Bryan College Station has numerous places of worship.  Below is a list of some organized ideologies for your information.  If your particular belief is not listed please feel free to contact me and I will check and see where the nearest group is located.    ASSEMBLY OF GOD ADVENTIST A.M.E. BAHA'I BAPTIST BIBLE BRETHREN BUDDHIST CATHOLIC CHRIST HOLY SANTIFIED CHURCHES OF AMERICA, INC. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHRISTIAN (Disciles of Christ) CHRISTIAN (Independent) CHURCH OF CHRIST  CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST CHINESE ECUMENCIAL EPISCOPAL EASTERN ORTHODOX FULL GOSPEL FREE WILL BAPTIST HINDU ISLAM INTERDENOMINATIONAL JEWISH KOREAN LUTHERAN Community Church NONDENOMINATIONAL PENTECOSTAL PRESBYTERIAN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST UNITED METHODIST Jehovah's Witnesses  Church of Jesus Chr... 10/05/2007

How Many Real Estate Companies Are Studied By Yale and Stanford?  Both the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Yale School of Management have added a Keller Williams Realty Case Study to their core MBA curriculums.Completed earlier this year by Brian Tayan, research associate with the case writing office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and James N. Baron, Ph.D., formerly with Stanford, who since the publication of the study has taken a professor of management position at the Yale School of Management, the case study describes the economic and cultural models that have led to the success of Keller Williams Realty.    Case studies are fundamentally teaching materials.  The most predominant impact of this case study will be a realization among MBA students of the signi... 09/30/2007

You have to look back and see what you have done to predict what you may get in the future.  How many sales, how many buyers, how many transactions did you close?  Gather the facts and project it out over the next year.First we have to look at some facts about the market.Fact #1  The lending industry has changed from very open to very closed.  Sub prime has gone away for now.  Your relationship with your lender will now matter more then it ever has in the past.  Meet with them to discover if there are any new programs coming up.Fact#2   Home values across the country have declined or stay even.  Which direction they go in 2008 is an unknown.  I would suspect that if the mortgage area got its act together, prices might come up.  (Supply vs Demand.)Fact#3  Supply and demand in your area m... 09/23/2007

Dear readers,Today in our sales meeting we were talking about the slower market, and how to take advantage of the situation by doing something different. During the course of the meeting, one of our older (meant respectfully) brokers remarked about something he'd observed in the last few days.One of our area's top producers has begun spreading a noticeable number of bright directional signs around her listings, thereby multiplying her visible number of her signs by four or so. In a community our size, this is something immediately noticeable.Truthfully, I don't think she'll be able to keep all of those signs out there long, but then she doesn't have to. She did something different, and got noticed again.I also noticed that she and her entire team attended recent Top Producer training an... 09/18/2007

Dear readers,I always hate to write about something negative, but we are having a problem here in the Brazos Valley.We have killed 12 people in 18 days on the highways in our area. That is a nasty number.Most of these accidents have been head-on collisions which occur on hour multi-lane highways which are not divided. They usually involve passing in a bad place. There has been a lot of ranting recently about reducing the speed limit. I suggest we need to look in the other direction.Many times, when asked why someone would pass with little or no room, the answer is something like "Well, I've been following this car that's going 20 miles an hour below the speed limit for thirty minutes."Is it possible it is the people going to slow that are the danger, not the folks going 70? I thinks its... 09/16/2007

Dear readers,Just over a week ago, the Aggies played Fresno State here in College Station, Texas. It was an amazing, triple-overtime tight game.Overlooked were the hundreds of fans at Kyle Field who were treated for heat stroke due to the very hot and humid early afternoon weather. The game began at 2pm.As with many Aggie games, this game was originally scheduled to begin at 6 pm, leading into a much cooler game. Why was the time changed? Simply so we could get television coverage.We find ourselves putting a dollar value on two things...television exposure for the Aggies, which we all want, and how many students and fans we are willing to expose to dangerous temperatures. Obviously with Fresno State, TV coverage won out.Hmmm....Blue skies,Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteProperties.com 09/16/2007

Dear readers,As I said in an earlier post, the Brazos Valley is a much happier place went he Aggies win. The game last night here in College Station was almost perfect. The weather was nice and we outscored the other team, our friends from Monroe, LA.Yesterday's game was not televised, so everyone enjoyed a comfortable evening game. Most Aggie games are scheduled for the evening. Its only when the evil temptation of television coverage is dangle in front of the Aggie administration that we get into heat problems...but that subject is for another post.Many thanks to Andrew Smith and his bunch for again offering park and ride limo service from our offices at Chimney Hill to his tailgate location near the Heep building on West Campus. Everyone had a great time.Blue skies,Sam Whitewww.SamWh... 09/16/2007

