Tip Tuesday

Temecula Valley Transition Specialist

As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is the lowdown on Temecula Valley. Well, I'm here today with a dear friend of mine, Celeste Ducharme. I'm so honored to have her here. She has been a resident of the Temecula Valley for over 17 years. She serves in so many capacities and which probably we should do multiple interviews. But today we're going to talk about she is a transition specialist. Whoo. at Ranch RV and self storage. And well first of all, let's talk about what what is a transition specialist?

Celeste Ducharme - Temecula Valley Transition Specialist

So I'm so glad you asked. And I first of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for for who you are, and for how you're wanting to spotlight me and how I get to help people as they transition in life. So it's incredible, but just being able to help people as they transition sometimes through death, divorce dislocation downsizing, people need a place for short term or long teams, long term storage and at ranch RV and self storage, we get to do that for people.

Mitchell Jones

So describe for us who your greatest customers are, the type of clients you're serving.

Celeste Ducharme

So typically our customers are about 80% women in the industry. So whether it's just the women are taking care of when there's a death in the family or divorce. It's both sides and dislocating relocating. You know, the women are typically shopping and our customer who we deal with the most. So it's a great industry, you know, nobody window shop storage, you definitely have a need if you're looking for it. So it's a very specialty industry to be in and we love it. I have an amazing staff. And we get to encourage and love and embrace them while they're there. Short term or long term.

Mitchell Jones

That is neat. So when someone is looking for self storage, what what should We look forward what questions should we ask?

Celeste Ducharme

That's a great question.

Celeste Ducharme

If you were I were looking for storage or you know, even within our house, we want peace of mind, right? We want to know where secure, so nothing is different within storage, you definitely want peace of mind. So how many surveillance cameras do you have? Are your units individually alarmed? Does someone live on site? A site manager is not as common anymore because the technology is so brilliant. We can access our cameras I can from my house from anywhere. And so that's the peace of mind you're wanting friendliness? How is the staff? how responsive? Are they? So very important to have someone who's going to meet your needs with friendliness and then cleanliness? Is it maintained? Do they have pest control? How is the facility or is it being cleaned daily? Is it being cleaned monthly? So friendliness, calmness and peace of mind the three biggest things you want to look at? And then is it short term? Is it long term? What happens if I move out mid month do I get a refund? Why don't make no refund. So some great questions to ask. Do I only They get the movement special. If I'm there for the full three months, right? Can I rent for a weekend?

Mitchell Jones

Okay, so are you suggesting you have short term rentals available?

Celeste Ducharme

I'm so glad you asked.

Celeste Ducharme

We do we specialize in short term. We ask for 10 days notice I had somebody walk in the office yesterday who gave me a two day notice and that's okay. We want you to be there as short or long as you need it. We actually have a great specialty special for realtors whose escrow doesn't close and you need a weekend right? You need a weekend transition. And we do that free for you. So we give your client two days of free storage. If it's longer than that we give them three months of half off so a great great special short term or long term whatever their needs are. We want you to be there as long or short as they need to be there.

Mitchell Jones

Wow, wait I love hearing that Celeste I have had situations where we can't always control you know we say when we have an escrow date of when that that transaction is supposed to close escrow. There are certain variables that come into play. And it's a target date. We don't always close on time. Sometimes we close early. But someone as a direct result may be displaced. And that's one of the first questions I'll say, what do we do with our furniture? Can the mover store and it's very expensive to store your furniture. So I think this is a great solution. And I wasn't aware of this until I met you. So that is wonderful. Now, tell me about your business itself. Where are you located? Is there room for me? Can I come live there? Should I buy an RV and come live on site?

Celeste Ducharme

Well, one of our rules is you can't live there. But we'd love to have you visit as often as you like. We start each day with coffee tea and some people like the afternoon coffee and tea. So please come and anytime. We are conveniently located at the corner of Winchester and Benton. There's a brand new Denny's out there. So we're right behind the Denny's and at the corner Winchester. You turn right at the center. And we're the first right there's the gas station there. So 6610 Briggs road in Marietta so very conveniently located and if you're having a hard time finding us look for the airplanes are right in the airplane plane fly zone at French Valley airport.

Mitchell Jones

Oh, that's good. Now you your business opened, what about a year and a half ago? Is it did July 26. Okay as an 18 Oh, congratulations. And are you at capacity at this point?

