Perfect fit
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 5 months AGO
LeRae Redal shows her Achievement Award from the Moses Lake-Othello Realtors Association. She’s won the award a couple of times before, she said, but this year came as a surprise to her.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald
LeRae Redal poses with Moses Lake Realty Group brokers Anna Van Diest, left, and Heidi Van Diest at the MLRG office on Broadway Avenue.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | March 17, 2023 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Sometimes, the profession and the person just match up neatly.
LeRae Redal has a story like that. The owner of Moses Lake Real Estate Group, who received the Achievement Award at the Moses Lake-Othello Realtors Association in January, sort of fell into real estate 25 years ago and has been thriving there ever since.
“I had a store downtown, (called) The Perfect Ac’Scent,” Redal said. “I decided that it was time to sell that and move on, and I got an offer on it. Then I was taking care of my dad's RV park – he was sick and going for treatment.”
Things took a turn when Redal got a call from then-Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Manager Karen Wagner, asking if Redal would tend bar for Business After Hours, which was hosted by Windermere Real Estate.
“So I said, sure, and I went down there,” Redal said. “And then Lois Kincaid, who was the owner then, tried to recruit me. I was like, ‘Well, I don't know.’ And then I got a call from two other managing brokers in town, who said, ‘I hear you're getting your real estate license. Talk to us before you sign a contract.’ So I decided maybe I'll just get my license and see about it. And I did. And within my first full year, 1999, I was in the top 10 in sales, and I've been there all the time since then.”
Redal went out on her own in 2007, she said, opening Moses Lake Realty Group at its current location on Broadway Avenue.
Moses Lake Realty Group started out as Redal, her sister and her niece plus a secretary, she said. Then slowly, agents began finding their way to Redal’s doorstep.
“The John L. Scott office closed and a few of those brokers came over. Axon closed, and few of those came over,” Redal said.
Currently, Moses Lake Realty Group has 10 agents including Redal. The office deals mostly in residential properties, although they handle some commercial, and one broker also specializes in agricultural land sales.
“She's been a great mentor,” said Heidi Van Diest, one of the brokers at MLRG. “I really think LeRae is one of the best, if not the best, in the business. So I don't think I would learn (as much) from anyone else. And I think my success really comes from her and everything she's taught me, truly.”
“You’ve got to always put the people ahead of your own needs, you know? You just feel connected and responsible and obligated to them; once you make a promise or a commitment, you're gonna fulfill it,” Redal said. “And so the more you work, the more people call you to work.”
Joel Martin can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.