Dear readers,Luckily, Hurricane Humberto was a non-event here in the Brazos Valley. Texans living in Beaumont and Port Arthur weren't so lucky, with streets almost three feet deep in water this morning.As long as they come too often, non-event storms are a good thing. They keep people aware, the emergency supplies stocked, and our emergency management folks on their toes.College Station, Bryan and Brazos County recently practiced their emergency plans on 9/11/07. Our emergency planners have been very busy since about 1 million of our friends from Houston came to visit during the evacuation for Hurricane Rita. It was a BIG wake-up call.And we live to fight another day.Blue skies,Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteRealty.com 09/13/2007

Dear readers,For more current information, go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ and click on the big red blob south of Texas. Hazardous Weather OutlookNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX1242 PM CDT WED SEP 12 2007AUSTIN-BRAZORIA-BRAZOS-BURLESON-CHAMBERS-COLORADO-FORT BEND-GALVESTON-GALVESTON BAY-GRIMES-HARRIS-HOUSTON-JACKSON-LIBERTY-MADISON-MATAGORDA-MATAGORDA BAY-MONTGOMERY-POLK-SAN JACINTO-TRINITY-WALKER-WALLER-WASHINGTON-WATERS FROM FREEPORT TO THE MATAGORDA SHIP CHANNEL 20 NM TO 60 NM-WATERS FROM FREEPORT TO THE MATAGORDA SHIP CHANNEL OUT 20 NM-WATERS FROM HIGH ISLAND TO FREEPORT 20 TO 60 NM-WATERS FROM HIGH ISLAND TO FREEPORT OUT 20 NM-WHARTON- 1242 PM CDT WED SEP 12 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FR... 09/12/2007

Hi all,Our local City Bank Mortgage, along with FannieMae and AIG UnitedGuaranty, are hosting a briefing on the mortgage industry tomorrow here in College Station, Texas. They have several speakers lined up, and plan to cover several topics:Market Conditions - what's causing the turmoilMarket Statistics - defaults and foreclosuresWhat can we expect?FNMA guideline changesI've very happy to have this information available and plan to attend. I'll report back tomorrow afternoon.Have a good Tuesday,Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteRealty.com 09/11/2007

Dear readers,I was driving down the state highway that connects Bryan and College Station today, also known as College Ave. It was once (and may still be) the shortest state highway in Texas.I noticed that the former Haufbrau Steakhouse, which most recently was Thai food, had become the Crazy Cajun, formerly of Wellborn and New Orleans.Luckily, I know several good folks who fled the Big Easy, landed here and remained. Many said this was the closest available motel room when they bolted. All have been a great addition to the community.Thanks for adding some spice to the Brazos Valley!Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteRealty.com 09/11/2007

College Station Budget NeighborhoodsCollege Station offers a variety of different neighborhoods to suit your needs.  Single family housing can be found in price ranges from the low 100K's up to over a million dollars.  Your housing dollars stretch far here and you will enjoy a low cost of living.  Condominiums and townhomes can be an excellent option for both students and older adults.  We have neighborhoods that fits their varying needs.College Station Entry Level Plus Neighborhoods (single family)College Hills smaller homes can be had inexpensively in this trendy neighborhood off Texas Avenue and across from Texas A&M University.  These homes were  built in the 50's and 60's and some are beautifully restored.  Clapboard homes, many with stylistic features such as front porches, can be... 09/10/2007

Dear readers.After 4 1/2 hours in sultry heat, and at the end  of the THIRD overtime, the Texas A&M Aggies finally outscored Fresno State yesterday. Although it is estimated that almost 1/3 of the 75,000 fans at Kyle Field had to leave the game before the end because of the heat, for those who remained it was well worth it.One thing I have always loved about the Aggies is our ability to turn something easy into a marathon. We went into the half with a 19 point lead...who would have ever thought we were headed for triple overtime.Our hats  are off to the Bulldogs for coming to College Station and playing in our fall weather. Their were great opponents and gave us a run for our money. We look forward to having you as guests in our community again.Travel home safely Aggies and Bulldogs. Th... 09/09/2007

