The City of College Station is ranked by The Business Journals as the brainiest city in Texas among those with populations between 50,000 and 100,000. Some 28 percent of College Station residents hold a bachelor’s degree and another 28.23 percent have a graduate or professional degree. A lot of this has to do with Texas A&M faculty as well as so many Aggies staying here after graduation!

The Business Journals ranked 483 mid-sized U.S. cities using 2009 U.S. Census Data. The rankings were based on the percentage of population with each level of educational attainment.  Not only were we #1 in Texas, but College Station ranked No. 31 nationally.

So, next time someone makes an Aggie joke, make sure and let them know that they are actually making fun of the smartest city in all of Texas!

Unfortunately a lot of times we don’t realize that there are those in our community who don’t know where their next warm meal will come from, where they will sleep, or if their children will be warm enough this winter!  We don’t see it a lot, but it does exist more than you could even imagine!

This year, my kids and I decided that we would like to help those who are less fortunate than the majority of us in Bryan/College Station. We have started a coat/blanket drive in Castlegate with the donations going to the Twin City Mission!  What started as a small project has taken flight.  My daughter and I printed out about 100 fliers and asked a few of her friends to help us pass them out in our subdivision!  The kids have all gotten so into it that it has amazed me!  They just light up when people ask about how to donate!  Now it is on the Castlegate website and on Facebook!

It’s very simple if you want to get involved!  We are taking donations at 2445 Newark Circle today from 4-6 and tomorrow 9-11 am!  All you have to do is drive up to the curb and we’ll grab them from you.  If that time isn’t convenient, you can call me at 979-229-0919 and we can pick them up.  You can also drop them by the Century 21, Beal offices located at 404 H University Drive East at your leisure.

The kids are waiting to take your Coats and Blankets to give to the less fortunate!

We have a lot to be thankful for Aggieland, so let’s get out there and make this winter a little warmer for our Brazos Valley Neighbors!

For more information, give Farrah Spears a call at 979-229-0919

For more information about Castlegate and any home in Bryan/College Station, give me, Farrah Spears, a call at 979-229-0919.

Farrah Spears

979-229-0919

For more information about Castlegate and any home in Bryan/College Station, give me, Farrah Spears, a call at 979-229-0919.

Farrah Spears

979-229-0919

For this and all real estate tips, call me, Farrah Spears at 979-229-0919

So, call the new daddy, JEFF LEATHERWOOD for real estate needs in Bryan College Station to get him out of diaper duty!  979-255-2788

The Red Beret Team consists of - 

• Jeff Leatherwood
• Carol Rakowitz
• Kathy Massey
• Linda Stribling
• Steve Santos
• Hank Robertson
• David Corso
• Lisa Shaw
• Mariela Laprea
• David Whitener
• Madeline Stiles
• Clay Lee
• Kim Varner
• Bob Walker
• Barbara Green
• Luke Marvel
• Andrew Kinkler
• Brenda Harmon
• Laura Bounds
• Veronica Burns
• Nickol Pylinski
• Elisa Lopez
• Fred Johnson

Also in attendance at the lunch  – Natalie Porter and Susan Hilton 

Hope the MASH team sees how much fun the “other” team had at lunch today and is inspired to do even more so they win next month!

My friend and Mary Kay Sales Director, Ashley Virnau, told me about something she and Mary Kay are doing to raise funds to go towards breast cancer research via the Mary Kay Ash Foundation.  It’s simple, all you do is lend your face, receive a complimentary facial, and a donation will be made to the Mary Kay Ash Foundation!  Also, for every Party held within Ashley’s unit, they will donate $20 to the Mary Kay Ash foundation!  This is a win/win as you get to have an amazing facial while supporting something that will one way or another effect us all!

To book your facial, call Ashley Virnau at 979-220-7281

For all your real estate needs, call Farrah Spears at 979-229-0919

Farrah Spears

Realtor, Century 21 Beal

979-229-0919

farrahs@century21bcs.com

Cute Dog Found and Properly Identified!

