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10
Congratulations Kurt Johnson! Ruhl's Top Associate of the Year - For 10 Straight Years!
2022 proved to be another excellent year for Bettendorf real estate agent, Kurt Johnson. It ended with him rounding out a decade as the company's Top Associate of the Year. With so many talented, hardworking agents at Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, winning this top spot is no cakewalk, and it's what makes winning the award for ten consecutive years even more impressive.
Kurt joined Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors in September of 1998 after years in the family food industry. Originally from Clinton, he worked at two beloved local food businesses, Marcucci's, and later at Rastrelli's. Both establishments have close family ties. Growing Rastrelli's drew Kurt out of Clinton and to the Quad Cities. He opened restaurants in the Quad Cities area and Iowa City before venturing into franchise management where he had a successful career at McDonald's. However, the time came for a change and that's when real estate came calling. When Kurt and his family were ready to move to a larger home he used an agent at Ruhl&Ruhl's Bettendorf location, an office that would soon become his home for 25+ years. "I can still visually see it, 25 years ago, walking out the door and saying to my wife, this is something I gotta do." Two weeks later, Kurt put in his notice at McDonald's and became a Realtor with Ruhl&Ruhl.
Over the years Kurt has had tremendous success and has made a name for himself throughout the community but it wasn't without trial and error. Kurt shares a story about how he missed out on a listing because a client saw a neighbor's house go up for sale and didn't think to reach out to Kurt, but instead used the listing agent. Instead of writing that client off, Kurt added them back to his mailing list and when the time came for them to list their house, they went with Kurt. "You have to know that your best friend could go with someone else. It's why you have to continue to provide good service and build strong, meaningful relationships." Growing a solid business built on knowledge and relationships is the foundation of his success, as is simple, yet effective hard work. "You drive the force" he states, meaning it's up to you to determine your success level by how hard you are willing to work. It's a main motivator for Johnson, as is helping others with his knowledge and expertise. But he likes to keep it fun. At the end of the day, "I do it for the fun of it." Some days may be easier than others.
Real estate can be a competitive industry but Kurt shared that he and his Licensed Personal Assistant, Pam Garrett, often joke that what really sets them apart is that they are full-service. "Any Realtor can sell you a home…but we're full service. Meaning we'll do whatever we can do to put you at ease and make sure the transaction goes through." He elaborates on the fact that it's easy for someone to outline all the things they can do for you and even all the things they did that caused them to go above and beyond, but he views that his job is, "...to not tell you I did these 20 things, but to get them done in an efficient way and have you think, 'Well that was easy!'" When asked if he was up for another ten years of winning the company's Top Associate of the Year award, he smiles and says "it would sure be pretty damn cool," before adding, "I don't know…I did play the PowerBall last night and I'm not sure if I won yet." Perhaps for the betterment of our community, Kurt didn't win the lottery. And he is happy to stay in real estate for as long as the "thrill" is alive. "I'm not going anywhere…It's the thrill!"
Congratulations to Kurt Johnson of our Bettendorf Office, who not only is a mighty presence here in the Quad Cities but throughout all our markets.