Celeste Ducharme

You know, it's very exciting that in 13 months that we are at 4% square footage, occupancy. So it's been a fabulous journey. I work for the RAD con group, which is a development company and we did our homework there was a need for storage in the area and then we sought out for land and so the community has welcomed us with a need so much of a need if I can share something fun. We just completed our new two storey buildings so construction on phase two grand opening will be October 15. So 300 additional units and temperature controlled which is just wonderful. just such a need for temperature control when you're storing longer term.

Mitchell Jones

Are there some other things you'd like to share as far as What people should know about storage what what they should know about Celeste charm I could go on and on not about you but

Celeste Ducharme - Temecula Valley Transition Specialist

well I want you to know that you're going to be taken care of we have an amazing staff at ranch RV and self storage on my facility manager Ryan Murphy is incredible. Lunel Ruiz, my assistant office manager and Dylan Bush White, my assistant maintenance manager we are committed to friendliness. We are committed wholeheartedly to peace of mind and to friendliness, cleanliness, peace of mind. It's it's the package you get when you walk in there and you feel the difference. There's something very special about the facility you feel it when you walk in. And it's just it's a blessing to be able to help people as they transition. Temecula Valley Transition Specialist

Mitchell Jones

Absolutely. You know, I think that's neat because I think about you know, when when our time on earth ends, we can't take the stuff with us. But the stuff we have now a lot of it is emotional attachment, and to know that folks would be in good hands at branch, RV and celebrate is just great and reassuring.

Celeste Ducharme

So I can't say thank you enough for today in this time together Always a pleasure mind over what you're doing and how you're connecting people to heart and home. Oh god. So, a blessing.

Mitchell Jones

Oh thanks, Celeste.

Temecula Valley Transition Specialist

https://youtu.be/tAxj1FNjknk

Temecula Valley Home Loans and Refinancing.

As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is the Low Down on Temecula Valley

Mitchell Jones

Well, I'm here today with Jeanette Hartman with American Pacific mortgage. She's a loan officer who is a resident of Temecula Valley for over 30 years. She has served our community through Mariana rotary for over 20 years. She also holds a board position for Habitat for Humanity. I could go on and on with everything that Jeanette has done in serving our community. But today we're going to talk about alone and especially for first time homebuyers. So Jeanette, tell us a little bit as a loan officer, what you do,

Jeanette Hartmann

One of the things that I do or the primary thing that I do is I help people get into a home loan, whether that's for a purchase or refinance, were purchased centric. So most of our business is based on purchases and I love to meet with my clients and help them figure out what their needs are and what the right loan is for them.

Mitchell Jones

Okay? No, that makes a lot of sense. I oftentimes as a real estate agent, I receive calls from folks who are wanting to buy their first home. How would you define a first time homebuyer?

Jeanette Hartmann

The definition for first time buyer from a program standpoint is that you haven't owned a home in the last three years. So not truly a first first home but you haven't owned it in the last three years. So what steps

Mitchell Jones

Should a first time home buyer take in trying to get approval for a loan or a purchase?

Jeanette Hartmann

We like to meet with our clients in person, especially my first time buyers because they haven't been through the process before. And they don't know what they're expected to do. So when I meet with them, it's usually a one hour consultation. we sit down and we talk about cash, credit and income. The three main things that you need to purchase a home most people think that they need more money than they actually do, especially if they meet the requirements for our first time homebuyer program. I've had people get into their first home for me, technically, you could get in with nothing down. But that's not realistic. In this area with our price points, people need to have five to $10,000 available, and then they're able to get into that first home.

Mitchell Jones

So we hear a lot about credit scores. And what if someone has a low credit score or a credit score that would prevent them from getting a first time home? What steps could they take to get to that place?

Jeanette Hartmann

So that's one of the things we review when we talk with them is we do pull credit, I will tell you that the credit score that we use is different than Credit Karma or what they see on what they're pulling from their own credit. So we have to go off a mortgage psycho score, we go off the middle of the three scores, and for my first time homebuyer program, we need a 645. So when we pull credit, our credit report tells us Hey, you don't you have the potential to get to this psycho. And it's not a credit repair program, but it will look at their accounts that they can pay down balances that they could pay down. Sometimes it'll ask them to get deleted from an authorized user account. Sometimes it'll tell them, hey, go charge $10 on this account, but we don't do credit repair. So if they need more help than that, we would refer them to somebody who does do credit repair.

