Dean A. deTonnancourt

Keller Williams Central Rhode Island

 

The Kent Washington Association is pleased to announce that Dean A. deTonnancourt has been selected as KWAOR 2010 REALTOR^® of the Year.  Dean is Broker Associate and Owner Partner Keller Williams Realty Central Rhode Island and was 2008 President of the Kent Washington Association.

Dean’s REALTOR^® Spirit is most obvious in the way he throws himself into any REALTOR^® activity or project he undertakes. If he believes in what he is doing, there is no such thing as being half-committed. Whether teaching Ethics or Agency to other REALTORS^®, raising funds for RPAC, pod casting from “The Blue Carpet” at REALTOR^® Day on the Hill, planning the Awards banquet or training sales agents in his office, Dean brings focus, drive, playful humor and a buoyant, contagious energy to his very client-centered profession.

Dean began his real estate career while preparing for an entirely different kind of future as a CPA. Just a few years out of high school, he was managing the teller line at an Old Stone Bank branch in Cranston, attending accounting classes at CCRI and working nights opening and managing a new Video Junction store. Increasingly bored at the prospect of a career crunching numbers behind a desk, his interest was piqued when Glen Spardello, a REALTOR^® and video customer, told him, “You're so good with people, why don't you get into real estate?”

Real estate caught his passion, and by the time he received his license in 1989, Dean had already mapped out the direction that he wanted his career to take. That passion and sense of direction enabled him to obtain a second interview at Century 21 Towne Crier Agency in Coventry, and to be brought in as a sales associate after having been told emphatically that they were “not hiring”. He continued at that office for another five years, then transferred to RE/MAX Professionals in East Greenwich, where he worked for seven years. He took part in opening Keller Williams Central Rhode Island in 2000, now open 10 years, and has been Operating Principal for that office for the past two years.

When asked what advice he gives to new agents, Dean says, “‘People don’t care what you know until they know that you care’. I firmly believe that! Unless you care about the outcome for your client, you will not succeed; focus on the client, and success will follow.” What had kept him engaged in real estate as a sales agent is what he describes as “The Look” - the look of relief on the face of a client who really needed to sell; the look of joy and disbelief when a first time home buyer is handed the keys. “There is nothing like the rush you get when you see that look,” he says. Now, as a Broker and trainer, he gets the greatest satisfaction from bringing new agents to the point where they can experience that same feeling. The high point of his day is when they race back to the office animated with closing stories of their own.

Because the successes of Dean’s volunteer work in the community speak for themselves, he has been and continues to be recruited for a wide range of causes.

Dean was appointed to and has served for 17 years on West Warwick Board of Assessment and Review, a body responsible for reviewing property assessment values for taxpayers to ensure that assessment value is in line with the re-evaluation time line. He is currently its Chairman. He is also a Committee member for the Coventry Housing Authority Family Self-Sufficiency Program. Administered through Section 8, the program works in conjunction with the Housing Authority to ensure clients’ ability to become self supporting in all aspects of life, including financial aid, food services, employment, financial management and housing. An important component of this program is a down payment savings account for those who complete the program and plan to purchase a home.

He is an Instructor for the Coventry and Narragansett Housing Authorities’ Home Purchase Program, which instructs program members on the benefits of home ownership and the process of purchasing a home.

He is a past Vice President for AIDS Care Ocean State and was for six years the Development Committee Chair. This committee oversees and directs fund-raising and events planning for the leading AIDS awareness, support and treatment program in Rhode Island. Client services include education, treatment assistance, and housing services for those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition to overseeing the fund-raising, Dean was a frequent hands-on participant in most of the events, which included block parties, comedy nights and after-hours “Hi-Tini”s. It was not unusual for him to be seen taking down decorations at 3 AM.

Dean has been a participant in “Keller Williams Cares”, which does both national and local fund-raising for the direct benefit of Keller Williams agents and their families during times of need. The national program alone raised more than $5 Million nationwide for Katrina relief. Dean has also been a Keller Williams “Red Day” coordinator/participant in 2009/2010. This nationwide community service program included cleanup of public areas in May of 2009, and assisting the Rhode Island Food Bank in 2010 on a local level.

Dean joined the Kent County Board of REALTORS^® in 1990. Although his volunteering did not begin until 2003, once involved, he rose quickly through the Association Leadership, as a Director in 2003 & 2004, Treasurer in 2005, Vice President in 2006, President-Elect in 2007 and President of the Kent Washington Association in 2008.

