Connections, relationships, community: that's the road map and the cause that drives Gina Dingman.

"Committing your time and passion to people in your own backyard is so important," she says. 

In 2002, Gina was marketing for a civil and environmental engineering firm. Her job meant working with a variety of Real Estate developers. Scott Simon, one of her top developers, suggested that Gina get her license and begin selling his single-family home subdivisions and condo developments. "He introduced me to Beth Stefaniak Savas and I hit the ground running."

Gina remembers, " I was thirty-three. Beth was classy and dynamic, and she taught me so much. I remember saying to myself, 'Beth is everything I want to be when I grow up!'" she laughs.

That career change came at a great time for Gina. She and her husband, Don, were beginning their family with daughters Alexys and Vanessa. Gina wanted more flexibility, which Real Estate gave her. But she also wanted to work closer to home, to work in her own community.

When Realty Executives Integrity approached her to work at the East Troy office, she took the chance. "I cried to leave my coworkers and Beth," she remembers. "But I said yes to this office as it would be much closer to family, and I could shift my career to existing homes in my hometown —which I love."

"Living and working in my community brings me great joy." 

"I am lucky to still keep in touch with Beth and all the Staff at the Stefaniak Group," she notes. It's important to Gina—those connections and relationships. And fourteen years ago, she began her wonderful working relationship with managing broker, Pam Burki, and Sarah Alexander, her co-agent.

"Our jobs are hard enough," she notes. "We negotiate and problem-solve all day. It's important to keep and maintain those connections we make,  to have friends on all sides of the business."

And with her years in the business, Gina has become passionate about mentoring as well. "Let's face it, there are always new agents entering, and I want to help if they need it. I sure needed help when I first started."

But her mentoring doesn't just stop with agents. One of the things she loves most is her school outreach. " I love getting into the schools, talking to business classes about mortgages, building credit for future home purchases, and how to get them started at a young age to prepare for homeownership." She has also sat on the United Way of Walworth County board for eight years.

Five years ago, Gina decided to grow her team by bringing on Martha Luna. Since then, her team has grown considerably, adding Nicole Orzel, Amber Guthman, Alexys —Gina's daughter— and Mindy Shaffer.

"These women are my lifeline," says Gina. They are always there to cheer me on and lend an ear and shoulder when I need it. I could not do this without them. Our office is a family, and with a small community that is important."

She notes that the truly rewarding aspects of her career seem to change as the years go by. "I have always loved helping people find their dream home. I have loved showing and looking at houses, and as the years go by, I have found it rewarding to protect my buyers and sellers."

"And recently," she continues, "a lot of my clients' kids have started coming to me for their homes. That is so rewarding, and it's so important, I want to make sure they are protected and have someone looking out for them during the whole transaction."

"I am honored to represent my clients, and I know I am blessed they keep coming back to me for multiple transactions."