e-PROabroad

For Further Information Contact:
Mary Stark-Hood, 312/329-8374
mstarkhood@realtors.org
Kristin Stafford, 312/329-8628
kstafford@realtors.org
Rich Hudson, 619/283-7302
Rich@InternetCrusade.com

AGENT EARNS REALTOR E-PRO® CERTIFICATION WHILE SERVING HIS COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

CHICAGO (February 10, 2005)-- Cody Lindstrom has successfully completed the REALTOR e-PRO® course to become one of a growing number of real estate professionals to earn the prestigious certification offered through the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Even more impressive is that he accomplished this feat while serving in Iraq with A Company 141st Engineer Combat Battalion.

“We are extremely proud of Cody,” said Broker Candace Christianson of Coldwell Banker Realty Group in Bismarck, ND. “He was home on leave in October and was very proud of his accomplishment. We can’t wait for him to come home for good and start applying what he has learned from the e-PRO® course.”

Lindstrom and his wife, Angela, have two children, a son, Chaz, who is 10 and a daughter, CeAnna, who is two. While he was unable to provide any information about his current assignment, Cody did tell Christianson that he likes what he’s doing and is serving proudly.

During one of the e-PRO® course exercises Lindstrom wrote: “I am in Iraq right now, I just made this one up quickly. I have a website through Coldwell Banker that is inactive right now. FYI, normally I would have used my own domain as my return address. This should let you know that I have the concept :-).”

“This is quite an accomplishment,” said Saul Klein, President of InternetCrusade®, NAR’s course provider for e-PRO®. “Occasionally I hear agents concerned that they will not have enough time to complete the course. Then I think of Cody sitting in a tent in the desert thousands of miles from his home and family working on e-PRO®. That is the beauty of a web-based training program…you can work on it anywhere. As far as we know, Cody is the first agent to complete the e-PRO® course while serving in Iraq. It really illustrates the point that the Internet can be used to deliver information to users no matter where they are located.”

Lindstrom has always been Internet savvy, according to Christianson. He even built a website for his unit. Cody wrote: “We recently were able to get Internet access which allows me to continue my real estate education while at war. Amazing isn't it?”

“The exclusive REALTOR e-PRO® certification course is presented entirely online and certifies real estate agents and brokers as Internet professionals,” according to Bob Goldberg, NAR Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “Because of its innovative design, students are able to complete the course at their own pace, when and where they want, via any Internet connection. The course is designed to help REALTORS® stay at the leading edge of technology and identify, evaluate and implement new Internet business models.”

The content and the delivery platform were created jointly by NAR and the San Diego-based technology company, InternetCrusade®. The course instructs participants in the professional use of e-mail, the development of an interactive Web site, and the use of online research tools. Graduates use the skills they've acquired to provide clients information on properties for sale, local communities, and the local real estate market.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.