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Bloomington REALTOR® honored for 50 years of service
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Local Realtor Peggy Watson got a big surprise when she attended the Bloomington Board of Realtors annual banquet recently – the Board unexpectedly honored her half-century of service to the Bloomington-area real estate community. The sales associate with F.C. Tucker/OBR REALTORS, received her license in 1956 when she worked for the family real estate company and during an era where women were not commonplace in the business world – especially real estate. Her father, Harry Stephens, started the business during World War II. Her brother, Harry Stephens Jr., took over in 1949 after their father passed away. “I started working for my brother as a secretary, which is a word I find funny since back in those days you were just the ‘office girl,’” Watson said. Watson earned her real estate license at the prodding of her brother; at the time she had just given birth to a baby girl, and she had two sons, ages 12 and 13. “I didn’t think I could do it,” she said. “But, my brother insisted, so in August 1956 I got my real estate license, and I’ve been doing it ever since.” After her brother died, Watson ran Harry Stephens Realty and managed 10 sales associates. A self-described “people person,” Watson decided she didn’t want to run a business anymore – she preferred to be out in the field selling homes. She then worked for Bill Morrow Realtors for about 8 years, and then went to work for ReMax. Following that, she moved on to Owens, Bryan & Reed, which merged with F.C. Tucker in 2001. “I feel I had an advantage when I got into real estate,” Watson said. “My family name was well known in Bloomington, which meant business connections for me.” Ever humble, the 82-year-old Watson – who still works full time helping people in and around Bloomington buy and sell homes – said, “I’m just a common, everyday person. I haven’t done anything special except work hard.” She gives new Realtors two pieces of advice: “You need to have some money to start with. And, never forget your honesty and integrity. Once you lose that, it’s hard to get back.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F.C. Tucker/OBR REALTORS, a locally owned and operated real estate franchise, serves the residential, investment and commercial real estate needs of Monroe County and the surrounding counties. F.C. Tucker Company is the largest real estate firm in Indiana and is ranked among the largest independent real estate firms in the nation. Its family of businesses includes a full range of real estate services – mortgages, title insurance, relocation services, a full line of insurance products, auctioning, homeowner services vendors and warranty products. Started in Indianapolis 87 years ago, Tucker has 47 statewide offices: 30 affiliate offices throughout Indiana and 17 Indianapolis-area offices. |