As real estate agents in Bryan/College Station, we often find ourselves observing many things in our community throughout the course of our day.  Recently while finishing up photographing a new listing in Southwood Valley, I noticed a cute dog frolicking down the street.  I noticed, too, that while he was obviously enjoying his new found freedom on a beautiful fall day, he was unattended by his owner.  I finished up my photos, and drove down the street to find him.  After a few blocks, there he was, still smiling, unaware he was straying far from home.

Now my husband will tell you, I am a habitual pet rescuer by nature.  So true to my form, I turned my vehicle around and pulled to the curb.  This cute little yellow labrador came right over to greet me.  I loaded him in my backseat and we pulled around the corner to a less busy street.  Now, luckily, this dog had two tags on his collar.  I was hopeful that I could find his owner soon.

One tag was from Wellborn Road Veterinary Medical Center.  It came complete with a phone number and  6-digit rabies vaccination number.  This made it very easy to locate the owner.  I called the vet’s office and gave them the number off their tag, and they cross-referenced it to the dog owner’s file.  They contacted the owner and had the owner then contact me, all the while the dog and I were safely parked on the side of the road, hopefully in his neighborhood.  The owner contacted me and then met me at their home about 10 minutes later.  When we arrived, it was pretty clear that the dog had made a jailbreak through the gate of the privacy fence.  But no worries, he was safe now and the owner was grateful.

In this case, the pet had the tag clearly identifying the veterinarian who administered the rabies vaccine.  In some cases though, the rabies vaccination tag does not have the vet number, so you would have to rely on the second tag on the dog’s collar, the Brazos County license tag to help find his owner.  Usually these two tags come hand-in-hand at the time of the vaccination.  What most people don’t know is, if you call the phone number on the county tag and give the attendant the 5-digit license number, they will only be able to pull up the owner, IF THE OWNER HAS REGISTERED THE PET WITH THE COUNTY, and kept current the information.  Do not automatically assume this has been done by the people who administered the vaccination.

Another common misconception is with the microchipping of pets.  Microchipping is a very effective way to identify your pet.  This is done by inserting a tiny encoded chip just under the skin of your pet.  The Brazos Animal Shelter microchips all pets that are adopted from the shelter, for example.  Included with a microchipped pet is a plastic tag with the identification number, and a phone number for the microchip company.  But here is the thing~  YOU MUST GO ONLINE AND REGISTER YOUR PET in order for the pet owner’s information to show up in the national database when the pet is scanned after being found.  There is a minimal one-time registration fee to do this.

Last but certainly not least, if you do not prefer to have all these jingly-jangly tags on your pet, please go by Petsmart and buy a name tag for your pet’s collar.  They are relatively inexpensive, and you can have it engraved (while you wait) with the pet’s name, address, and phone number where you can be reached if your pet should happen to find themselves out exploring our big world.

Do not be lulled into thinking that just because you have a few tags hanging on your pet’s collar, that your pet will be returned to you safely.  Pets are picked up everyday by Animal Control, and it will be a hefty fine for you to claim your pet if your pet does not have identification.  REGISTER YOUR PET!

Lisa R. Shaw, Broker/REALTOR, Century 21 Beal

Tonight is National Night Out in Bryan/College Station, so get out and meet your neighbors.  We live in one of the safest cities in the country, however crime still does occur, so what can we do to curb the small amount of crime that rears it’s head every once in a while….get to know your neighbors!  Tonight is the night to do just that.  There will be National Night Out parties in different parks and subdivisions around the cities, so look for the signs.  If your subdivision does not have a party tonight, then just get out and meet your neighbors so that you know who belongs and who doesn’t .  There is no better way to stay safe than to get to know the people who live around you, so get out there Aggieland and meet your neighbors!

For all your real estate needs, give me, Farrah Spears, a call at 979-229-0919

Farrah Spears

979-229-0919

farrahs@century21bcs.com