Feature Article

ROY WILSON: A REAL ESTATE VISIONARY

Written By: Krista Goheen
Published By: Calgary Real Estate News
Article Used with permission of the Calgary Real Estate Board. © Copyright Calgary Real Estate News, 2007
2005-05-26

I'm older than dirt so it doesn't take much to keep me busy anymore, Roy Wilson remarks with a smile during our interview. But this 73-year-old’s impressive resume sheds doubt on whether one of the Calgary Real Estate Board’s (CREB) longest members (since 1952) can ever stay idle for long.

Born in Coronation, AB., Roy moved to Calgary with his family in 1946 and attended Crescent Heights High School; at the time one of only three public high schools in the city of 100,000.

From an early age, Roy displayed a strong sense of motivation and tenacity. At the age of 18, he wanted to follow in his father Forest’s footsteps and join his dad’s company, Wilson Realty.

But, in order to become a licensed Realtor in 1950 a person needed to be at least 21. Only upon the recommendation of the president of the CREB himself, would Roy be able to fulfill his goal.

He approached president, Howard Kelly, who knew his father and had met Roy once or twice and obtained Kelly’s approval.

Roy then began the general practice of real estate. However, in this time he also enrolled and finished the Agriculture Program at Old’s College; obtained his Associate of the Realtor’s Institute (ARI) designation and his Fellow of the Realtor’s Institute (FRI) certification by 1962, married his sweetheart, Erma, and had two children- Keith, a third generation Realtor and Shannon, a nurse.

The training required of Realtors then was altogether different than the training required of Realtors today, Roy says, and he recalls how times have changed.

It’s way tougher now than it was then and far more strict. This was before the MLS existed. When I started we only had three verbal, general listings; not even exclusive listings in the office and about six salesmen. You didn't qualify buyers, you just showed the three listings you had to everybody who phoned you. It was a pretty hit and miss kind of a system.

And Realtor tools were slim to none, Roy says.

You had an Offer to Purchase and a pen and that’s about it.

Upon obtaining his Realtor’s license, Roy says he felt it was important to become a member of CREB, which, at the time, didn't require mandatory membership.

The Board represented better organization, education and ethics, all the good things. That’s helped the whole industry, so I wanted to associate with that group that had good goals.

Ever the creative Realtor, and always involved in numerous, exciting endeavors, Roy often employed unconventional, yet often effective, means in order to make a sale. Such was the case after he obtained his pilot’s license.

Roy received an offer on a property in Calgary owned by a farmer in Saskatchewan.

[The farmer] didn't have a phone on the farm out there. I flew out and he was out in the field and I landed the plane behind him while he was on the tractor. And he was so surprised when he saw me that I had no trouble closing the sale!

Another time I took a chap out to show him a farm from the air and he got so excited he decided to take flying lessons. I didn't sell the farm though, he laughs.

In 1961, Roy’s experience, hard work, leadership and advancement of ethics in the business were acknowledged when he was sworn in as CREB’s newest president. Roy looks upon his one-year term fondly.

That was very thrilling, he says. That was a good experience and I worked hard at it but I enjoyed it.

Roy is an Honourary Lifetime Member of both the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) and CREB.

His list of credentials is extensive: Alberta chairman for the National Institute of Real Estate Brokers; former president of AREA and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary Bow, 1971-1975.

He also enrolled in the Advanced Management program at Harvard Business School in 1979 and received his Certified Land Use Planner designation for the Real Estate Institute of Canada in 1985, just to name a few.

But, it is his family and philanthropic endeavors he seems most proud of these days.

He says it is very important for him and his wife to give something back to the communities that have given so much to their family. The Wilson’s are heavily involved in several charitable and philanthropic organizations, including the CREB Charitable Foundation.

To date, the Roy and Erma Wilson Family Fund has contributed generously to the CREB Charitable Foundation.

Over the past few years, financial contributions from the Wilson family have enabled the Board’s Charitable Foundation to touch hundreds of lives in many ways, says Trish Carter, Managing Director of the foundation. Roy and Erma’s most recent contribution of $20,000 in 2004 helped to support solutions to homelessness in our city by being directed to the Charitable Foundation’s Crestwood Affordable Housing Project.

The real estate business has certainly been kind to all of us, Roy says, good to us all and we like to try to put something back and that’s why we like to support the foundation.

Roy is just as busy today as when he was a 20-year-old up-and-comer in the business.

Roy and Erma now divide their time between Calgary and Mesa, Arizona.

A cancer survivor himself, Roy is a volunteer driver for the Canadian Cancer Society and is still a director of the Webber Academy, a Calgary private school.

From a wealth of both personal and professional experiences, Roy offers these parting words for those starting to make their way in real estate.

It’s a fantastic business and you should endeavor to learn as much as you can as quick as you can and look forward to a very successful career because it’s there if you want it.

This article was written for Calgary Real Estate News, a division of the Calgary Real Estate Board, for the series “Legends of Real Estate” showcasing important members of the Calgary Real Estate Board. Please visit the Calgary Real Estate Board online.This article is part of the collection of the Calgary Real Estate News. Please visit them online.