Cathy Colvin takes her many responsibilities on local, regional and national levels extremely seriously. It’s one of the reasons the former president of the REALTORS® Association of New Mexico (RANM) was named the organization’s REALTOR® of the Year.

“I was very surprised because I received the award for REALTOR® of the year for the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® (GAAR) in 2008 and getting one for the state is a whole lot more difficult,” Colvin said. “You’re competing against everyone around the state so it’s a real honor. It’s huge honor because I wasn’t expecting it.” In reality, the surprise is that Colvin had not received the honor even sooner, but “there’s a lot of other worthy candidates,” she said. “The competition is stiff. There are a lot of REALTORS® that do a lot for organizations.”

A life in real estate

But few carry the cachet that Colvin hoists. Her lengthy resume includes stints not only as the RANM president, but also serving as the organization’s treasurer, central district vice president, and also an REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) trustee. On the national level, Colvin has been a member of the board of the directors for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) for numerous years, as well as the research committee and the organization’s risk management committee – for which she was the chairperson in 2015.

And in 2018, she will be the Region XI vice president for the NAR, representing some 150,000 REALTORS® across six Rocky Mountain states. It’s that latter role that really has Colvin – already a bubbly cauldron of enthusiasm – particularly fired up. “I had a very formidable opponent from Arizona,” she said. “Arizona has 45,000 REALTORS® and New Mexico has 7,000. So it was quite an honor to be chosen. I’ll sit on the executive committee of NAR. I’m very excited. I’m just giddy with excitement for that. I feel very privileged for that.”

“It gets in your blood”

Being involved is something a couple of her original mentors recommended when she got into the real estate business in 1993. “Doyle Pargin encouraged me to give real estate six months,” Colvin said. “He said I would like it and do well. I hit the ground running and I haven’t stopped since. Both him and Tom Schiffer, an old-timey REALTOR®, took me under their wing and told me to get involved in my local board. So right away I volunteered for a committee. Back then it was the Albuquerque Metro Board of REALTORS ®. And it just gets in your blood, to be involved and be in the know. It’s just snowballed.”

Considering real estate wasn’t even something Colvin had originally considered doing with her life, her involvement has been more like an avalanche. “I had a family business,” she said. “I sold electronic components to major defense contractors for years. My father sold the business and I had to figure out what I was going to do next. I went to look to sell insurance. I knew I wanted to go into some sort of sales.” Instead, “I got pilot’s license and then I went and got my real estate license,” Colvin said. “I knew I needed to pick something so I could make some money.”

Breaking down barriers

It’s certainly worked out as she now works as associate broker under qualifying broker Kurstin Johnson at Vista Encantada Realtors. “She’s been very encouraging and supportive of my leadership roles,” Colvin said of Johnson. “She was on the real estate commission and also was a past president of the (GAAR) board.” The support she’s gotten over the years has made her mindful of some of the challenges REALTORS® and the local boards have faced, Colvin said, causing her to help try to break down some of the barriers between the smaller and larger associations in the state.

“When I was president of the state association, I did reach out to the rural areas and the other communities and I was a little more inclusive and I’m hoping that had something to do with it,” she said. “When you’re a member of a big board, you can sometimes take for granted some of the benefits that your board can offer you because they are financially sound. Some of the smaller boards don’t have the resources or finances to do the things that we take for granted here in Albuquerque.”

Helping local customers, large and small

Simply helping those boards remain intact as entities was a big goal during her tenure. “The year that I was president of the state association, the national association put forth some changes the local boards had to comply with to be considered a board,” Colvin said. “We have 19 local boards in New Mexico, which is a lot. I knew that it was going to be very difficult to be able comply with all the guidelines and standards the national association put forth. I reached out to get their input.”

All 19, however, met the standards. “I’m very happy about that,” Colvin said. “I think it’s a struggle for the the really small ones. What they’ve done is gone to the other, larger boards in their area, like Los Alamos and Española have asked Santa Fe to help with some of the services so they can comply.”

Simply being a REALTOR® has similar rewards when it comes to helping people, said Colvin, who is also backed by her husband, Brian Colvin, a remodeling contractor.”Helping clients meet or find the American dream is amazing,” she said. “The whole process. One of my most favorite closings was first-time buyers, they were young. Their little boy was maybe two-three years old. When we went to the walk through on the day of closing, he runs up to me and hugs my legs and said, ‘Thank you for giving me a backyard to play in.’ Just being a part of the process of helping people find their home is just an amazing feeling.” Click here to read the article.