Mitchell Jones

Okay? Well, what I really like about your model is the fact that your local, and they're not working with those, those big companies over the internet and they really don't have any personalized service, they can actually come in and meet with you. I've heard about through the years and in our relationship, I've heard about your home club. Would you like to elaborate on that a little bit for our audience today.

Jeanette Hartmann

So when we meet with a client, we review their cash credit and income, like I said, if they qualify to go buy a house right away, we'll let them know you're good to go. Here's your maximum purchase price. I always talk with my clients about what's their maximum comfort level. And then I also tell them what the maximum purchase prices because I don't want people to think if they're telling me I'm comfortable with this payment. It gets into 380. I want them to know if they can go 400 or go to 450. I want them to know what their maximum that we qualify for them as if they don't meet the requirements right away. We'll give them a plan. You know, you need to do this, you need to pay these credit cards down. You need to wait until you've worked at your job for certain amount of time, whatever that situation is, and will give them a plan of action. And that's what our home club is it stands for homeownership made easy,

Mitchell Jones

Just from a real estate agents perspective. There have been so many times where people will call me and they'll say, Well, you know, I'd like to go see homes. And then lo and behold, we get out there and if they don't have their pre approval first, they say well, we could qualify for a $500,000 home we've checked online, and then lo and behold, they find the home they want they want to write an offer. They don't have that pre approval letter handy or prepared because they haven't met with the loan officer yet. And in reality, I had a situation recently where the the Lovely, lovely couple couldn't even afford a home for 400,000. Now, did we find them what they needed? Yes. But we had to take a few steps back first. So last thing as agents we want to see is finding that right home for someone, and then they're not prepared. They haven't met with that loan officer had that conversation, or they're not really sure what exactly they could qualify for. So it's nice knowing that we have a resource. And is there anything else that you'd like to share with us today, Jeanette, I mean, you're just you're such a wealth of knowledge. We're so fortunate to have you here.

Jeanette Hartmann

I just like to reiterate what you said, Mitchell, because that's really important. The first step really should be meeting with a lender, because you want to make sure that the houses that you're seeing first are the ones you're qualified for. Otherwise, you're showing them that $500,000 house, they don't qualify for it. Now, they're going out there and they're comparing everything to that house they couldn't get and the difference between a local lender and an online lender. One of the biggest differences in our Valley is our property taxes. So it's really important to work with an agent that understands the tax basis is different in the communities, but the lenders as well, because as a lender and online lenders, they will use one and a quarter percent for property taxes. And that doesn't work in our Valley.

Mitchell Jones

I think that is great. Well, you have done a super job sharing this information with us and I just look forward to even more transactions with you, you get the job done. You get it done on time, and you get it done very positively and professionally and we're very, very fortunate to have you and your talent in this valley. Thank you Jeanette.

Temecula Valley Home Loans and Refinancing. Temecula Valley Home Loans Temecula Valley Home Loans Temecula Valley Home Loans

https://youtu.be/dszcuXm5f6o

As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is The Low Down on Temecula Valley Teaching.

I'm pleased to introduce my friend, Laura Walker. Laura is actually a new neighbor of mine to the Central Park community as well. Laura is a retired school teacher. And she also does a lot of work serving our community. How long have you been a resident in the Temecula Valley?

Mitchell Jones

28 years? Oh, my goodness. So you've seen a lot of a lot of changes? Yes, population growth way before the mall?

Mitchell Jones

Well, during your career as a teacher, what subjects did you teach? And what did you enjoy the most?

Laura Walker

I taught my multitude of subjects throughout my years, but the ones I did the most were Language Arts and Social Studies.

Laura Walker

And for a very short stint about five years I taught cooking.

Mitchell Jones

Oh, really? Oh, tell me a little bit more about that.

Laura Walker

I really enjoyed that. Because it was from six seventh and eighth graders that I I taught. And I really enjoyed it because I got the kids who sometimes weren't successful in other areas. So I got kids who were special needs. In my class, I got kids who were here from other countries, they could all do things that maybe they couldn't do in the academic areas, they could cook, they could measure things, they could work collaboratively with other kids. And so it was really great, because I could surface a lot of different kids. And I really, really enjoyed seeing them all be successful.

