LUDLOW, Vt. – Engel and Völkers Okemo is pleased to share that Mendi Michael has joined the real estate brokerage as its newest advisor.
Mendi brings two decades of experience in business operations and client relations that touch nearly every corner of southern Vermont. Most recently, she managed Michael Engineering, a Vermont-based family business founded in 1969. She also spent nine years working as a veterinary assistant and front office manager; first, at the Kedron Valley Veterinary Clinic in Woodstock, and later, at the Rutland Veterinary and Surgical Center.
Mendi first moved to Vermont in 1999 shortly after she earned her degree in equine business management from Johnson and Wales University. Her first job in the area was at Okemo Mountain Resort, where she spent four years in dining operations and managed a multi-million dollar budget.
“I quit my job at a dressage barn, headed north, and never looked back,” said Mendi. “At Okemo, I leveraged my love for people and communications into operations management, and my career took off from there. Transitioning to sales has been a natural evolution, and I feel right at home at Engel & Völkers Okemo.”
In the first six months of 2021, Engel & Völkers Okemo brokered more than $5.5 million in sales in the Okemo Valley region, under license partner Gail Beardmore. In 2014, Beardmore opened the Ludlow-based brokerage and merged it with a Woodstock agency that she founded in 2008.
“The real estate market in southern Vermont continues to throttle forward, and we are actively expanding our reach to meet this growing demand,” said Beardmore. “Mendi effortlessly builds strong, dynamic networks, and the decision to bring her on is a strategic way to reinforce Engel & Völkers’ presence further north and west of Ludlow.”
The volume of real estate listings in the Okemo Valley has steadily declined, amidst a proliferation of in- and out-of-state buyers, driving competition and broadening search radiuses. Dedicated to meeting clients where they are, Engel & Völkers Okemo has tripled in size over the past year. Since July of 2020, Beardmore has brought on another broker, a marketing and advertising manager, and three additional advisors to accommodate regional market growth.