This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.

In previous MLS Insight posts, I covered the  general governance of RMLS™ including our shareholders, Board of Directors, and standing committees. The Service Advisory Committee (SAC) is a topic that deserves a closer look.

When RMLS™ began serving areas outside the Portland metro area where our shareholder REALTOR® associations were located, we wanted to find a way to make sure that those subscribers’ voices could be heard. In 2000, our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws were changed to establish the Service Advisory Committee. The Articles of Incorporation clearly define SAC’s purpose as “identifying the concerns of those who subscribe to the corporation’s service but who are not members of shareholders…”

Currently 16 REALTOR® associations appoint representatives to serve on SAC. The chairman of SAC automatically takes a seat on the RMLS™ Board of Directors, and SAC also appoints one additional director. SAC directors have full and identical rights and responsibilities as shareholder directors.

Our current Service Advisory Committee directors have both made many contributions to both RMLS™ and the broader real estate communities. Cory Neu served as the 2011 Chairman of the RMLS™ Board and a total of five years on the Executive Committee representing SAC from the Eugene Association of REALTORS®. Our current Treasurer, Lori Palermo, represents SAC from the Springfield Board of REALTORS® and has served on SAC since its inception in 2000. I asked them to provide their own insider views on the Service Advisory Committee for this post.

“I have had the pleasure of serving on the Service Advisory Committee since its inception. I especially appreciate the avenue that the committee provides for bringing questions, concerns, and issues of members across the state to the RMLS™ Board of Directors. Several suggestions and enhancements that have come from SAC have been implemented and are in use today.” –Lori Palermo

“I’ve served in several capacities for my local and state associations, and having the opportunity to chair the RMLS™ Service Advisory Committee for the last 11 years has been the most rewarding in my real estate career. In that time, the SAC has brought many recommendations to the board and staff, from rules and regulations to RMLSweb functionality. Those things directly effect our profession on a very real and direct level.” –Cory Neu

Next month we will give a brief history of RMLS™. If you have any questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.