SURREY, BC – On Monday, September 26, Fraser Valley REALTORS® voted in support of a plan that will transfer a valuable asset owned by their professional association, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), into a new charitable foundation dedicated to helping those in need in the Fraser Valley.

The asset is 3.5 acres of prime, vacant land situated behind FVREB’s existing office in Guildford, Surrey. In 1969, the land was purchased privately by five visionary past presidents of the Board who sold it to the Board a few years later for exactly what they paid. They had only one request, which was that some day in the future the land be used to give back to their beloved Fraser Valley communities.

“With the land having appreciated to almost 200 times its original value, we saw the tremendous opportunity to be able to honour the legacy of our forefathers, see their vision realized and do this while three of them are still honorary members today,” said current Board President Charles Wiebe.

The five FVREB past presidents are John Woodward, Reg Titus, Ian Macnaughton, Rod Archer, and Arnold Jeffs. Ian Macnaughton, now 78, proudly attended the Special General Meeting in Langley where a majority vote was cast by 376 Fraser Valley members, including proxies.

Wiebe observed, “Over the years, the Board looked at many possibilities for the land, but nothing met our objectives as well as this. With a Fraser Valley REALTORS Charitable Foundation, we will be able to impact the lives of potentially thousands of people in our communities, for generations to come.”

Work on establishing the Fraser Valley REALTORS Charitable Foundation has already begun. The plan is to fund charitable donations in North Delta, White Rock, Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission using the interest from the proceeds of the sale of the property.

The attached photo is of Board President Charles Wiebe and Past President Ian Macnaughton.

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The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 3,122 real estate professionals who live and work in the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission, British Columbia. The FVREB marked its 90-year anniversary in 2011.