Opportunity + Hard Work = Success!
FROM THE ROCKY POINT TIMES
Editors Note: Veronica Ponce of Coldwell Banker Rocky Point is one of our communities' most respected real estate agents. Her journey exemplifies the magnitude of opportunity our community offers, and we are pleased to present this profile of this remarkable woman.
Real estate development in all it's aspects -- design, construction, finance, and sales -- has proven to be an important vehicle for economic betterment and upward mobility for many long-time Mexican residents of Rocky Point, Sonora State, and many who have migrated from many parts of Mexico to be a part of our vibrant market. No individual better illustrates what can be accomplished when a hard working person is presented with opportunity than Veronica Ponce, Residential Specialist for Coldwell Banker Rocky Point, and her story clearly demonstrates the positive effects of our growing economy.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco State, Veronica is the middle child of a loving family of five children, with both an older brother and sister, as well as two younger sisters. Veronicas' family moved to Rocky Point when she was just six years old and she has always considered our her community home saying, “We do have some relatives in Guadalajara -- and it's certainly fun to visit! -- but Rocky Point is where my heart is.”
Veronicas' mother, Vicki Orozco, is something of a legend in Rocky Point, having worked in the service industry for over twenty years in many of our longest established restaurants including El Paraiso De Desierto and La Curva. Veronica is very proud of her mother saying, “I have a great mother. She was always there for us every day. She is a great role model not only for her children, but now for her grand children.”
Veronica is also grateful for the strong work ethic that her mother instilled in her. “She taught us that whatever you do, do it well. That's a great lesson.”
Veronica attended Rock Points' public schools, and then went on to attend Cobach College, a time that she remembers fondly saying, “Cobach was a great place for me. I made a lot of friends. I met my best friend Ariceli Garcia there. We're still very close. Our children are growing up together.”
Located on Avenue Benito Juarez, Cobach College has played an important role in educating the youth of Rocky Point, and preparing them to participate in the tourism industry. Veronica is the product of just such a program -- Inglés Touristico -- which she credits for starting her on her journey into real estate. “When I started at Cobach I didn't know any English. But I got very lucky: I had a great teacher, Lilian Chersey, who was very patient, very helpful.”
After Cobach Veronica worked in day care for five years for a very simple reason: she had young children of her own, and wanted to be close to them. “I always try to keep my children very close to me. That's another thing I inherited from my mother! Day care was really great, completely convenient. I just took my kids to work with me!”
As her children got older Veronica followed her mother into the service industry, working at La Curva, Latitude 31, J.R.'s, and finally at Max's Cafe in Plaza La Marina, which proved to be a turning point in her life.
“I'd just turned 30, and I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make a better life for my family, and I didn't want to work nights any more -- which is a part of the restaurant industry -- because I wanted to be home with my children. But it was hard. I applied for office jobs at a number of companies -- even companies where I'd met someone through the restaurant who said “come in and apply for a job” -- but it always got back to this one word: experience. I didn't have any experience in office work. I know this happens all over the world, but it was very frustrating. How do you get experience if you need experience to get the job that will give you experience!”
It was at this time that Veronica met Jonni Francis, Broker-Owner, Coldwell Banker Rocky Point, which is located in Plaza La Marina -- right next to Max's Cafe.
“Every day Jonni would come in for coffee. I'd see her working like crazy, going here, going there. She has so much energy! At that time Jonni had an assistant -- Carolina Pacheco -- who was very nice. I asked her to ask Jonni if I could work in the office after I finished my shift at Max's. To get “experience”, of course! I didn't know anything, but I knew I could learn. Jonni was great: she said yes right away. She said “I like people who want to learn.” So that's how it started, I'd finish at Max's at 3pm and work in Jonnis' office till 5.”
After two weeks Jonni offered her a full-time job, and Veronica worked as her assistant for a year.
“At first it was really crazy. English in an office is different than English in a restaurant, and I didn't know any of those words, especially legal words or terms that are specific to real estate. Jonni was very patient with me. She's a great teacher.”
Veronicas' children also helped her learn office-English. “It was funny. They've grown up speaking English, and at that time probably spoke better English than I did. So they'd quiz me. All the time around the house they'd ask me things that I needed to be able to say at work. It was great. They were helping me be good at my job.”
After assisting Jonni for a year Veronica moved on to become an agent for Coldwell Banker Rocky Point, and has had a highly successful career having -- among her many accomplishments -- spearheaded the rapid sell-out of the first Las Gardenias development, and then its' second phase, Las Rosas.
In her role as a real estate agent Veronica is blessed by a second mentor: Jeff Reeco, Coldwell Banker Rocky Points' Director of Project Development. “Jeff is very intelligent and very experienced, and he's been so generous sharing his experience! He's been working in Mexico for over fifteen years, and has really done it all, everything from rehabs of existing properties to spec home building and overseeing large-scale developments. He's taught me so much about the entire matrix of how developments are put together; finding the correct property; pinpointing markets; working with architects; marketing strategies; assembling a sales team. The whole picture, not just part of it. There is a reason why he's a two-time Coldwell Banker President's Circle Award winner, and it's not luck!”
With sisters in Avondale and Phoenix, Arizona, and a brother in Las Vegas Veronicas' connections to the United States have grown over the years, but her roots in our community remain the solid foundation of her life. Just last November 15, 2006, she hosted a Quincinera celebration for her daughter at Iglesia De Guadalupe on Simon Morua Boulevard that was attended by over 300 people, and she is joined in Rocky Point not only by her mother, but by her younger sister Claudia Ponce who is a lawyer for Bella Sirena.
Her children, Daniel 17, Denise 15, and Gabriel 12 all attend Rocky Points' public schools, and are all excellent students. Veronica is justifiably proud of her children saying, “They are the most wonderful kids, and I'm so proud of them. They are all doing really well in school. Everything I expect from them they give me -- and more. Daniel and Gabriel are simply fantastic! Daniel -- my oldest -- is a great help with everything. He is a very mature young man. Gabriel -- beyond being very smart -- is just the sweetest young man, very social, very happy.” Veronica continues, “Denise amazes me every day. I don't have the space on the walls to put up all of Denises' awards! She just got another one from a mathematics competition. Jonni told me she wants her as our accountant.”
Presently representing the San Jorge Privada development, Veronica has been collecting awards herself, including the Coldwell Banker International Sterling Society Award presented to her just last month at the Coldwell Banker Mexico Annual Awards ceremony in Cancun. This is the second year she has received this honor from Coldwell Banker International, which grants the award based upon a single global achievement standard.
“I will always be grateful to Jonni for giving me a chance. She changed our life.”
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