During its long history the REALTOR association, especially at the local and state levels, has served a wide variety of purposes for real estate professionals and service providers. For several decades it served the civic generation as the symbol of the REALTOR's commitment to professionalism, ethical behavior and personal achievement. During its next phase it welcomed into its ranks tens of thousands of boomer generation REALTORS whose interests, although more self centered and economic, where no less distinguished as they improved a system which ultimately provided tens of millions of Boomers with what today is the centerpiece of their amazing level of wealth and affluence.

Today there are two new generations of REALTORS (the "X'ers" and Millennia's) whose personal and professional aspirations, while similar in design to past generations, are influenced by dramatically different ethics, value structures, and social environments. Local and state REALTOR associations have been painfully slow in responding to these developments. Almost half way through 2006 in many subjective areas such as communications, value propositions, member experiences and knowledge services they have failed to respond at all.

The skill set through which one generation passes an organization or culture on to the next is called "genertivity." Great organizations are marked by this skill and the finesse by which it is practiced. The REALTOR culture, now under the control of its remaining civics and powerful boomers must carefully examine the challenges that lie ahead in meeting this cultural test. In making decisions whether or not it wants to practice good "genertivity" it must be guided by the fact that the generations that are currently providing new REALTORS, unlike their more patient predecessors, will not tolerate a long period of "dues paying," or standing in line waiting for an opportunity to impact the culture. To the contrary they have already demonstrated across the board their unwillingness to "rehabilitate" boomer centric social organizations. Experience has taught them that starting all over again is a much more satisfying experience.

To bring this somewhat lofty concept to a more earthly level perhaps the question to be answered is where to start? An obvious answer is through the association's communications program. The vast majority of associations continue to communicate an "association centric" message at a 55 year old level despite the fact that, on average, almost 50% of their members are 43 years of age or younger.