Mitchell Jones

Well, if someone were considering going into the teaching field, Laura, what what advice could you offer up for, for them to get started? Well

Laura Walker

go into teaching for different reasons. And I think some people go in for the money. I mean, it's not the best paying job on Earth. But you know, it's, it's good money, it's good benefits, and you get the summers off. So some people go into it for that reason. But as far as I'm concerned, if you're not going into teaching, because you love it, you love imparting knowledge, you love seeing children grow because of something that you've done and you've made a difference in a life, then you shouldn't be going into that profession at all. Going to college is something that, you know, is not that difficult to do to get a teaching credential. But if you don't love it, don't do it. Don't do it. If it's a job that's moving you toward doing something else, and it's a filler, because children know that they can tell when a teacher's heart isn't into it.

Mitchell Jones

If you had to do it all over again, is there something that you would have done differently?

Laura Walker

I don't think so. pick the right profession. I love what I did the entire 33 years. And it's not to say I didn't have difficult kids and moments when it was tough. But it didn't matter. I loved what I did right up until the very last day that I did it. And you know, they say when you get older and you look back on your life, you look back with regret, or you look back with you know, happiness, that you did the right things. And I can say that I can look back and see that I touched a lot of lives. And I'm going to go into my older years knowing that I made a difference in people's lives and and I'll have contentment.

Mitchell Jones

Wow, that is such a great response. You know, I my wishes that everyone in Temecula Valley could experience that and feel that passion about what they've done for their career. Well, you know what, you also are involved in our community. You do some volunteer work, and it involves horses. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?

Laura Walker

Well, I don't ride them, but my husband does. And so I got involved in Rancho California horsemen's Association, a few years back, they needed more people on their board. And so I volunteered and I do membership. And I'm the treasurer on the board of directors. And it's a really great organization because they fight for the trails in Temecula and Marietta Valley. There's so many houses being built and businesses being built that we're losing a lot of our wild areas. And so they're dedicated to making sure that we retain as many of those as we can trails for hiking and biking and horses. And so that's what the organization is dedicated to. And I think it's a good cause. So I volunteer with them.

Mitchell Jones

If someone wanted to get involved in in that association, or or if they wanted to donate any resources or funding. What we'll do at the end of this, if it's okay with you, we'll just flash the website on so that folks can get involved if they'd like to. Well, this has been a pleasure. And I just want to ask you one more question. You know, you obviously have amazing vast experience in teaching and amazing involvement serving in our community. But now that we've started back to school for the year, what advice could you offer up for parents today to set everyone up for a better success this year?

Laura Walker

What I can say about that is that parents, teachers are there to educate your children. And it should be a collaboration with you as parents, you raise your children at home, you teach them values, you teach them responsibility, you teach them respect, you teach them morals, if you do your job at home, and send them to school with those things prepared for school, then I can do my job as a teacher and educate them. And you know, of course children him you know, emulate their parents as well. So be a good role model for your child. And then your child will come to school and they'll be kind and they'll be respectful and they'll be ready to learn. And then it makes my job easier and it makes it easier for the children to get along and for everything to go smoothly. So

Mitchell Jones

that's great advice. Gosh, I am so glad I'm so grateful for this time together with you we you know life we get so busy. We don't get enough time together as as friends. But you know, you're just a wealth of knowledge and just a very, very dear friend, but I know what you've shared with us certainly is great advice that will help other members in the Temecula Valley and thank you Thanks so much and was truly a pleasure. Love you. Love you Laura.

The Low Down on Temecula Valley Teaching The Low Down on Temecula Valley Teaching The Low Down on Temecula Valley Teaching

https://youtu.be/fPxXviwG3p4

As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is The Low Down on Temecula Valley Medicare Insurance.

Mitchell Jones Today, I have the pleasure of meeting with Alexandra Abadie. She is a Central Park resident. And I'm honored and pleased to have her here today because she truly is our resident expert on Medicare insurance. She's approaching her ninth year in this field, and she has a lot to share with our community to ensure that we get the best medical coverage that we possibly can get. On a side note, Alexandra and her husband are expecting their first child, she's just entered into her third trimester. I'm so happy to have you here today, Alexandra.

