After nearly 40 years with ERA American Real Estate in Shalimar, Florida real estate agent Patricia “Pat” Williams is being inducted into the ERA National Hall of Fame in February at the company’s national conference, Fuel.

• She joins ERA American Real Estate Founder Gloria Frazier and longtime ERA American Agent Kathy Wilhelm in the ERA Hall of Fame.

She has built her legendary career in Northwest Florida real estate over four decades with ERA, selling over 1,500 properties for close to a quarter-billion dollars in sales volume.

Beyond her sales records, Williams is being recognized for her leadership, mentorship of younger agents and continual embrace of industry changes in technology and best practices over her prolific career.

“The story of Northwest Florida real estate can’t be told without the contribution of Pat Williams,” said Tony Lombardo, CEO of ERA American Real Estate. “Two years ago at Fuel, the ERA marketing team reached out to us. They were looking for a way to tell the history of the ERA brand over the last 50 years, its relevance through ups and downs in the market, and technology changes. And they approached us with an idea — how about telling that story through the lens of the experience and contribution of Pat Williams?”

• He added: “So there it was on the big stage — Pat Williams as ERA for the last 50 years. Leveraging brand resources, tools, systems, applications to be relevant across five different decades.”

Williams first started with ERA American in April 1985, when the brokerage was just four years old with about 25 agents. Company founder and broker Gloria Frazier recalled Williams coming over from a background in civil service and raising three children.

“It was time for her to get out and make a name for herself, and boy did she ever,” Frazier said. “Through the years, Pat has been a team and she’s been a single agent. When we had the Million Dollar Club back in the ‘80s, she was one of the first members.”

• The exclusive Million Dollar Club has now become ERA American’s Top Ten awards. “And there has not been a year that Pat Williams wasn’t a part of our Top Ten, and will be again for the future too,” Frazier noted.

Among Williams’ stack of accolades is the national 2018 Jim Jackson Memorial Award, given to the No. 1 ERA team for customer service. She has also ranked as a top ERA sales associate and team for annual transaction units and sales volume, maintaining her Leaders’ Circle status.

Linde Bowman, a VP with ERA American, credits Williams for not only being a top producer but also a passionate mentor for up-and-coming agents in the local market and helping guide the brokerage itself through continual industry transformation.

“I’ve seen her give deals free, no charge, to a newer agent. Why? Because that gives them a springboard to grow their business, to get confident, to be able to have a deal in the bucket,” Bowman explained. “She thinks those things help agents grow, and she’s correct. She shares her passion with others, and that makes her a very special person in the real estate industry.”

Many ERA American agents today like Zee White got their start working under Williams and learning from her mentorship before eventually getting licensed themselves. White started as Williams’ administrative assistant in the early 2000s.

• “Pat Williams assisted me with confidence as an administrative assistant to my role in obtaining my real estate license,” White recalled. “Then obtaining a position on the leadership team here at ERA American where I have been instructed to lead others.”

After about seven years working together, White purchased Williams’ business when she initially retired. But after some time off, Williams came back out of retirement and was again instantly a top 10 ERA American agent within 12 months.

“What does that tell you about Pat Williams?” White remarked. “She just couldn’t sit still. Retirement wasn’t for her. So she came back, built her business back up, and just kept running. And that inspired not only the newer agents — that inspired me. That you can retire and take a couple years off and then come back and still be back at the top of your game.”

Frazier says Williams represents the ideal blend of traits and ethics that any broker wants to see in an agent.

“Honesty, integrity, drive, great personality, loves to help other new agents get started in the business,” Frazier described. “She’ll work one-on-one with anybody. Any question that they have, she’s happy to answer, even though it doesn’t necessarily benefit her personally.”

She added that Williams has always provided constructive feedback over the decades when needed: “There’s never any harsh words involved in it. I don’t believe I’ve ever had any kind of a confrontation with Pat in all of these almost 40 years with ERA American Real Estate. She just wants to help.”

Williams will be inducted at Fuel, ERA Real Estate’s National Conference in Nashville February 20-23.