Memoriam to Pioneers in Malibu Real Estate

In the past year the Malibu community lost five dynamic professionals from the local real estate industry. They made their own unique contributions to real estate and Malibu.

These people personally crossed my path of life and each of them impacted me in a positive way. According to their individual interests, they made contributions to the Malibu Association of Realtors (MAR). Two were past presidents and set the foundation to the successes of MAR today.

I take this time to honor them for their individual contributions to this industry, the largest industry in the City of Malibu and their commitment to MAR.

Jerry Pritchett served as president of MAR in 1971 and remained active throughout his expansive career. He is a true legend in this town that made historical contributions to this industry. He was a mentor to many agents. When I became a Realtor, I looked up to him as a leader and a person with strong integrity and character. His business expanded to include numerous family members, which causes his vision and name to live on in a historical way in Malibu real estate.

Elsie Muslin is another longtime Malibu resident, who served as president of MAR in 1991. Elsie was extremely involved in the association work when I began my real estate career in 1989. She inspired me to become active with MAR. She encouraged me to get involved and motivated me to run to be elected as a board director. She lived on Point Dume and her large fence is a well-known place to display a collection of campaign posters during city elections.

Joan Plummer had many interests with the city of Malibu. She served on various commissions with the city and homeowners groups. She was a very active advocate of trails for horses. Joan raised her family on Point Dume and housed horses in her backyard when the Point carried that former remote rural feeling. Joan and I worked together at Fred Sands Realty and on a homeowner’s group owners association. She had passion for life and zest for every cause that she believed in. She never gave up.

Lyssa Marie Byrd was a joyful, hard-working escrow officer who graced us all with her smile, laughter and enthusiasm at every occasion. I had just closed an escrow with her a few days before her tragic death, so her voice still lingers on in my mind. She was sought-after by agents as she had the knowledge of the escrow process, but she added her smiling face and bubbling personality to the deal and that made the process a pleasure for all parties.

Alex Soteras grew up in Malibu and was educated in all the local schools. After graduating from Pepperdine he went into an auxiliary end of the real estate business. He led a successful mortgage lending firm and contributed his civic efforts as a past president of the Agoura/Oak Park/Conejo Valley/Calabasas Chamber of Commerce. Alex completed a loan on my personal home and made the process painless and smooth as, he did for all Realtors and their clients.

All of these professionals who served Malibu will be remembered for their contributions to the real estate family. They were pioneers setting the solid foundations which caused this industry to become what it is today.  Each of them taught us life lessons; they made life better for others and shared insights as they traveled their time in this world. I am confident that others will agree with me that they are grateful for the opportunity to call these people friends and colleagues. God has taken them on to a new life, but memories will live on in our hearts forever.