Royal LePage brokers and agents from across Canada cruised from Vancouver to Los Angeles for the 25th annual Royal LePage Headstart conference. The event took place September 11 to 13, 2015, aboard the well-appointed Ruby Princess.
Prior to boarding, a group of keen Royal LePage motorcyclists spent a day riding through the lower mainland area, and extended the ride to include the famed Whistler resort region. The “Ride for Shelter,” the brainchild of Royal LePage Foothills agents, John Hripko and Josh Nelson of Calgary, has become an annual tradition prior to Royal LePage conferences, with agents from across Canada hitting the road in support of the company’s charity, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.
Once aboard the ship, fundraising for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation again took centre stage with heated bidding bringing in $39,000 in the popular live auction overseen by Kent Browne and Hanna Browne of Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa, Ontario. During the auction, the infamous “Royal LePage Faux Fur Coat” found its new home with successful bidder Carol Rooney of Royal LePage Connect Realty in Ajax, Ontario.
The total raised to date from this thrift-store-find turned company-treasure is now more than $50,000. The fundraising continued upon docking when approximately 40 agents on their way to Los Angeles contributed the equivalent cost of their transportation to the Shelter Foundation with a matching donation by George Grdic of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd in Mississauga, Ontario.
100% of the funds raised at the Royal LePage Headstart Conference support domestic violence prevention programs across Canada.
Pictured: Hanna Browne and Kent Browne of Royal LePage Team Realty auction items at the Royal LePage Headstart Conference aboard the Ruby Princess.
This story was originally featured on the Royal LePage Leading Edge website and has been adapted for our site with permission.