Dear readers,Another game day is upon us, and we are experiencing typical "fall" weather in College Station, Texas. I said in an earlier post that it doesn't cool off here quickly enough for me in the fall, and today is a typical example. At 0719, is 79 degrees outside and the humidity is just over 90%. Yuk.This is great for the Aggies, because our team is used to this weather. Last week our friends from Montana weren't. I suspect that this week's opponents from Fresno State are thinking the same thing. College Station weather will also be helpful when we play Miami, in Miami a few short weeks from now.Next week things are supposed to change, with lows falling to the 60's...finally.Today's game is televised on FSN at 1400. Go Ags!Have a great, safe weekend!Sam Whitehttp://www.samwhitere... 09/08/2007

Dear readers,I attended a free Top Producer training class this morning led by Reid Kegel, our TP regional sales associate. Scheduled for three hours, I went into it wondering how much time would be training vs. time spent trying to sell me add-ons to Top Producer 7i.I was very pleasantly surprised. I've been using Top Producer for about eight months, and already has most of it figured out through their on-line courses or through trial and error. That said, there were five Ah-ha's that I learned that would have made any sales presentation worth it, but Reid didn't have to sell. The program sold itself, and Reid is a realist. Not every part of Top Producer is perfect, and he helped us around the rough spots.I think the most amazing thing I learned was that one of our area's top agents wa... 09/07/2007

Dear readers,I love the fall. The weather doesn't change fast enough for me down here in College Station, Texas, but at least its beginning, and the kids have come back to town.There is something about all that youth, ready for another year, many on their own for the first time (8,083 freshman this year). And of course there's Aggie football, which is a very big thing here.Texas A&M has a large military band, which is a unit of the Corps of Cadets. As with many bands, because of their busy schedule, practice is scheduled for 6:00 am, which happens to be the time our family wakes up, and I wander out for the paper.There is something about the way the sound bounces off the buildings and fades in and out that is somewhat surreal in the balmy, dark morning, as almost two miles away the Figh... 09/06/2007

The fall registration for Xtra Education is going on now!  These programs are put on by College Station's Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with College Station Independent School District's.  Whether you want to learn languages, dance, crafts, sports, wine tasting, cooking, art, technology, or more about leasure activities the time to sign up is now!  Some of the more notable, and fun activities listed are:"American Cabaret Dance:  Cabaret merges with Egyptian bellydance for multifaceted routines with a flair for the dramatic.  It runs Mondays from Sept 10-Oct 15 from 7:30-8:30 pm and the fee is $60.""Wedding Ring Quilting:  Make the traditional wedding ring quilt using a faster and easier method.  No curved seams, simple and easy!  Monday Nov 26, Dec 3 & 10th 6-9 pm.  $30... 09/05/2007

HOWDY AGS,Those of you at the game last weekend were treated to this video by Granger Smith. I think its going to be popular here.http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17489419 Want more? Granger Smith will be performing live at the 3rd annual Down Syndrome of Brayan/College Station Buddy Walk, which will be held at Wold Pen Creek Amphitheatre on October 21st, 2007.Tickets and further information is available at http://www.downsyndromeofbcs.com/. Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteRealty.com 09/05/2007

Dear readers,A new restaurant opened in College Station, Texas during the summer that many folks don't yet know of. The Republic 1836 is located in the Chimney Hill Shopping Center, conveniently next to the new Keller Williams Realty Brazos Valley office.This location originally housed The Confederate House, a fine dining restaurant which opened in 1983. Later, it housed The Tavern. The building is furnished in warm woods and deep carpeting.The lounge is perfect for a quiet cocktail or business meeting. There are booths specifically designed for those quiet meetings.The menu is upscale with prices to match. I tend for the steaks, and haven't been disappointed.Its new, its nice, and worth a visit. Their Website is http://therepublic1836.com/.Happy eating,Sam Whitewww.SamWhiteRealty.com 09/05/2007

Dear readers,Figures are confirming what College Station, Texas residents already know...there are a LOT of kids in town. Fall enrollment figures indicate that the College Station campus has an enrollment of 46,612, up from 45,380 in the fall of 2006.In the fall of 2006 Texas A&M was ranked 8th in the United States. The largest school in the nation in 2006 was Ohio State's main campus at 51,818 students.Our main campus in College Station is also becoming more diverse, with 5,292 Hispanic students in 2007, up 351 students from last year. This year's freshman class, one of the largest in the nation, checked in at 8,085 students. I think that I saw them all at the grocery store last night.Overall, men at this formerly all-male school still outnumber women, 24,746 men to 21,866. The 2007 fr... 09/05/2007