Strano & Associates, Belleville, Illinois
What is interesting about the “Metro-East” market in southern Illinois near St. Louis?
This is a charming community. We have fascinating local features, like the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Pere Marquette State Park and the Skyview Drive-In. This is also home to Cahokia Mounds—the largest pre-Columbian Native American city north of Mexico.
My main focus is to help people with single-family homes, condos and villas. Condos and villas are popular with people who don’t want to do a lot of maintenance, are downsizing or want to be on one level. Others like the personal touches they can put on a single-family home. Plus, despite the pandemic, our stats show that residential home sales have rebounded well after a dip in April, and in St. Clair County, our days on market dropped 11.4% in June.
I have to say, I love what I do. Every day I get to help people have a great homebuying or home-selling experience. Seeing people achieve the American dream is so great. No two days are the same; it’s always changing.
Are you active with CRS?
Yes. I was president of the Illinois RRC chapter last year, and now I’m the immediate past president. We couldn’t do it this year because of COVID-19, but every May the Illinois chapter of RRC hosts a pre-conference party at the state conference for the Illinois REALTORS® Association held in Collinsville. That is a great networking event for REALTORS® from all over the state. Everyone is invited: CRSs, those in training and those who are interested. The other bonus is that our raffle generates money for the Illinois REALTORS® Relief Foundation to help state residents who have been affected by tornadoes, floods or other catastrophic events.
What was it about your term that you are most proud of?
We concentrated on increasing awareness of the CRS Designation and the Council itself. We helped educate people about the designation and how to achieve it. Some people didn’t realize how close they were to qualifying for it. We spoke about the benefits of having the CRS Designation, including sharing knowledge and the referral opportunities that come when you network with other CRSs. We had a good turnout for our classes. Our sponsors stepped up, and we were pleased with the level of member participation. A great team effort made it work.
Are there other ways you serve the community?
I was in the real estate business with my parents, who started their company in 1981. They were committed to giving back to the community and so is my current company, Strano & Associates. In our office, we have food drives and adopt a family in need. We also have a program called “Tired Teddies.” We accept donations of “retired” stuffed animals, and we have a professional carpet cleaner who cleans them so they can be gifted to children at holiday time.
Also, I am currently vice-president and on the board of the Belleville Area Humane Society. I am a big animal lover—my current dog is a rescue dog. I chair the Race for Rescue 5K each year and try to motivate people to adopt the shelter animals. A couple of years ago we were able to transform one of our buildings into the cat building. The cats have much more room to run around, and out back they have a “catio.”
Tell us about the firms you have worked with.
I worked with my parents for 15 years until they passed away. I have been at Strano & Associates for a year. When I was with my parents, we were a team. When I went to Strano, I had to rebrand as an individual, but I wanted to maintain my family’s real estate legacy. Our family business motto was, “We deliver dreams,” and now that I am working as an individual, my tagline is, “I deliver dreams.”
Tricia Tialdo, CRS, achieved CRS Designation in 2013. She can be reached at tricia.tialdo@strano.com or 618.593.2983.
Photo: Gary Luttrell Photography
