Skip Hansen has been around the block a few times.
In fact, as a real estate agent in Reno for 50 years, he's seen most of the blocks being built, and he played a direct role in creating more than a few of them.
Hansen is president of Skip Hansen & Associates, which specializes in industrial, commercial and select residential properties.
A Reno native, Hansen has had, in his own estimation, five careers dealing with real estate in some fashion. And it's not even what he'd planned, but it's what he came to love.
While going to college in Oregon for a degree in architecture, he got pneumonia in his final year and had to come home to Reno to recover. His doctor prescribed golf as a way to help his recovery, so he began playing seven days a week.
Because he was out talking to people all day anyway, a friend said he should become a real estate agent. And that's what he did. He eventually finished his education at UNR with a degree in real estate and finance.
"I was the youngest agent in town. Back then, most people retired into the profession," he says.
Hansen recalls one of his first assignments; selling lots on the east side of Washoe Valley for $35 down, $35 a month.
"I used to sit out there, watching the road for the cloud of dust that would tell me someone was coming. Maybe a client, but usually it was just my wife with lunch," he says.
The market has changed dramatically since then, and Hansen says the current situation is unique. He worries that the potential for widespread foreclosures among commercial properties could bring more unwelcome change.
Working for positive change has been a common theme in Hansen's life, as evidenced by the many leadership positions he's held:
* Four years as the head of Nevada's real estate division, where he worked against land fraud.
* Service on the Regional Transportation Commission "when it was just one commission" for eight years.
* Work as the founding president of the Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity, of which he says "The emotion involved in getting people a home through Habitat is unlike anything I've ever experienced."
* Active participation as a Toastmaster and Rotarian.
And that's just for starters. Hansen loves his profession for the same reason he's involved in so many charitable causes.
"I like meeting people," he explains simply. "I like to learn. I like to teach. I've taught at state associations, assisted at UNR. I like that I get asked questions I don't know the answers to and I get to look them up. I've always felt the challenge to respond so someone else could understand."
Ever the teacher, Hansen is also a huge technology buff. From his iPhone to the Pulse Pen, which records as it writes, Hansen is eager to show his latest finds and describe how useful they can be.
He owns more than 500 URLs, many for his real estate ventures, others for the arts in the area. His love of learning has kept him eager to embrace new ideas long after many people with his experience would have settled into talking about the good old days.
Instead, he's adding more and more to his list of accomplishments. He was elected to the board of directors of Toccata, a non-profit musical arts organization at Lake Tahoe, three weeks ago. He's been a board member of the Nevada Opera, the Reno Chamber Orchestra and was on the first state arts committee. A lifelong singer, he spent 20 years in a barbershop quartet, and is in two church choirs. He's also had the opportunity to perform for Nevada Opera.
"They let me sing behind trees, under bridges and off stage," he says, laughing.
Hansen says his wife of 47 years, Nilsine, has "a great sense of humor" which has been important in putting up with him and his always on-the-move schedule. The couple's daughter, Kate, 28, is a neonatal intensive care nurse working for the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
Of all the roles he's played in his life, one of the funniest moments came when he portrayed space pioneer Robert Goddard during the Chautauqua series. The father of modern rocketry had little hair, so to fully get into character, Hansen shaved his head. But he waited until his wife and daughter left on a trip. When Nilsine came home, she found her husband wearing hats ... all the time. When he finally took it off, her jaw dropped.
Friends who attended his performance were also kept in the dark, until the moment he removed his hat onstage.
"They shrieked," he remembers, grinning.
That willingness to go the extra mile to get it right, and to make people happy, is one reason Skip Hansen could be in business for many more years.
Veteran leadership
Who: Skip Hansen
What: President, Skip Hansen & Associates
Family: Wife, Nilsine; daughter, Kate.
He says: "Professionalism is a term that's overused and abused. One day you're unlicensed, the next you're a professional."
