Today’s track: Cortez, The Killer — Dave Matthews Band (Live in Central Park)

First and foremost — thank you to everyone who made it out to the Party in the Woods.

We drew a crowd a little bigger than the KREIA main meeting. In late July. When we reached out to people, most of them said some version of the same thing — I’m going fishing. I’m headed to the lake. We’re squeezing in one last vacation before back-to-school. That’s what late summer does to a calendar. And y’all showed up anyway.

And the people who said they’d deliver — delivered.

Eric Payne, aka The Pizza Man, with Kentucky Private Lending delivered in every sense of the word. We plowed through every last pizza. Bobby Clifton and Lauren Chandler with CrossCountry Mortgage came through on the cigars. Alex Conway with Next Title brought popsicles on dry ice — and then spent the afternoon teaching people who’d never smoked a cigar how to do it properly. Alex is into cigars, tea, and coffee, and he’s one of the more interesting people in this business. Reach out to him. You’ll be glad you did.

And a special thanks to Austin Horvat with Louisville Geotech for helping us with the trash disposal — the unglamorous job that makes everything else possible. If you don’t know Louisville Geotech, they’re the folks you call before you build or buy: geotechnical engineering, subsurface exploration, construction material testing, foundation inspections, even sinkhole investigation and remediation. If dirt or foundations are involved, Austin’s your guy. Reach out to him for all your geotechnical needs.

None of it happens without Kentucky Private Lending, Next Title & Escrow, and the Bobby Clifton Team at CrossCountry Mortgage. Thank you.

Here’s what we didn’t do: pitch anybody. Nobody sold anything. None of our vendors did. There were no speeches. Just good music, beautiful weather, a gorgeous location, and wonderful company. It was the largest broker open I’ve ever been to — for sure.

Getting everybody together in the woods like that — it was just fun. Sometimes that’s the whole point.

I talked to all the vendors from The Party in the Woods event, and everybody’s down for the next one. It’s shaping up to be one of two things.

Option one: a downtown walking tour — an architectural tour, the buildings you drive past every day and never look up at — ending with desserts, tapas, that kind of thing.

Option two: a ghost tour that ends the same way.

There’s also the option to do both, which is neat.

And I’ve been kicking around a third idea for the fall: a big bonfire somewhere. My friends Luca and Madison have land on the Ohio River. Maybe they’ll let us throw one out there as the weather turns. Wouldn’t that be fun?

So you tell me — vote below. And if you pick Other, hit reply and tell me your idea. I’d love to hear it.

My one regret from Friday: I spent the whole afternoon popping around, and I never got to have the deeper conversations I wanted to have — even though I would have liked to with just about everybody.

So if you came, I’m imploring you: schedule a call. Better yet, let’s plan a time to go on a walk. Or get Jay’s Burgers. Or grab coffee at Sunergos in St. Matthews. Or come sit in the backyard, take in some sun, listen to the birds — whatever tickles our fancy. I’d love to chat, find more synergies, work together. I want to apply my brain to other businesses too. And I know Lisa Tucker would be in for cheeseburgers as well.

A lot of realtors came up and told me they read this email every day and really like the market updates. Catching up with them was one of the best parts of the afternoon. I’ve got a few follow-ups going and some meetings already scheduled — but I’d love to sit down with more of you.

That’s the thing about putting yourself out there: lots of things happen. A lot of people met a lot of good people on Friday. Some folks sort of found their tribe a little bit. I already do this with Alex and Eric — we hang out in the backyard, pull out our computers, talk AI and ways to approach things, and just work. It’s awesome. I’m excited to have more people to do that with.

Something else happened Friday that I wasn’t ready for.

People kept coming up with the kindest words. I read your email every day. You’re such a good writer. I appreciate your positivity through all of this. I’ve sent your stuff to friends who are also dealing with cancer, and they’re following along, keeping track.

Three people I know have been diagnosed with cancer since I was diagnosed — eleven weeks ago. A little less than three months.

So I’ve been keeping a dense record of what I’m doing and managing. How I’m thinking. How I approached it. What worked for me, what kept me resilient, what I deliberately didn’t look at, who I surrounded myself with. That way, when people reach out — and they already have — I can hand them something real instead of a shrug. Hey, this worked really well for me. Start here.

And the offers keep coming. Rob, want me to bring you meals? Can I mow your lawn? I never know what to say, because it just seems so kind. Oh my gosh, you all.

Round three of chemo starts tomorrow.

So the last two or three days have been all about setting future Rob up for success. I’ve been nesting hard — minimizing everything, opening up more counter space, hiding stuff away, just wanting things to make more sense. I don’t know if anybody else gets that feeling, but it’s been feeling really good.

The digital bird feeder is back up on a squirrel-proof pole with a baffle — we are officially back in the birding business. All the feeders got moved.

And then both my neighbors mowed their lawns — one two nights ago , one yesterday — and I felt obligated to get mine done before tomorrow. So I mowed. Chores knocked out. House organized. Future Rob is covered.

And man — I feel wonderful. Once again, I’m very fortunate to feel this way.

A phe-nomenal support team, excellent doctors, family that shows up, and what feels like a billion people saying they’re thinking of me and praying for me. It’s a lot to take in. You guys are so nice.

Some of these mornings have felt like fall, and they’ve been glorious. I’m going to have to start wearing a hoodie while we do our birding.

We hit forty-one birds. It’s migration season, so I bet we’re at fifty in the next three or four weeks. Get your free Merlin app going. Hand your screenshots to Claude and tell it to keep track of all the birds in your backyard — have it tell you cool facts about why they’re awesome and why your yard has such a thriving ecosystem. I just do that every morning and it’s been so enjoyable. Remember to do that.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Put yourself out there. Lots of things happen when you do.

Here is The Party in The Woods playlist: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/party-in-the-woods-broker-open/pl.u-MDAWEX6IApkGov I implore you to listen to it on shuffle and let the Universe run away with you! Let me know if any of thing stick out in particular to you!

Happily,

Rob Bergeron

Owner–Realtor at Award-Winning Winner Realty

Winner Realty | OffMarket.deals | Property Partner Data Company

Schedule a time to discuss your goals, bottlenecks, or whatever’s on your mind. https://robbergeron.youcanbook.me

The Morning Bergeron daily track playlist: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-morning-bergeron/pl.u-pMyl2GlSW1N3qv

PS: Thirty percent of you called it — 100 to 300 people at the Party in the Woods. Congratulations, you know this town. And a special shout-out to the 25% who bet on over a thousand — I was right there with you. Next time, maybe! I appreciate your optimism.

PSS: I’ve been watching the inventory list like a red-tailed hawk. We passed 4,000 listings. Interest rates are the highest they’ve been all year at 6.696%, and there are talks of interest rate hikes — I think they’ll hold, but time will tell. Are you wanting to provide more solutions to sellers? If so, I’d love to empower you — reach out! Same for you, realtors. Let’s chat! Four bedroom homes under $285,000. All multifamily properties available, sorted by most recent on the market. All currently available Winner Realty properties.

PSSS: Anyone looking for a property in Fern Creek? I know a motivated seller.