Mitchell Jones Oh, gosh.

Mitchell Jones Oh, good. Well, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. How long have you been a resident in the area?

Alexandra Abadie My husband and I moved to Central Park in January of 2018, I believe. It was like right before our wedding. So it was a little bit of a time crunch. And maybe a little stressful. But it was honestly one of the best moves that we've made. But we've been in the Temecula Valley since January of 2017.

Mitchell Jones So we have a lot of baby boomers coming of age in the Temecula Valley. And they'll soon be candidates, obviously, for Medicare. What can they do now to start preparing for that transition.

Alexandra Abadie Um, you don't want to start necessarily looking too early. Because plans can change from year to year. There's different policies and things that change within Medicare from from one year to the next. So I usually say about six to eight months before your 65th birthday is going to be the best time to start researching, kind of connecting with a professional, somebody who's going to help you get you through that process and answer your question Jones.

Mitchell Jones So when we turn 65, do we automatically just have Medicare coverage?

Alexandra Abadie We get asked that a lot. So it's going to depend on your situation. If you are currently collecting Social Security before you turn 65, you will actually automatically be issued your Medicare card with Original Medicare Part A and Part B. If you are not collecting social security at the time, let's say you're still working or you are retired, but you're waiting until full retirement age to collect, you will actually need to apply. And there's three ways you can apply. You can go online and create an account on my Medicare or Medicare. Gov. You can call into Medicare to apply over the phone or you can go into your local social security office, which for our Valley here in Marietta and Temecula would be in Hemet.

Mitchell Jones Well, I hear a lot about Medicare Advantage. Can you see share a little bit more on that

Alexandra Abadie The first step is getting your original Medicare, which is that card that you receive. That's your insurance through the federal government. Part A and Part B on top of Original Medicare because they only cover about 80% of your expenses, not including the deductibles that Part A and Part B have, you're going to want to add some sort of secondary coverage. So there's two options there's medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is a very popular plan, I would say probably about 75% or more of my client base is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Those are going to be your HMO and PPO options. The PPO options are very limited. For instance, in 2019, there's only one PPO option available through Medicare Advantage in Riverside County.

So most of the plans available are going to be those HMO options. And what Medicare Advantage does is it actually ended operates Original Medicare Parts A and part B, all into one plan combined. And that plan is your primary insurance. Those plans can also include additional benefits such as dental, vision, hearing over the counter care Advantage plans also include prescription drug coverage. So you have one insurance policy that encompasses everything into just one plan. So it's very seamless, very easy to use.

Mitchell Jones What would you say sets your agency apart from others who may be your competition.

Alexandra Abadie One of the things that we are fortunate enough to do as an agency is work with doctors throughout Southern California. We are a family run agency. So me and my partners who are actually my parents, we run HCAG Medicare Insurance Agency, and we have several other agents both here and in Southern Nevada. We are very active within the community we participate in health fair's, probably at least one to two times a month, if not more. We are definitely advocates. Our agency goes above and beyond we don't just help our clients with their Medicare needs. But if they're dealing with issues with Social Security, we can provide assistance.

Mitchell Jones What about someone who may be approaching college age at this point? They are exploring different career options. What would you say if someone was thinking about maybe becoming a healthcare advocate or an insurance sales specialist? What advice can you give them?

Alexandra Abadie Well, I would say definitely, you know, meet with somebody who's in that industry, whether it's myself or somebody that you know in that industry, and get a really, you know, in depth perspective at what it is that they do. It's not necessarily the easiest job, I am self employed. And every single client that I have is a lead that I worked for, in different ways I have to be very active in the community.

As I said, with the health fair's. It takes such a lot of time and effort to build up your book of business. Nothing is ever just going to be handed to you. So you have to really have that sales mentality, that sales personality, and you have to really be willing to work for it and put in the time. So just make sure you have a really realistic idea of what you're getting into. Because you don't want to end up getting burnt out. Time is our most most valuable asset. So you don't want to invest a bunch of time in something that isn't going to end up working out for you.

Mitchell Jones Well, gosh, we are so excited about the baby coming and we are so grateful for your time today and sacrificing your time away from your clients to help support our community means so much the gift of time is just invaluable here. Thank you and it's a pleasure knowing you and calling you my friends. Appreciate it.

