In their continued effort to stay informed of what is going on in Texas Real Estate, Candy Cargill, Hill Country Real Estate and Debbie Vallone-Homeier, Vallone Real Estate attended the Texas Association of Realtors® State Convention and Business meetings and forums in Austin. Both ladies are brokers of their respective companies and both sit on the Board of Directors of The Gillespie County Board of Realtors®.

The convention Opening Session featured Dan Clark, who entertained and inspired the crowd with anecdotes from his life and advice for self-improvement.

At the Governmental Affairs Forum, CNBC's Ron Insana said that international investors still view the U.S. as a good investment, despite our country's economic problems, pictured above, right.

Real Estate Center Economist Mark Dotzour predicted that the Texas economy is spring-loaded for recovery, starting with the rest of 2011.

At "A Look Ahead to Election Season," state Republican consultant Bryan Eppstein, state Democratic consultant Harold Cook, and Texas Tribune Managing Editor Ross Ramsey agreed that Gov. Rick Perry has run a near-flawless presidential campaign up to this point, that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is the man to beat in the U.S. Senate race, and that the 2014 statewide elections will be wide open for the first time in years.

More than 150 vendors touted their products and services at the Trade Expo, giving out goodies and information to those who strolled the show’s aisles.

They were also able to get a head start in the promotion of the TAR Region 7 Meeting, to be held in Fredericksburg in 2012. Pictured left are Debbie Vallone Homeier, Director, Gillespie County Board of Realtors®, Candy Cargill, Treasurer, Gillespie County Board of Realtors®, Debbie Pipes, Association Executive, Gillespie County Board of Realtors®, Ron Hackett, Region 7 Political Involvement Council and Christine Seidel, Texas Association of Realtors® TREPAC Trustee for Region 7.