Executive Session with Lynn Parker

Executive Session with Lynn Parker

Managing partner of RoseBay Real Estate Inc.

PERSONAL

HOMETOWN: Born in Minnesota, did most of her schooling in West Nyack, N.Y.

EDUCATION: Bachelor of arts, Columbia University, N.Y. She earned a Florida real estate license in 1991.

AGE: 57

FAMILY: Married with three stepsons, 40, 37 and 35.

HOW SHE ESCAPES: "We do a lot of boating. We're not fishermen, we just like to boat. We have a 34 Mainship. It's a trawler where you can go out for the weekend and get away from the phones.

"We named it Easy Goer, and the reason we named it that was we followed a horse named Easy Goer throughout the whole Triple Crown and Saratoga. He won two of the four, and when we got the boat two years ago, and it's a boat that usually goes slow, it's not a speedboat, so that was the just the name that fit the boat."

FAVORITE PLACE TO GO: "I really don't think we have a favorite place. We've never gone back to the same place twice. So, we're still exploring. We actually picked this area because of the boating."

WHY HERE? "We moved down from New York. My husband was taking an early retirement package and neither of us was big fans of New York. Actually, when I left after college I swore I'd never move back to New York, and we did for business so we were both ready to leave again. We like to go back and visit our friends and spend a day or two in the city and get our fill of New York and then get out of there."

WHERE DID YOU GO AFTER COLLEGE? "I moved to San Francisco and lived there for three years where I met my first husband. He's the widower with the three boys, and that's how I ended up with three boys."

WHY CALIFORNIA: "I think every young person thinks California is the place to go so I had to try it. I loved it. If it weren't so expensive I'd move back in a flash."

WHAT DID YOU LOVE ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO: "It was very relaxed, now keep in mind this is the early '70s, kind of when the flower children were in their heyday. So it was a more relaxed, artsy place to go. Just a lot more to do."

WHERE NEXT: "From there we moved to the Washington, D.C., area. My first husband's job took us to D.C. I loved that also. D.C. is a very exciting city to live in. I still have to pick up the Washington Post to get my fill of what's going on. It kind of gets in your blood to track the politics once you've been up there.

"I love to explore. I like living in different places. Some people they are born, they go to school and they stay in the town where they're comfortable. I'm just the opposite. I like to travel around and explore new areas."

ANY HIDDEN PASSIONS? "I majored in political science and what I miss about Washington is people talked about politics. They challenged each other in their views and discussions, and it's really hard to find that down here, and that's what I really enjoyed in San Francisco and Washington."

HOW DO YOU GET A POLITICAL FIX HERE? "I don't. I pretty much back away from it. Now I just read about politics, I don't get involved in it."

PROFESSIONAL

TIME WITH COMPANY: Joined April 1

PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Vice president and general manager, Wagner Realty, 1997-2005; Neal and Neal Realtors, 1991-1997 (Neal and Neal became Coldwell Banker in 1995).

NEW POSITION

IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES: "To help people that are coming to the area and our biggest concern right now are the first-time home buyers and people who have lived here find a place to live and are the core of Manatee County."

HOW DO YOU COMPETE WITH THE GIANTS? "You don't compete with them. You establish your own niche that's a little bit different from them. Name recognition is very difficult for us because we're new to this area. We have a nice market in Sarasota, but up here we're just starting so we'll have to establish what our niche is. There's plenty of business to go around. So I don't feel like I'm competing with anyone."

WHY THIS POSITION? "I love the challenge of starting something from almost scratch and seeing what I can do with it."

- Adam Hughes