The Low Down on Temecula Valley Medicare Insurance. The Low Down on Temecula Valley Medicare Insurance.

The Low Down on Temecula Valley Education Leadership. I am so pleased today to have a very dear friend of nearly 20 years who is a leader in education and a leader in leadership in our Valley Dr. July Hill Wilkinson. July I just want to first of all say thank you for joining us today tell us how long have you been in the valley.

I moved here in 1986 so quite a while and actually from the East Coast so grew up in Massachusetts but the weather out here is much nicer. We came out in 1996 so I've been in Temecula almost that whole time. I left for two years went down to the San Diego area but then moved back up so I've been here for quite a while.

You know oftentimes I have families coming in and they're asking about the school district here and what could you say for people who are looking to come to this community that would set our school districts apart from others? Say they're coming from Orange County or LA County or San Diego County, what would set us apart?

I can say all of the Temecula schools are great for sure. There's a wide variety there we do between Temecula and Murrieta we have six comprehensive high schools. A lot to choose from. You've got schools that really really push weight we have the ivy program high academics really rigorous we have schools that are very doing a great job with career technical and helping students find what they want to be as they go through school and beyond. We have schools with a ton of school spirit and they really are great for athletics, all of our schools have parts of that.

One of the biggest differences honestly at the bell schedule so to make those schools are on a very traditional schedule whereas Murrieta schools have moved to a block schedule. So block schedule the classes are longer, but you have fewer each day, so some people really like that, some students flourish under that, and some students really struggle with that, so really knowing your child, knowing what their interests are and kind of knowing how they go through their school day would help you sort of decide on a school.

You're an adjunct professor what what does that mean what does that role entail?

So I'm an adjunct professor with a master's and teacher credential program, so I get to work with teachers or college students that are trying to get their teacher credential right now introducing them to what it's really like to be a teacher. I'm also the coordinator for student teachers at my sites and I really appreciate the opportunity to to talk to them about what this is really like and what they can expect and how much fun they can have. It's hard but it can be a lot of fun when you do it correctly and have fun with it and you just kind of relax a little bit and have fun with it yourself and don't stress out too much.

We obviously have a lot of youth in our community and what advice could you give to someone who is exploring the education field and considering pursuing that degree?

At this point up until now historically teachers have been very I am the keeper of the information and I went to school and I have this content and and I am going to plan lessons and plan my day to give this information to you and that's what teaching has been historically well with the advent of the internet we no longer are the holder of the knowledge we now have to design our days and our lessons to have students evaluate and use information which is very different than getting them to have information we now have to be facilitators and teach them how to use it and how to evaluate it.

That's very different and I would argue that a lot of teachers are struggling with that shift and students and parents and teachers all sort of have to understand that we're moving through this together and what's the best way to do that.

You know as we've just started a new school year July I am sure that parents feel challenged getting the schedule back on track getting the kids back on track what advice could you offer up to the students and to the parents now as we embark on a new school year to set us all up for greater success?

So, two things actually. Number one. Obviously with the internet ,cell phones have really created a whole different level of stuff in our classrooms. Reminding students to turn their phones off, turn them in airplane mode, put them away, do what they need to do which leads to the next piece of advice I would give to students parents and even teachers. Number two is really always remembering that there are two sides to the story. There may be a chance that your student only heard half of the story, or didn't listen to part of the directions, or didn't hear the context for whatever reason.

So always hearing the other side of the story. If it's the teacher saying your child was having issues, what is your child's story and then it fits your child saying there's nature with the teacher what is the other side of the story what is the teacher story I mean.

What comes through you is truly your passion. The compassion that you have in the families that you're serving and you are just such a tremendous asset to our community that I'm honored to call you our friend and our leader and I just want to thank you so much for joining us today. If there's anything else you'd like to add, feel free.

Again I absolutely love my job and I recommend if people want to come into teaching by all means come join us. I know we still have a teacher shortage in California last I checked, but understand that it's tough. It's not easy, but I think anything that you really want to do and that you really enjoy, whether it's tough or not you'll stick with it okay.

Well you are a wealth of information for us today and we are so glad to have had you on the lowdown of Temecula Valley. I hope that you'll come back at another time because there's still so much to share. Thank You July. Truly a pleasure. Good to see you.

The Low Down on Temecula Valley Education Leadership.  Low Down on Temecula Valley Education Leadership.

