COAR Names Dave Feagans REALTOR® of the Year

“They lowered the bar significantly for me, but I’ll take it,” Dave Feagans, principal broker and co-owner of Alpine Real Estate, said with a chuckle.

Feagans may have been reacting with modesty to being named Realtor of the Year for 2019 by the Central Oregon Association of REALTORS (COAR), but his colleagues beg to differ.

Kim Gammond, communications and public affairs director for the professional Realtors’ organization, listed off the volunteer work he’s taken on for COAR: “Dave is a past president of COAR, current COARPAC trustee, and Building a Better Central Oregon committee member. He has also served on the Government Affairs, Social, Strategic Planning, Multiple Listing Service, Public Relations, and Professional Standards committees.”

Michael Warren of Crook County Properties, the 2018 Realtor of the Year, said, “Dave has been really active in COAR. He was on the board. He was president of COAR in 2016. I actually called him to run. He said, ‘I really want to try to make a difference.’ He’s always stepped up and always does a great job. In my mind, that did it for me—he always steps up.”

The previous two Realtors of the Year serve on the EnCOAR Awards committee to evaluate applications and determine each year’s award winners. Awards are also given for rookie of the year, affiliate of the year, commercial transaction of the year, WCR member and affiliate of the year, and housing champions.

Feagans moved with his family to Central Oregon in 2001, after building custom homes in the Portland area for a number of years. He made the transition to his career as a Realtor by marketing and selling homes for a production homebuilder. In 2007, he and Mike Connell opened a new realty company, Alpine Real Estate. The company has grown from three brokers in their early days to 25 today.

“We started Alpine in 2007 at the very bottom of the market. It seemed like an opportunity, and we thought it would be fun,” Feagans recollected.

“Fun” is a word that seems to be universally associated with Feagans.

“Dave is always upbeat. He’s funny as heck, always entertaining, just a fun guy. Active with the young persons’ network in COAR, was president of COAR, served on tons of committees, always at our Tuesday morning MLS meetings, and a big backer of Habitat for Humanity,” said Louie Hoffman, principal broker at John L. Scott and COAR’s Realtor of the Year for 2017. “He’s also a big Cinco de Mayo fan—you should see his tequila bar. Dave has more Cinco de Mayo parties a year than there probably should be, Super Bowl parties, all kinds of get togethers—he’ll invite you if your name comes up.”

Warren agreed. “Dave encourages Realtors to get together and keep people together as a team. He’s very team-oriented. And he brings people together. He’s great at facilitating communication among members.”

Both Hoffman and Warren noted that acting as president of COAR takes a lot of work, 15 to 20 hours a week, unpaid, according to Feagans. (“When you’re the president, you go to everything,” Warren said.) During his tenure, Feagans worked on promoting a positive image of the industry, strengthening protections for private property rights, and making COAR the primary resource for data on Central Oregon real estate. Afterward, he took a step back to refocus on his own business. But it wasn’t long before he started getting involved again.

“I was raised to give back. We all give back here, and I think most of us give back to the business we were raised in. You just have to rise to the occasion. It’s not that difficult, you just put in the time,” said Feagans.

Feagans now serves on COARPAC, COAR’s political action committee, which interviews candidates to determine their support for private property ownership rights. Sometimes they direct money to candidates, although COAR is not partisan. Hoffman also highlighted Feagans’ contributions at the Tuesday morning MLS meetings, noting he has been instrumental in bringing in speakers and coming up with marketing ideas.

Hoffman concluded, “Dave’s always there for you if you need him. He’s been kind of a role model for me. I watched him give and give and it made me feel bad, so I stepped up and started getting more involved. That’s what we’re all about, getting people involved.”

Warren added, “Dave is super easy to talk to if you have questions. I’ve called on him a lot, and he’s always helped out. He helps the public, he helps younger brokers with information and advice. He helps lenders and appraisers. If you can educate people, it makes the whole process easier and go much better. Dave’s friendly, just a nice guy. He’s out to give the Realtor brand a good name.”

Feagans is more self-deprecating about his contributions.

“I’m not a college graduate or a superhuman being. I needed a leg up on my competition. It was also a way to be in tune with the changes in the industry, to keep up to date with the information, and enabled me to bring something extra to the table for my clients, so they’d think, ‘Dave kind of knows what he’s talking about.’ And I want my peers to respect me. I’ve been a Boy Scout all my life. Whenever anybody asked, I was always inclined to say yes,” he reflected.

The EnCOAR Awards will be held Thursday, April 18, from 5:30 to 7 pm at Tetherow. Visit coar.com for more information.