Jack Gross, the president of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Cassidon Realty, Cassidon Property Management, and Petra Holdings and Development, was sworn in as the new president of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® (GLVR) at an induction ceremony held in the Musikfest Café at SteelStacks on January 23, 2020.

Gross, who was just 19 years old when he started his real estate career in 1987 with Agentis Real Estate, replaces former GLVR President Carl Billera of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Valley Partners. The president of the association holds the position for one year and is elected by a Nominating Committee, which consists of the past president and two directors.

Gross spoke candidly in front of more than 200 real estate professionals about facing adversity. He lost his father when he was 18 years old, he graduated from high school by the skin of his teeth, he had no prospects for college, and he hated his retail job. But the day of his father’s funeral, Gross told the crowd, was a day of new beginnings.

“[The day of my father’s funeral] was the day Bob Agentis suggested I work for him in real estate… You want to talk about a bit of adversity, try convincing John Q. Public that he should entrust his largest asset to be sold by a 19-to-20-year-old kid,” Gross said. “Yeah, I starved for a few years, but every day I got in the box. I had a good mentor who taught me a lot. I watched. I learned and eventually I applied. Over time, things worked out, as I stand here honored to be the 2020 president of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®.”

In a true full-circle moment, Agentis did the honors of installing Gross as GLVR’s president.

As president, Gross is well aware of the adversity the real estate industry is currently facing, with disruptors putting forward hundreds of millions of dollars in endeavors that attempt, in part, to remove REALTORS® from the home buying and selling process. Over the next year, Gross will focus much of his attention on a widescale marketing campaign that focuses on the REALTOR® brand, on reinforcing to the public at large that REALTORS® are irreplaceable, on efforts to improve technology and the tools employed by the Association and Multiple Listing Service, on regional cooperation and data sharing, and on professionalism in the industry.

“As you can see, there is a bit of work ahead for all of us in 2020,” Gross said. “Where would we be without a little adversity? I thank God for it… I am blessed to work with such wonderful people every day, and I want to thank you, our membership. You put me here and gave me the opportunity to give a little back to the industry that gave me so much.”

More about Jack:

In 1995, Gross affiliated with Coldwell Banker Heritage. During his 10 years with the company, Gross was awarded numerous sales and production awards, both locally and nationally. He opened Cassidon Realty in 2005 and affiliated the company with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in 2015.

During his 30-year career, Gross has been a consistent contributor to his local Association. He served as Chair of the Grievance Committee for the former Bethlehem Association of Realtors® and obtained his certification from the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® as a Code of Ethics instructor.

Gross participated and assisted with the merger of the three local boards that would become the Lehigh Valley Association of REALTORS®. He has since served on numerous committees and task forces for the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®, including Grievance, Government Affairs and MLS.

Gross currently serves on the Government Affairs Committee and conducts free quarterly HUD training at the Association office. He has worked closely with past and present Government Affairs Directors. He has assisted the local Realtor® community by meeting with elected officials, both privately and publicly, in an effort to promote Realtor® concerns and interests.

Gross resides in Hanover Township, Northampton County. He has two sons. Elias is in the Army with the 1st Armored Division and awaiting deployment oversees, and Caleb is in the accelerated MBA program at Scranton University.