I have been a successful Realtor in Ithaca for 33 years. I grew up in the Southern Tier, moved north and west, and returned home to Ithaca in the late 70s to join this wonderful community.
Most Realtors have had a previous career – mine was at Cornell University as Human Resources Director, first at the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations and then at NYS Cooperative Extension. It is in this past career that I perfected the fine arts of listening, confidentiality, analysis, negotiating, and, importantly, customer service.
I understand that being an effective representative for Buyers and Sellers involves tremendous attention to detail (I also worked in an editorial office at Cornell) and reflection, always putting the customers' needs first.
From the beginning, my business has been built on referrals from satisfied customers and my list of references is long and impressive. I like to believe this is a function of my professionalism and competence but maybe it is because or also because I really care about the people with whom I work.
I love this community and have been involved in many organizations that help make it great having served on the boards of the Ithaca Board of Realtors, the Tompkins County Temporary Board of Assessment Appeals, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, Hospicare and Palliative Care of Tompkins County, The History Center of Tompkins County, the Board of Community Foundation of Tompkins County, and, The Women's Fund of the Community Foundation.
In my leisure time I enjoy traveling, and have traveled extensively to Great Britain, Western and Eastern Europe, China, Mexico, Panama, and Canada. Parenthetically, I saw the Parthenon before it was under reconstruction, the USSR before it became individual states, Yugoslavia before it broke apart, and the Berlin Wall when Checkpoint Charlie's East Berlin guards walked the ramparts with rifles ready.
I also love cooking (I am an Ina Garten fan), gardening (flowers only; can’t grow vegetables!), history (relatives were in the Revolution), and theater (Life’s but a stage…).
My husband, Robert Smith, is a professor of labor economics in the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, and together we have five children and thirteen grandchildren!
Both my sense of history and knowledge about real estate along with my years of experience will serve you well in your real estate needs and, hopefully, with modest exposure, you will come to enjoy my dry wit!
