20 we are GaREIA Jan/Feb 2015
WeAreGaREIA: Karen, as Executive Director of GaREIA, can you give us an insight to the GaREIA
history?
Karen Yaap: I want to thank everyone for their interest in GaREIA and our magazine! Compiling the History of GaREIA article for this issue definitely took me on a trip down memory lane! I started
working at GaREIA in 2001 and my position was Executive Assistant to the Executive Director. My first task was cataloguing all the books and tapes we had acquired through donations and gifts to the
GaREIA library! I then began working on the published calendars we had in our newsletter, on the website, and flyers for the office – to make sure they were all consistent! GaREIA began growing by
leaps and bounds in the early 2000’s, and more and more programs and benefits were offered to our members. I became the Education Secretary and worked to coordinate speakers and programs, from
the monthly General Meetings to seminars, workshops, Boot Camps, and the GaREIA Institute of Education curriculums; and was responsible for the Education and articles portions of the GaREIA newsletter.
WeAreGaREIA: What additional positions have you held at GaREIA?
Karen Yaap: After the Education Secretary position, I became the Education Director when we hired
a staff person to replace my position as Education Secretary. As Education Director, I supervised the Education Secretary, worked to improve our current programming and create additional educational programs, and assisted the Board of Directors and Executive Director with Board meetings, projects,
and annual panning retreats. I became the Operations Manager and am now Executive Director.
WeAreGaREIA: Karen, you have been with GaREIA for a long time, can you tell us a little more about yourself?
Karen Yaap: I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended high school in Illinois. I graduated with a B.A. degree in Business from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY and lived and worked in
Key West FL, Seattle WA, and Lexington KY, before moving to Atlanta in 1988. While attending college,
I worked at a residential facility for the developmentally disabled. Prior to my job with GaREIA, I
worked at Northside Realty as a Listing Secretary and as a Medical Secretary at the Emory University Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, both in Atlanta. I have been a licensed health / life insurance agent, an independent distributor for Nikken (a phenomenal Japanese wellness company), a delivery driver,
a waitress, and even a roofer! I have had plenty of great jobs and plenty not so great; I am sure most people can relate! I learned a valuable lesson regarding work ethic from my father when I was young; simply: “always give your best!”. Dad taught me and my two brothers and two sisters a lot, including
the value of sports and music. For sports, it was “practice like you are playing in the game”. Dad played football at University of Michigan and coached my brothers’ high school football teams – so we are a football family, with interests in many other sports as well. Mom said it was great the five of us were so close that we could get a game of ball together just with the five of us! Healthy competition is another thing I learned! Dad was an excellent guitarist and we grew up with a great appreciation for and
interest in music. I am blessed to have had wonderful parents who taught us love, the importance of family, to always be and do your best, and to treat people with respect and compassion.
WeAreGaREIA:You seem to enjoy your job at GaREIA. What do you enjoy most?
Karen Yaap: The reason I love working at GaREIA is the people. Simply, I get to meet and be around
great people, every day! I am not stuck in a cubicle on a telephone or a computer eight hours per day,
5 days per week. The joy of my job is the people who walk through GaREIA’s doors every day. They
have a dream: the dream to be successful as an entrepreneur and a real estate investor. So they are in good spirits! Many come to classes in the evening straight from their day job; juggling to take care of their family and grow their own business. They realize the time spent at GaREIA is well spent as an avenue to free themselves from the daily grind of corporate and working for other people. GaREIA provides them with the tools necessary to work towards the freedom that real estate investing and
other forms of passive income will provide for them, their families, and for generations to come. I get excited when I feel the excitement, dedication and commitment to learning that many of our members have. I meet people from all over the world, have made great friends, and the customer service part is easy for me – my philosophy is I treat others how I want to be treated. When someone calls with a problem or a request, I do my best to solve their problem, or connect them with someone who I think may be able to assist them. I take every request as important - again, because that is how I want to be treated. I apologize plenty -- when I have not been able to fulfill promptly on a request.
Meet Our Executive Director
KAREN YAAP