My real estate career began in 1979 in Orange County as a real estate agent specializing in the listing and selling of commercial properties and multiple family dwellings. I became interested in real estate after purchasing a rental property in Anaheim and realizing a good increase in value after owning it for only one year.
After moving to Riverside in 1983, and needing a steady income to help support two children get through private college, I began my public employment at the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside. I was responsible for negotiating complex leases and contracts between property owners and Section 8 Housing tenants.
I was hired in August 1988 as a Real Property Agent in the Acquisition Section of the Real Property Division of Building Services for the County of Riverside to do acquisition work. Shortly thereafter, I was promoted to a Senior Real Property Agent and supervised approximately 4 to 5 agents who were responsible for acquiring real property for roadways, flood control channels, and land for major public buildings, such as the Indio County Justice Center, the North Main Street Housing Project, and the Riverside Parking Structure. At that time, the Real Property Division had two separate sections: acquisition of real property and leasing/property management.
In 1993, I went to the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District where I acquired all the rights-of-way for the flood control projects and had no responsibilities of supervision. It was wonderful working at the District. Everyone was a big happy family and I gained invaluable experience working on Flood Control Projects. It was the big happy family atmosphere that helped me battle breast cancer and extensive chemo and radiation treatment. Thank God, I recovered fully, barely missing any time from work.
In August 1998, I was promoted to Supervising Real Property Agent and returned to the Real Property Division of the County. Since then I have been responsible for all acquisition activities for the County. I've had the fortunate experience of hiring 15 out of the 20 employees within our Division, and training them in acquisitions work. They are a wonderful group of people. We have been inundated with work over the past few years, but have survived, as a result of everyone's hard work.
In July 2006, I began a new position as Senior Development Specialist at the Economic Development Department of the County of Riverside. It will be a new challenge for me, one I am looking forward to.
On a personal note, I have been married for more than 36 years to a wonderful husband who pampers me. We have two children and five beautiful grandchildren. We are extremely active in our church where I play the piano and am co-chairman of a cancer support group. Our hobbies are traveling, fine dining, and gardening.
I enjoyed being Treasurer, President and Local Public Agency Chair and am looking forward to a wonderful year fulfilling the position of Asset Management for IRWA and looking ahead to several more years of successful rights-of-way work, as the Inland Empire continues to grow. Best wishes for a happy New Year!! Janet Parks.
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