His most high-profile committee work has been on the Awards Committee, whose Chairmanship he assumed only a year after becoming a committee member, and which he continued from 2004-2006 and 2009-2010. His work is best remembered for the many enjoyable theme-based Awards dinners and for the creativity and drive that he brought out in his fellow committee members. Dean also served with equal dedication on many other committees, including Finance (2006 - 2009), Government Affairs (2005 - 2006), Nominating (2007-Present), Personnel (2007 and 2009) and  Strategic Planning (2006-2007). With the exception of the Grievance Committee, where he is a current member, Dean has Chaired every KWAOR Committee on which he has served.  He also worked on the Policy Task Force in 2005 and is currently Chair of the Awards Task Force.

The Kent Washington Association made its final move to the current office space late in 2004. Once the plans for the new office were approved, Dean volunteered to help plan the interior design and furnishings and spent countless hours working tirelessly to get things done. He even helped with the actual move itself, including cleaning debris from the former location. He also spent time mounting pictures, plaques, using his flair for design and detail and making sure that everything was in the right place.

Dean rarely refuses a request for assistance, and his contributions to the Kent Washington Association earned him the 2005 Richard L. Phipps Distinguished Service Award for outstanding and unselfish dedication of his time, talent and energy to the members of the Association.

At New Member Orientation, Dean is a lively speaker on Pathways to Professionalism and on the benefits of belonging. As an instructor in Code of Ethics and Agency, he brings energy and real life experience to clarify complex topics and drive home the importance of compliance and client representation.

He has been a coordinator for the new member “Meet n’ Greet” and “Alive After Five” events hosted by KWAOR, With the help of fellow officers, he created the President’s video podcast series, “broadcasting” from “KWAOR News”.

No less generous with his time at the state level, Dean has served on the RIAR Board of Directors from 2008 to the present and was a Director of Statewide MLS in 2006 and 2007. He was Vice Chair of the RPAC Committee in 2009 and is currently Chair. Always creative, he was a collaborator and host for the “Blue Carpet” video podcast series, promoting RPAC membership and the “99 Club”. As a leader who truly believes in the cause, Dean has already seen Rhode Island meet the 2010 RPAC fund-raising goal set by NAR.

He has also been on the Nominating Committee at RIAR two times, and he is an instructor for New Agency Law and Code of Ethics.

Dean has attended all the state REALTOR^® gatherings and conventions, including REALTOR^® Day on the Hill.

Dean is a REBAC Instructor for the NAR , teaching “Introduction to Auction”, has attended the NAR Conference & Expo and the NERC (New England Regional Convention). He received a personal invitation from 2008 NAR President Dick Gaylord to serve on the committee developing the Young Professionals Network (an invitation that he was forced to decline due to personal obligations).

In November of 2008, Dean was approved to assume the position of Operating Principal of Keller Williams Central Rhode Island by Keller Williams International, taking the lead in the office in its continued growth.

As head of the “Dean de Real Estate Team”, Dean operates as a high volume sales agent whose business has become primarily based on past client and referral sources. Dean and his team have been consistent KWAOR Circle of Sales Excellence Awards recipients, frequently ranking in the top Platinum category. With his leadership, the team has also ranked in the top five teams by sales volume for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 production years and in the top 5 teams by units sold for the 2002 through 2006 production years.

He has achieved ABR Designation. He has been twice nominated for Providence Business News ‘Forty Under 40' recognition program and several times nominated for KWAOR REALTOR^® of the Year.

But the highest public recognition comes from his clients, whose testimonials include praise for his dedication, patience, professionalism, and compassion.

Dean has spent a lifetime in his West Warwick/Coventry neighborhood, enough time to see many cycles in real estate and in his community, and he has spent most of his adult years working to make both better. His West Warwick home, which he mentally claimed as a youth and purchased the moment it went on sale seven years ago, serves as the embodiment of his approach to life in general - always a work in progress, frequently a source of joy. He constructed an addition to create a private, convenient living space for his mother until her death in 2009, and he continues to share the trials and rewards of home ownership with his partner Steve.

Dean has one other piece of advice for new agents: “Have a passion for what you do!" He lives by that motto. In his work, his personal life, his home, his committee work and his numerous causes, Dean greets every undertaking with a planner’s drive, a designer’s eye for detail and a participant’s hands-on, “get the job done” approach. Dean handles every situation with sensitivity and diplomacy, and in all he does, he radiates positive energy and infuses his immediate surroundings with a touch of class.

It is our good fortune to have him as a member, volunteer and friend and our privilege to name him KWAOR 2010 REALTOR^® of the Year.