Lifelong connections within the RE/MAX network aren’t hard to come by. But amid unprecedented times, one specific RE/MAX connection stands out for its unique beginning – and its positive impact ever since.
In the wake of COVID-19, many people have been left without the resources needed to work remotely or complete school assignments. That’s why Melissa Miller Fedrizzi, an agent with RE/MAX In Motion, has been providing free Wi-Fi to members of her community in King Ferry, New York. In the parking lot of a community center co-owned by Miller Fedrizzi and her husband, people can access free Wi-Fi from the safety of their cars.
The idea to make Wi-Fi accessible came about in a rather unusual – albeit very RE/MAX – way.
A Random Happenstance
The story begins at the 2020 R4 convention. Miller Fedrizzi attended the Closing Session featuring motivational speaker Jia Jiang, author and founder of Wuju Learning – an organization that works with companies to improve employees’ leadership and sales skills. Specializing in helping people overcome rejection, Jiang encouraged the audience to practice getting rejected and learn how to navigate the uncomfortable conversations that follow. To do so, he suggested they walk up to a stranger and ask for $100.
Accepting the challenge, Miller Fedrizzi left the session and approached then-stranger Steve Junker, an agent with RE/MAX Beyond 2000 in Westlake, Ohio. Much to her surprise, when she asked him for the cash, he pulled out exactly $100 and handed it over.
Just moments before, at the end of the R4 closing ceremony, Junker had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Jiang and walked away buzzing with the speaker’s contagious energy. When Miller Fedrizzi approached him for the money, he obliged because he was proud that she had the courage to stand directly in the path of rejection. Laughing, she turned down his money – but he insisted she keep it.
“I wanted Melissa to keep the money as a thank you for being so courageous. Her actions show that the possibilities are endless when you overcome the mindset of being stuck in your comfort zone,” Junker says.
image-20240102-034052
An Opportunity to Give Back
With closures and stay-at-home orders in the U.S. beginning in late March, Miller Fedrizzi wanted to help those struggling within her own community. She decided upon the idea of free, accessible Wi-Fi. To jumpstart this initiative, she used the $100 from Junker as seed money.
Miller Fedrizzi and Junker have stayed in contact since they met at R4, both grateful to collaborate in helping those in need during difficult times. Junker has even offered to cover the cost of the Wi-Fi at the community center for the month of June.
So when Junker knew of someone relocating to upstate New York, he reached out to Miller Fedrizzi for help. She put him in touch with Mary Anne Cramer, an agent with RE/MAX Masters in Dewitt, New York, who Junker then recommended to the client to help find their dream home.
Cramer and Miller Fedrizzi met a decade ago at a RE/MAX Broker Owner Conference in New York and have remained friends ever since.
“The value in giving back is worth way more than $100,” Miller Fedrizzi says. “And there is magic in the energy brought forth by such a random interaction, which is now allowing me to connect with so many others.”
It sounds unlikely – that a chance encounter in Las Vegas led to free Wi-Fi in New York – but it’s the perfect example of the power of being part of a network of over 130,000 agents who never cease to inspire one another.
Written by Leah Curtis
