My Sabbatical

I am perhaps one of the unusual people who has stayed in the same job for most of my adult life.  I have been running Pearce Real Estate since the mid-1980s, after leaving the practice of law to work with my father in late 1981.  Although it's challenging and absorbing, and I love the people with whom I work, this seemed like the right time for me to take on a new challenge for a little while.

Connecticut Hospice has been a part of my life since childhood, when my father was on the Board and his best friend was the Board Chair.  Over the years, we have represented them in real estate transactions, including the move into their current location.  Pearce Real Estate has done a Day of Caring there, after Hurricane Irene, which was shortly after my father died there.  I have always known what a special place it is.  When I was recently asked to help them, after a period of turbulent management change, I didn't hesitate.  I agreed to become the interim CEO, and I started almost immediately, a few weeks ago.

It has been the most intense professional experience of my life.  There is so much to do, and I am also trying to master a new field.  However, I have great people working with me, and CH has extraordinary employees, who believe passionately, as I do, in the mission of Connecticut Hospice.  They have supported me every step of the way, and thanked me for coming to work every morning.  What happens in that building, and in all the places where CH delivers home care, is a labor of love for every staff member.  I am privileged to have been asked to lead such an amazing organization.

I am also blessed with a terrific team at Pearce Real Estate, where everyone clapped, or even cried with joy, when I said that I was going to spend the next year at Connecticut Hospice, They, too, are extraordinary people, and always in my heart while I work to make Hospice thrive.  I am proud of the work they do as well, and the professionalism with which they assist clients with all types of real estate needs.  Nanette Pastore, who is running Pearce in my absence, is the best partner any executive could ever want--talented, hardworking, caring, and committed.  She is more than ready for this challenge, and she deserves all the support she is getting from everyone.

This blog will continue, as well my commitment to Pearce Real Estate, although most of my time is fully taken at the moment!  I look forward to continuing the dialogue about issues in buying and selling, and to your ongoing readership.