By Jamie, a fictional NMAR member who's a lot like some of you (this post is a composite of things real members have told us, not any one specific person)

For a long time, "join a committee" was on my mental list right next to "reorganize the garage" and "finally read that book everyone recommended." A good idea, sure, for someone else, at some other time.

I had a whole picture built up in my head of what it would be. A folding table. A binder. Someone reading minutes out loud from the last meeting while I quietly checked my phone under the table. I've sat through meetings like that before, in other parts of my life, and I was not signing up for a volunteer version of it.

So every fall when the "join a committee" emails rolled around, I'd think "maybe next year," close the email, and go show a house.

What actually got me in the room

Honestly? A friend dragged me. They were already on Public Relations and mentioned they were brainstorming ideas for one of NMAR's community events, and said something like "just come sit in, you don't have to commit to anything." I went mostly because I didn't have a good excuse not to.

Here's what I was expecting: an agenda, a strict hour, everyone speaking in turn, minimal eye contact.

Here's what actually happened: coffee, some genuinely funny back-and-forth about last year's event, someone pitching an idea that got immediately built on by three other people, and me accidentally offering an opinion about signage that somehow became my job by the end of the meeting.

It did not feel like a meeting. It felt like a group of people who actually like being around each other, trying to make something good happen.

The part that actually won me over

I think what got me was watching an idea move. Someone would say "what if we did X" in one meeting, and a few months later, X was a real thing happening, with actual people showing up to it. I'd never really had a front-row seat to that before. Most of my work life is closing one deal and moving to the next. This was different. This was slower, more collaborative, and weirdly more satisfying.

I also didn't expect to like the people as much as I do. I know more REALTORS® now, real "grab lunch and catch up" relationships, than I did in my first several years combined. Nobody warned me that was a side effect.

What I wish someone had told me earlier

You don't need to have your life together to join. You don't need experience running events or serving on a board or any of the things I assumed were prerequisites. You need to be willing to show up and have an opinion sometimes. That's genuinely most of it.

You're also not locked in forever. You can sit in as a guest first and see if it's your thing before committing to anything. And contrary to what I assumed, you don't have to wait for some perfect signup window. You can join anytime, October 1 just happens to be when the official committee year kicks off, so signing up now means you're in from the start.

If you're on the fence like I was

There's a committee for pretty much every kind of interest. Government Affairs if you like policy and advocacy. Your Professional Network (YPN) if you're newer to the business and want to build community. Professional Development if you like shaping what education looks like around here. Professional Standards if ethics and professionalism are your thing. Public Relations if you like events and shaping how NMAR shows up publicly.

I put it off for two years because I built up a version of committee work in my head that had nothing to do with reality. Don't be me. Just go sit in on a meeting.

Curious what it's actually like? Sign up at nmar.com/nmar-committees, or ask about sitting in as a guest first. No binder required.

Jamie isn't a real person, but this story might sound a little like yours. If it does, we'd love to see you at a meeting.