Relocation can come with a hefty price tag. And it can get even pricier emotionally when a family longs for that place that they once called home.
Take it from someone who’s been there more than once to help families get over that homesick hurdle. It’s her job.
Karen Gibb, 52, has been named leader at the Prudential Connecticut Realty office in West Hartford. This change comes after a 24-year-career in the role of Realtor.
“This is an opportunity to look at my career on a different basis,” Gibb said, noting that she is excited to build Prudential’s name and presence in the community.
The Avon resident and mother of two grew up in Hastings, Neb., before going to college in Arizona. She graduated in 1976 with a degree in interior design and merchandising and began working in retail with her own upscale women’s accessory store, CJI Accessories.
“I’ve always been on the fast track and self-motivated,” Gibb said.
The Gibb family moved to Chicago and then to Simsbury before settling in Avon. It was in Connecticut that Gibb’s career took off in real estate.
“I thought it would be a good thing to do because we’ve built so many houses ourselves,” she said. “I love everything about real estate, and with my degree I was able to see through a house that was 50 years old to something special that someone else might not see.”
During the past 17 years at Prudential, Gibb has ranked in the top 1 percent of 68,000 Realtors nationally and has won the Prudential Connecticut’s Top Listing Award and its Legend Award for achieving the Chairman’s Circle Award.
“It’s been a great role and something I truly enjoy,” she said. “Some people only last five to 10 years before burnout, but I’ve always worked with different people and different price ranges. I keep on my toes.”
Although Gibb didn’t set out to be a manager, she is pleased with the opportunity in Prudential’s West Hartford office. “I see it as a great place and an office with one of the strongest rosters of agents and as the backbone of the company.”
The snow skier and beach lover sees how a career in being her own boss can translate on a larger scale.
“In stepping into this situation, I can spread the business around and make sure everyone can work together in the best way to do their jobs,” she added.
Emily Boisvert is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