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https://youtu.be/PD1COK6H9cg

The Lowdown on Temecula Valley Traffic. Welcome to Episode 1 of the Low Down on Temecula Valley featuring our community leader, Jim Richardson! Thanks for all you do, Jim, to make TV an even better place. We appreciate you!

As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones. And this is the lowdown on Temecula Valley.

I am so honored today to have Jim Richardson here with us for an interview. Thanks for your time today. Well, we're just happy to have you, Jim, how long have you been a resident of the Temecula Valley?

Jim Richardson So Janice, and I moved here in April of 1993. So we've we've been here quite a while and we've really seen it changed over the years. It's just been amazing. You know, we moved here because it was really quiet and not so much anymore. But still beautiful, wonderful place to live.

Mitchell Jones Yeah, yeah, it really is.

Mitchell Jones Well, since you've been in this valley, and you serve as our traffic safety, Commissioner. And I know I'm sure I'm botching up that title. But what changes have you seen in the past few years?

Jim Richardson Well, I'm one of five public traffic and safety commissioners. So I serve with four other very capable people. But I've been on the commission since 2013, so about six years now. And I think the main change, I saw more changes earlier, when the mall went in. That was, of course, an enormous change for the city. Something people may not know is that Caltrans controls the interstate 15 corridor and all lights within a quarter mile. So if they change the timing, and we don't know, then all of a sudden, everything's out of whack. So we're able to more quickly adjust now with new equipment going in. The city of Temecula is amazing at winning federal grants to submit projects in the city and just keep us really on the cutting edge of traffic technology and keeping our community moving.

Mitchell Jones Tell me what we can do as citizens to maybe improve our safety or be better citizens because of a direct result of increased traffic.

Jim Richardson Yeah, well, you you stated it, right. They're you know, we need to just plan better and take that extra time. Be aware of there's you know, so many kids walk into school and those crosswalks and, you know, relax and safety first. So, yeah,

Mitchell Jones your wife, Janice, and you what, what brought this about and and why did you decide to form the Temecula Valley Dachshund Club?

Unknown Speaker Yeah, so in the, I guess, the spring of 2007, we were driving to Costco. And on the way, you know, we said, hey, there's someone walking the docks, and hey, there's another one. Hey, there's another one. So on this trip, just a couple of miles driving to Costco, we saw six or seven people walking their dogs, to put our names in a spreadsheet as the club roster. And, you know, we put an ad in the local newspaper at the time saying we're going to have a meetup in June of 2007. There were 75 toxins, and the club was started in Grand fashion. And over the years, it's just grown and been just just wonderful. You know, we've, we've marched most years in the Christmas parade and tried to make it a community involvement club.

Mitchell Jones Why that is neat. That is neat. Let's talk about some of the outreach that this club has has led to and thanks to yours and Janet. commitment and club members commitment.

Jim Richardson Yeah, it's kind of funny, because, you know, we started the club and it's just a social club. We're going to hang out with our docs ease and have potlucks and do fun stuff. So well as our events. You know, we put on events. Yeah, as you know. So we've been doing two events a year now recently in the in the spring, we do the wine country winter fest. It's been at Mount Palomar winery. And the last few years since Janice retired, we've been doing the Temecula fall winter fest at Vail headquarters the first Sunday in November. And that's a again, similar type event, but more with the fall theme. So both events have been successful. And our club members have done a great job of supporting that with volunteerism and prizes and things like that.

Mitchell Jones Yeah, that's neat to hear. Now, if someone isn't a dachshund donor, are they welcome to come to the event?

Jim Richardson Sure. I mean, the events are open to the public. And some people come just, you know to spend the day and you know that the the winery events. It's funny, you know, we kind of take over the winery for a day. But the neat thing is people who don't have toxins, they were just out wine tasting stumble on our event, they stay the whole five hours, and it's like they don't go anywhere else. It's just that kind of a family oriented club, family oriented events.

Mitchell Jones You just have such great experience and you truly are a community servant. And if we had more Jim Richardson's in the world, I think we have a nicer, heavier, more adaptive world. We just appreciate all of your service. pleasure meeting with you today. Thank you.

Jim Richardson Thanks. Thanks for your time.

Temecula Valley Traffic Temecula Valley Traffic

 

 

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