Skip to main content

Brokerages help agents whose daughters were killed in Parkland shooting

Florida real estate offices are offering support to two agents whose daughters were among the 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14.

Jaime Guttenberg

Jaime Guttenberg, 14, daughter of Charles Rutenberg agent Fred Guttenberg, and Meadow Pollack, 18, daughter of Coldwell Banker Boca Resort and Beach agent Shara Kaplan, were both killed when a former student of the high school opened fire on Valentine’s Day, killing 17 and wounding 14 more people. GoFundMe pages for the families of Guttenberg and Pollack have been set up for those who wish to contribute.

Jaime’s father Fred Guttenberg has taken to the media and to public forums, including a town hall confrontation with Florida Senator Marco Rubio over gun laws, to express his outrage over the shooting that killed his daughter and 16 others. “She was a beautiful and kind and intelligent teenage girl. She danced with tremendous grace and she had an amazing smile,” reads Jaime’s GoFundMe page.

“We feel for Fred every day, and I know he is really in the fight for all their beliefs right now,” said Michelle Sessor, general manager of the Fort Lauderdale Charles Rutenberg office, in an interview with Inman. “We are fortunate to have him with us; we will help him in any way.”

The whole office has been affected, Sessor told Inman. The brokerage is collecting donations from its associates to an organization where Jaime volunteered called The Friendship Initiative. Guttenberg is also creating an organization called “Orange Ribbons for Jaime,” which will address school safety isuses, according to Jaime’s GoFundMe page.

The ultimate real estate agent home inspection checklist

3 steps to help best prepare your sellers for their inspection READ MORE

Meadow Pollack

Kaplan, who also has two adult sons, is grieving the devastating loss of her daughter Meadow with a very close circle of family and friends at home, according to her friend Aileen Grossman.

“Meadow was Shara’s world,” Grossman said. “She is absolutely broken.”

Grossman is Kaplan’s childhood friend from Long Island, a long-term agent and broker, and told Inman has been with Kaplan daily since the shooting.

Kaplan’s ex-husband and Meadow’s father, Andrew Pollack, who is a former real estate agent, has spoken out about his devastation and anger over the attack. Meadow had been anticipating her senior prom, graduation and attending college later this fall, according to her GoFundMe page.

The managing broker at Kaplan’s office, Joseph Santini, said Coldwell Banker’s regional vice president for Southeast Florida, Nancy Corey, had taken swift action, organizing for counselors to come into the office. The local office also took care of the catering for the funeral.

Santini sent Kaplan a message with the sentiment, “We are here forever, whatever she needs.”

Email Gill South.


Brokerages help agents whose daughters were killed in Parkland shooting curated from Inman

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ultimate Guide To Family Law

Introduction The government has always had a fascination with families and the contract of marriage. State legislatures have passed many laws regulating the requirements for getting married and for obtaining a divorce. In addition, today’s laws also affect couples who live together outside of marriage. It is hard to give simple answers to many of the legal questions that a person may have about marriage, parenthood, separation, or divorce because the laws change and vary from one state to another. In addition, judges in different states with identical laws may decide cases with similar facts in different ways. This article describes the laws and court rulings common to most states. If you have other questions, please contact a lawyer in your state. You may also wish to contact a specialist. Many lawyers (particularly in urban areas) work only on family law or make it a large part of their general practice. Lawyers specializing in family law also may refer to themselves as specialist...
Post a Comment
Read more

Amazon HQ2 talks reportedly narrow to Crystal City, Dallas and NYC

Amazon is reportedly getting close to finalizing the location of its  $5 billion, 50,000-job  second headquarters following a nationwide reverse-contest of sorts, wherein the tech company accepted bids and presentations from different city governments on why they should be the one to land Amazon HQ2. And now it appears that three locations are currently in the lead: Virginia’s Crystal City, Dallas and New York City. After speaking to people familiar with Amazon’s plans, The Wall Street Journal reported  this weekend that the search for the second headquarters has narrowed from the 20 cities originally shortlisted as potential locations. Discussions around Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C. have cooled somewhat while Amazon’s team has been having more talks with representatives of the other three cities. Amazon’s impact on home affordability has been a major consideration, as the tech giant’s presence in Seattle has both created nume...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Flag Your Hotel In The Age Of Brand Proliferation

No doubt about it, we’re in the age of hotel brand proliferation. New brands seemingly sprout almost weekly. Counting the precise or official number of hotel brands is difficult. By my conservative estimate, nearly 100 new flags with at least eight properties have been launched since 2008, conceivably pushing the total number of brands to more than 700. This dizzying array of choices doesn’t the make the decision about which flag to fly on a property any easier for hotel developers. How do you decide when there are so many brands to choose from? Marriott , for example, has 30-plus brands under its umbrella spanning all chain scale and star levels of the hospitality industry. A successful hotel project begins with the selection of the right brand for your marketplace, physical site and price point. Although the macro dynamics of the lodging business are strong, a microanalysis of the destination in which you want to build will ultimately dictates your brand choice. Here’s a road ma...
Post a Comment
Read more