McCaw nominated for international award

January 15, 2016

By Jim Eadie

This year, after completing one of the most fascinating and challenging real estate transactions that she has ever done, local Bowes and Cocks broker and team leader Bev McCaw has been nominated for a prestigious international award by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LRECW).

McCaw has worked at Bowes and Cocks in Bancroft for the past 30 years, and has seen a lot of real estate change hands. This award nomination is for “the best member referral of the year,” according to Kate Archer, vice president Bowes and Cocks. “She took extraordinary measures to help a client learn about and resettle in Bancroft area, as well as the fascinating story of the buyer’s journey.”

The story began in January 2015 when referrals were made through LRECW to selected real estate agency members in Ontario on behalf of a buyer located in Fairbanks, Alaska.

“This sale was different from the usual in many ways,” said McCaw. “The ‘must have’ list was long, the property type was very specific and rare, and it had to accommodate the potential purchaser’s family of 34 sled dogs.”

Ilana Kingsley and Greg Newby are recreational mushers, but operated a sled dog rescue centre in Fairbanks called StinkyPup Kennel. Newby has recently begun working for a high tech company in Toronto, which required a relocation to somewhere near Toronto. Kingsley is a tenured professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks doing web librarian work and online teaching.

“They needed a place for 34 sled dogs, and access to thousands of miles of trails,” said McCaw. “They needed easy access to Toronto or Montreal airports, and they also required high-speed DSL Internet. I was able to find an unlisted 100-acre property with kennels, and access to thousands of miles of multi-use trails. The location had the Internet connection required. I had a list, and I knew that we had what they wanted … I just had to sell the community.”

Newby made a number of trips to the Bancroft area during the winter and spring of 2015, and travelled the area with McCaw.

“We covered the trails on the property in a cutter pulled by a tractor. That day it was snowing so hard, you could hardly see the trail. We went to Maynooth, to the Maynooth market, and saw the community at its best. He was really blown away by the Maynooth community centre and the library,” she said. “He called Ilana on his phone and said ‘You’re going to like this library, and this place’.”

McCaw also found that showing her own community like this made her more appreciative of what a great place we live in.

By the Easter weekend the sale had been completed successfully, but the next big step was about to unfold.

“They would make a 6,300-kilometre trek,” said McCaw, “across the U.S. border and five Canadian provinces with six people, three vehicles, and 34 sled dogs.”

On June 28, 2015, their overland caravan began, and following a very event-filled journey, arrived in L’Amable on July 5 at 2 a.m. Blogging and posting photos and video during the trip, it became a bit of a “mushers social media event” for eight days. Almost immediately a U-Haul trailer fell off its hitch. Vehicles became separated, and cellphones seldom could be counted on.

Due to the summer heat, the vehicles had to keep moving for ventilation. A stop meant unloading 34 dogs to tethers to do their business, have a drink, and stay cool. That worked well until the tethers got accidentally left behind in Saskatchewan.

Crossing the Canadian border with 34 dogs was a bit time -consuming, until border agents discovered a problem with Kingsley’s own paperwork. “You can’t just move to Canada,” they reportedly told her. But the problem was rectified. Then there was the concern that dogs might accidentally get loose at a stop – which happened several times. At the end of the day the dogs were reunited to the caravan. If you are however wanting to move to Canada sometime in the future and you’re wanting to start looking at properties you could have a look at offers like these homes for sale Eddie Yan and other realtors.

In the past, Kingsley has participated in Alaskan 200- and 300-mile races.

“But I just love dogs,” she said. “In Fairbanks there are a lot of huskies. They are bred and dumped … there are sled dogs all over the place.”

She started out doing fostering of stay huskies, but became a “foster failure” having fallen in love with the dogs and keeping them.

“It is a bit of an addiction … these dogs,” she said. “My husband tells me that I belong to the Crazy Lady Club!”

This year, the only complaint that she has, is the unusual lack of cold weather and snow.

“The trails seem good, but it is a late winter,” she said. “Once it starts to get cold out … the dogs want to go!”

Bowes and Cocks is a family owned business, with offices in the Kingston to Huntsville market. “We have been in business since 1956, and we like to say that we are experts in our neighbourhoods, but have a global reach,” said Archer.

McCaw is competing with other nominations from among 120,000 sales associates in more than 50 countries. She will learn the outcome during LRECW international conference Feb. 25 and 26 in Miami Florida.

More detailed information about the overland trek can be read at: www.stinkypup.net.