Q: Tell us about you and your business?

A: I have been a Realtor for 20 years, We started our team, Gwaltney Group, in 2014 with initially 6 agents total. I serve as the team leader of the Gwaltney Group and we have grown quite rapidly over the past 6 years! 

Our team is the largest team in Southern MN (actually all of Greater MN, which includes anything in the state outside of the metro area). We have 24 people on our team with 4 of them being support members, 3 administrative staff members, and 1 marketing staff to support our 20 Real Estate agents (10 full-time & 10 part-time). In 2019 we sold 350 homes for approx $93,000,000 in volume.

Q: Tell us about your Family?

A: My husband Scott and I have been married for 35 years, we only had two biological children but that did not limit our family size! We are blessed with a huge family that we have made from volunteering and we love each and every one of them as much as we love our biological children. Scott and I volunteered as the “Live-in Resident Directors” (fancy title for house parents) at the Rochester Better Chance House from April 1st of 1993 through July 1st of 2009. During those 17 years, we were fortunate to parent dozens of young men while they attended high school in Rochester, MN. We moved away when our daughter graduated from high school along with the last of the scholars under our reign, and by that time we had “parented” over 40 kids! Now we have sons, sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and many grandchildren all across the country!! We are a unique and diverse family for sure. 🙂

Q: Tell us about your Community?

A: We do the majority of our business in Rochester, Minnesota, and the surrounding bedroom communities. Rochester is the home to the World Famous Mayo Clinic. We are a big “small town” Rochester proper that is just over 110,000 with another 25,000 in bedroom communities. Almost every family has at least one member who works at Mayo Clinic. We are a white-collar community, highly educated, and extremely generous. Our community is a very caring, inclusive community with a fair amount of diversity for a city of this size; it is a special place to work and live.

Q: Tell us how you serve or give back in your community?

A: I am extremely involved in my community and so is our entire team! It is a very important part of our team culture to invest in the community that invests so much in us! I have served on, and continue to serve on, several boards, all with different missions. I typically serve on two or three at a time and always have for the past 30 years. There are only a few non- profits in Rochester that I have not been involved with at some level; currently, I am involved with the Jeremiah Project on several levels and the Neuro Hospitality House as a member of the board of directors. I served as Co-Chair of an annual fundraiser for the Jeremiah Project, have helped them identify and secure a place to build, helped them form their board of directors, and organized community awareness events, etc. 

Q: How did you come about selecting this cause?

A: I always get involved with causes that I am passionate about that have touched my life in one way or another. I believe a person gives of their time, their money, and their energy so much more freely when they are passionate about a cause. I know for sure that is true about me.

Q: What has been the impact on the community, your team, and family?

A: Our community knows the Gwaltney Group as the Realtors who give back to the community. I have been highlighted and awarded over and over in the community for my volunteerism. I have been featured on the cover of Rochester Women Magazine three different times because of my volunteerism. I have even been awarded, “Fan Favorite Realtor” for the past three years by the local TV stations because of giving to the community. I have also been awarded “Best of the Best” in the category of “Real Estate” in the local paper for the past few years. We have become a household name in our community and yes we are great at what we do, but I believe that our “fame” is largely due to our community involvement and our generosity. As far as what it has done for us, that’s easy…the more you give, the more you get! We are so blessed in so many ways.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: I will always remain a very active part of this community and in the community I grew up in. I will always encourage and require my team members to give what they can whether that be their time, their support, or their money. I love working for a Broker/Owner who bases his business plan on giving!

Q: How would you recommend agents, or brokers get started if they want to make a difference?

A: I always recommend that people get involved with what they are passionate about and give for the right reason because it’s simple… it’s the right thing to do. If you can help, then help! Think about the greater good. Don’t be selfish and PLEASE never join a board or volunteer because it will be “good for your business”…