but um, it is cool to come out and see the impact and all the pink because everything's pink. Everybody wears pink on that day. Yeah, um, so it is super impactful to see that and to be a part of it. And you do you walk away with a kind of open heart and a good feeling.

Melissa Skoniecki 16:15

Yeah, it's a day well spent. Yeah, it really is. And every June, yes. It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Every June. It's either the second or the third week of June.

Melissa Skoniecki 16:24

Uh you collect contributions throughout the year outside of the golf tournament?

SPEAKER_02 16:29

We do. You can go to ElenaBowman.com or give me a call. And uh uh always uh anything helps. Ten dollars, five dollars. We're not we don't just we don't discriminate against money.

Melissa Skoniecki 16:41

Right, right. Well, college is expensive. Yes, you know, so um to hand out those checks every year, yeah, it's a it's a lot of fundraising. So uh if everything is circled around one event, sometimes that is hard to hit those goals. So I would encourage people to go to that website and donate some money.

Maria Howell 16:59

Donate some money. Now, how if you are a senior, can you apply for the scholarship? Also by going to ElenaBowman.com.

Melissa Skoniecki 17:06

Okay. And do you accept those throughout the year and you just decide um who you're gonna uh award?

SPEAKER_02 17:15

So they can send them at any time, but because there are some uh prerequisites that they have to have done, they pretty much have to be really towards the end of that senior year. Okay. So usually it's sometime between March and uh you know, June 1st, end of May, that and and it will always say the the time frame that those applications are due, but the applications are up all the time.

Melissa Skoniecki 17:39

Good, good. Well, we'd like to have you back in that time frame to remind people that this is going on. Yeah. So so we'll talk again at the beginning of spring. Yeah. And you know, I Maria and I are purposefully looking for champions in our profession and leaders in our profession and uh community givers, and we're we're trying to highlight you all so much because the you're you're not just selling real estate and and having those great successes, you know, um, just sold, just closed. Uh, you are really truly giving back into your community. And I think that's lost a lot of times. It's lost a lot of times on us because we're so busy. Um, but it's really important that that our membership knows that we have some huge hearts living inside of us our world.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

And I would encourage all the realtors to find a place to put their heart and to give. Um, you're gonna feel way better. Yes. Um, you are going to leave a legacy of some sort, and you're you're gonna make an impact on people, whether you know it or you're not. And um, I think it's important for us to give to the community that we raise our children in, that we work in, that we live in, and not just a small community, but you know, we have four counties, five counties that we cover at least. Um, and so you know, that's a that's a vast area that you can make an impact somewhere. Yes.

Maria Howell 19:08

I agree. You heard her. Go make an impact out there. So, Lindy, how can they reach you? Um, what's your phone number?

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Uh my phone number is 850-974-6537.

Melissa Skoniecki 19:20

And it's Lindy L-I-N-D-E. Triple Lindy.

Maria Howell 19:27

Lindy Bowman. Well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story with our listeners and um and the wonderful scholarship foundation that you have going on for your daughter. And yeah, so please everyone go out there and check out the website and donate and play some golf next June.

Melissa Skoniecki 19:45

Maria, you and I.

Maria Howell 19:47

Okay. Yeah. I think I think you've opened me into something else too. I did. It's our specialty. I think we're doing the 5K for Thanksgiving. Oh Lord. And now we're gonna do a turkey. Yes.

Melissa Skoniecki 20:00

5 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Be there or be square, Maria.

Maria Howell 20:06

All right, we'll see what Melissa and I end up doing.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

This is gonna become a video game. Yes, yeah, very quickly.

Maria Howell 20:13

Well, thank you, listeners, and we will catch you next time.

Melissa Skoniecki 20:17

We'll see you later.

Maria Howell 20:18

Goodbye.