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offices put | board on leading edge of industry By KAREN ALTON Special to the Beaver here was a real sense of celebration I late Monday afternoon as the 40â€" yearâ€"old "Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board" christened its new home â€" with festive balloons, refreshments, and a classical guitarist in the lobby. Judging from the crush of people spilling out the door onto the corner of Navy and Church Streets, nearly all 550 members of the board were there to catch the ceremonial ribbonâ€"cutting and inspect the premises, a 1960sâ€"era, twoâ€"storey, concrete fortress of 5,000 square feet. The building at 125 Navy Street is directly opposite the Performing Arts Centre and formerly housed the Hamilton Automobile Club. Nancy Gossling â€" president of the Real Estate Board â€" reflected the optimism of the long awaited move, "The building will allow us to continue our business, to increase our business. It is bigger and more modern, and our computer system is stateâ€"ofâ€"theâ€"art. It should take us to 2000 and beyond." She added, "At a time when people may be questioning if small boards can continue to exist, this building is saying â€" to everybody â€" yes we can, and yes we will." Nearly everyone, who was anyone in real estate, attended the reception; representatives from the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Ontario Real Estate Association, as well as, FIABCI, the international network. In addition, wellâ€"wishers arrived from several neighboring Real Estate Boards; Investment emphasis changing as we age ecently I had the opportunity to review some research done on * Canadian investors. It might be useful to compare your own opinion and attitude with that of others. It should come as no surprise that we are getting older. By the year 2000, 50% of the population will be over the age of 36. Baby boomers have shifted their emphasis from consumption to saving. Two important areas of concern are having enough money to retire and having that money invested safely. International diversification has become important as more of us are made aware of international opportunities. The trend to include foreign investments in a portfolio can also be attributed to the ongoing Quebec issue of separation plus the _growing government debt loads at both the provincial and federal level. (See ‘Investors‘ page 33) THE OAKVILLE BEAVER _BUSINESS Oakville South MPP Gary Carr (left) Oakville Mayor Ann Mulvale and Oaky FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1994 PAGE 30 ille Real Estate Board president Nancy GIC‘s RRSP‘s RRIF‘s MUTUAL FUNDS =FREE CONSULTATIONâ€" CALL BEV. 849â€"8666 d Gossling cut ceremonial ribbon marking the official opening of the board‘s new offices at 125 Navy Street. Looking on is the board‘s founding president, Bill Davis. Mississauga, Toronto, and Hamilton. Of course, the Mayor was front and centre, always up for a good ribbonâ€"snip, as was local MPP Gary Carr. Town Crier, Betty Kading, shook her bell and performed introductions with her usual aplomb. Richard Weima, chair of the Building Committee and pastâ€"president of the board, was looking especially proud. "It‘s a proud moment for all of us here," he contended, "because this has been a long time coming." Finding a newer, larger, more modern facility has been an issue with the board for close to 10 years. The old offices located in a renovated house at 152 Trafalgar Road since 1969 were wellâ€" with Gordon Pape A credit card can earn you discounts on a car, _ air travel points, exotic vacations... even a movie and popcorn. But do you really need all those bells and whistles? How TO DECIDE If you carry a balance on your card every month â€" choose the lowest interest rate available. Travel a lot on personal expense? Find a good frequent flyer card. Buying a new car soon? 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You get a lower interest rate on your unpaid balance, but minimum payments may be higher and credit limits lower. located, but simply no longer adequate in terms of meeting rooms, training areas, as well as, office space. "There was some question, at first, within our membership, as to whether this building might be too large for us," Weima noted. "But I‘m convinced, I think most of us are, that this is our future. It‘s a good home for us." Many of the pastâ€"presidents of the local Real Estate Board, established way back in 1954, were in attendance for the occasion. The founding president, W.E. (Bill) Davis, 81, assumed the spotlight for a while, looking dapper in a navy blue suit. Davis, who retired in 1979, is still something of a legend in the real estate community. (As his father was before | meng 3 MasterCard is a good one. © 1994 ArtPress International Gordon Pape is a financial author and broadcaster. On the Money provides general informaâ€" tion on money management. For specific advice, consult an appropriate financial professional. GRAPHICS SYNDICATE 25/9 (Photo by Riziero Vertolli) him.) A charming man, with a keen sense of tradition and humor, he presented the current board president with an inscribed, sterling silver cigarette box â€" the one he had received some 39 years ago at the end of his term as chief executive of the board. Instead of cigarettes, however, he had filled the box with pencils... in need of a good sharpening. Was he inspired by the fancy new digs? Did they rekindle his optimism for the business? "What do you mean rekindle?" Davis laughed. "I always have been optimistic about real estate. What would we do without it? I‘d like to know. Go back to living in tents?" SPREAD Sheet Stackpole profit Oakvilleâ€"based Stackpole Ltd. has reported revenue of $26,724,000 for the three months ending June 26, 1994 compared to $20,819,000 for the same period one year ago. Net profit for the period was $1,566,000 _ compared to $1,133,000 for the same period in 1993. Share profit for the period was 19 cents compared to 20 cents one year ago. Firan appointment Curtis Bossi has been appointed the new president and chief operating officer of Oakvilleâ€"based Firan Corporation. Bossi was previously president of the company‘s electronics division. y