Los Gatos Realtor Ron Gates who served as the association's president in 2004 presented Drummond with the Realtor of the year award. The association's Chief Executive Officer Janet Case introduced Drummond and called her "generous, compassionate and delightfully humorous woman whose example shows us all how to be incredibly productive and how to enjoy life to the fullest—indeed, she shows us how the two go hand in hand."

A real estate professional since 1978, Drummond is a broker/agent with Coldwell Banker in Palo Alto who specializes in residential properties in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Drummond served on the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors board of directors in 2000­04 and was past chair of the trade association's Palo Alto District. She also served as a director of the California Association of Realtors 2000­04 and was honored as Palo Alto Realtor of the Year in 2001.

In looking back over his year as president, Ron Gates, a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, was pleased with the overall direction and accomplishments of the organization.

"It was a good year and I was pleased to be able to work with such a great volunteer leadership team and a wonderful staff who worked diligently and productively to bring about changes," Gates said. "One of our goals was to make our system more user friendly and to enhance the delivery of services to our membership."

Gates reported a tremendous increase in membership from just under 3,000 members to 3,500 members over the year. During the past year, the group expanded its government affairs division and added a new public affairs director, Gerd Meissner, who worked on improving communication and getting information out to the community and to members.

"We also started some new committees including an Equal Opportunity Committee and a Housing and Diversity Committee. Our Technology and Education Committee has been active in reaching out to members and our Charitable Foundation Trust continues to give our grants to support community projects," Gates said.

Although Gates is retiring as president of the group, he will still remain involved in the organization as a member of several committees. He will also serve as a vice chair of the California Association of Realtors next year.

"I'm looking forward to passing on the baton to my colleagues Willi Krauss and John Tripp. I feel comfortable with the positive improvements and streamlined services during the past year. It's been a great year," Gates said.

Willi Krauss will take the top spot as president of the 3,500-member Silicon Valley Association of Realtors in 2005. A Realtor since 1978, she has been active in the real estate profession at both the local and state level. Krauss, the owner of W. A. Krauss & Co. Property Management in Sunnyvale, served as president of the Sunnyvale Board of Realtors in 1990 and treasurer of the association for two years. She was selected as Sunnyvale Realtor of the Year in 1991 and has also served as state director for the California Association of Realtors since 1988.

Members of the board of directors include President-elect John Tripp, Foundation Trust; Treasurer Gerry Lawrence, Coldwell Banker in Los Altos; and Judy Jarvis Ellis, Alain Pinel Realtors in Palo Alto, who will serve as Region 9 chair for the California Association of Realtors, the industry's statewide trade association.

John Tripp, the association's president-elect, is a member of Santa Clara Housing Bond Trust Fund subcommittee for the analysis of applications for loans and grants. He served as the association's treasurer and is involved in arbitration, mediation and negotiations concerning real estate issues. His business practice includes real estate advisory for pension plans, IRA accounts and estate management. Tripp has served as an officer, director, or chairperson and has been selected as Realtor of the Year twice.

Gerry Lawrence, the association's 2005 treasurer, has been a Realtor and investor since 1971. A graduate of West Point and Stanford, he retired from a successful sales and marketing career at Intel Corporation in 1997 in order to pursue a fulltime real estate career. Lawrence has served as a member of the association's Budget and Finance Committee and as a board director of the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation. He is also a director for the ALTA California Eye Research Foundation and for Pacific Autism Center for Education.

Judy Jarvis Ellis, a past president of Silicon Valley Association, was named Realtor of the Year in 2000. She has served on numerous committees including Legislative Advocacy and the California Real Estate Political Action Committee.

Other directors include: Jeff Bell, Coldwell Banker, Cupertino; Gary Bulanti, Alain Pinel Realtors, Menlo Park; Mark Burns, Coldwell Banker, Cupertino; Bo Chang, Referral Realty, Sunnyvale; Josie Gambera, Prudential California Realty, Mountain View; Ed Graziani, Coldwell Banker, Cupertino; David Hunt, Intero Real Estate Services, Los Altos; Leannah Hunt, Coldwell Banker, Palo Alto; Jimmy Kang, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Menlo Park; Bill Lewis, Coldwell Banker, Woodside; Zita Macy, Coldwell Banker, Palo Alto; Susan Tilling, Coldwell Banker, Menlo Park; David Tonna, Windermere, Los Gatos; and Toby Vanderbeek, Intero Real Estate Services, Los Altos.

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors serves Realtors and affiliate members from Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Los Altos in Santa Clara County to Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside and Atherton in San Mateo County. An information resource for both Realtors and consumers, the association provides ongoing education programs and training, Internet access and online networking as well as mediation programs and legislative advocacy.