In The Spotlight
Building Strong Community Relationships: Bernie Roth And CENTURY 21 BJ Roth Realty
In the Spotlight is a series of stories featuring CENTURY 21 Companies and Network members across Canada and the great fundraising initiatives and efforts they have undertaken in support of Easter Seals through the C21 Kids to Camp Program.
Since 1979, CENTURY 21 Companies and Network members in North America have been proudly supporting Easter Seals, raising over $123 million in donations to support local families who are living with disabilities. In 2018 alone, CENTURY 21 raised $704,152 in Canada. One of those companies is CENTURY 21 B.J. Roth Realty Ltd., which has been the top Easter Seals fundraiser among CENTURY 21 Companies for five consecutive years. Recently, Easter Seals Canada reached out to Bernie Roth, owner of C21 B.J. Roth Realty Ltd. based in Barrie, ON, to learn more about him and his team.
“I have been part of the CENTURY 21 family since 1982 starting with 1 small office and 1 agent,” said Bernie Roth, when asked how he got started in real estate. “As our communities have grown, we have grown with them and expanded throughout Central Ontario. After 38 years, we have grown to 8 offices in Simcoe County and into the Muskokas. My vision is to continue building a premiere CENTURY 21 brokerage that provides the best services in real estate to both our sales associates and our thousands of clients.”
Bernie humbly credits his success to the people around him. He says that he is blessed to be surrounded by an amazing family at home and at work, and the people that he meets every day. But when he’s not at work and has the time, Bernie says he likes to travel and enjoys indulging in his passion for golf.
It is this same passion for golf and community that drives Bernie, together with his team at CENTURY 21 B.J. Roth Realty Ltd., to organize and take part in multiple fundraising events each year to benefit Easter Seals. The list of fundraising events is long and impressive, and everyone pitches in. Examples include an annual “Showcase of Celebrities” golf tournament that has raised over $50,000 each year, over the last number of years; a Slo-Pitch tournament that involves other CENTURY 21 brokerages and which has grown significantly in the last four years; “Skate with the Colts,” an event where members of the public can buy tickets to skate and have breakfast with the OHL’s Barrie Colts; and Easter Seals’ “Dancing with the Stars” event where they would usually have 2 Network members involved as celebrity dancers. The team even holds raffles at every meeting to raise money for Easter Seals.
“Bringing Easter Seals fundraising events into the culture of your brokerage really changes your brokerage in a positive way… It also brings a stronger relationship with your business partners in the community because they become part of the fundraising as well. All around it’s a win-win situation for everyone… and you certainly get the personal satisfaction of knowing that you are helping the kids by giving them the opportunity to go to camp.”
We asked Bernie if there was a secret formula to his team’s incredible success and commitment to fundraising for Easter Seals. But according to Bernie, the highlight is always the amazing fun that he and his team have in organizing and taking part in the fundraising events. “It really grew organically within our brokerage over the years and eventually became a part of our culture. Before we knew it, this spread to the community of donors,” said Bernie modestly. “Easter Seals is an amazing organization – from the kids to the volunteers – so it easy for us to jump onboard in supporting them. The wonderful thing about the fundraising is that we can see where the money is going and be directly involved. Plus, we are very close to a lot of the Easter Seals kids and their families, so it is a very personal experience for us. The kids come out to the events and get involved with the fundraising as well.”
In closing, we asked Bernie if he had any final words or advice to share. “Bringing Easter Seals fundraising events into the culture of your brokerage really changes your brokerage in a positive way,” he said encouragingly. “It also brings a stronger relationship with your business partners in the community because they become part of the fundraising as well. All around it’s a win-win situation for everyone… and you certainly get the personal satisfaction of knowing that you are helping the kids by giving them the opportunity to go to camp. We go down to the camps every year.”
