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BUSINESS FEATURE: Royal LePage Lifestyle dedicated to the Lacombe community

Realtor nominated for Chamber Large Business of the Year
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Royal LePage Lifestyles has been nominated for the 2018 Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce Large Business of the Year Award. Todd Colin Vaughan/Lacombe Express

Royal LePage Lifestyles has steadily grown from an independent small business in Lacombe to being nominated for the Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce Large Business of the Year.

Michael Gouchie, along with his wife Sandi Gouchie have ran the business together since 2003 and were not expecting to hear they were nominated.

“It was surprising,” Michael said. “I wasn’t expecting it and it is humbling. It is nice to know that people in the community see what you are doing and value what you are doing.”

Royal LePage Lifestyles in Lacombe really began in 1996 when Sandi and Michael opened First Choice Realty. After running First Choice independently for four years, Michael and Sandi joined together with their friend John Nichols — who was running the Royal LePage franchise in Lacombe at the time.

The three of them ran the company together until 2004 when Michael and Sandi bought the business from Nichols and rebranded it as Royal LePage Lifestyles.

The company since then has grown considerably.

“We have always had a relatively small company. We were downtown for awhile and we had two offices, one in the Lacombe Mall. We have plugged away and then last November we acquired 18 more realtors and now have other offices in Sylvan, Rimbey and Ponoka,” Michael said. “By real estate standards, we aren’t a huge company but we are not a small company anymore. We are mid-sized in the realty field but large for me.”

With the growth over the years, Lifestyles needed more space and chose to move to where they are now located at 5820A AB-2A.

“In 2011, Sandy and I built this building and we are honoured and blessed to have something like this. It has been good ride in Lacombe and the community has been good to us,” he said.

Being involved with the Lacombe community is what Michael believes his company stands out for.

“Each realtor in my office is dedicated to many different charities but our main one is the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation,” he said. “The Foundation helps over 30,000 women and children escape family violence.

“Our little office through commission, donations and other activities have raised over $70,000 for Lacombe Victim Services.”

He added his realtors are involved with various other Lacombe charities including the Rotary Club, Kinsmen, Knights of Columbus, church clubs, minor hockey, the Lacombe Food Bank and A Better World to name a few.

“What makes my office stand out is the realtors in the office really are dedicated to giving back to the community. A lot of realtors and companies do that but I think our company is very focused on being a community-oriented company in Lacombe,” he said.

Being part of the community has also meant supporting other businesses in Lacombe and the Chamber has provided an easy avenue for that.

“They have done a good job of connecting and keeping businesses connected. It is all synergy with all the businesses coming together to have this small town mentality where everyone helps everyone,” he said.

Gouchie said he intends to continue to stay humble in the future.

“I think realtors and clients gravitate toward companies they can trust,” he said. “I don’t really have a trade secret or a gameplan, we just do our thing and keep humble about it. Being nominated for the large business is unusual for us to draw attention to what we do.

“We go about our business quietly and hopefully the general public and other businesses see that.”

todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com