Real Lives: Charlotte’s ‘Go-Getter’ in Action

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By Kayla O’Brien

Health and fitness has always been a way of life for Realtor Deanna Slep-from the martial arts to speed skating and teaching aerobics. If taught at an early age, she believes a healthy lifestyle can become second nature to everyone, just as it has for her. For the past several years, Slep has been participating non-competitively in inline skating events such as the World Cup, St. Paul and Disney World marathons. Recently, however, Slep has begun to spread the word to her local community.

“I’ve always been very conscious about health and how important it is,” says Slep, team leader of RE/MAX Executive Realty’s Team Go-Getter. “Our society has become so on-demand from the ‘convenience’ of drive-throughs that we really need to focus more on home-cooked meals and exercise.”

After working as a CPA directly out of college, Slep followed in the footsteps of her mother, finding that a career in real estate was a better fit. Ten years later, Slep can be described as someone who not only worked her way up through the ranks, but has also successfully found a career/life balance. The same holds true for her recreational activities once her work at the office is complete. As a mother of two young children, the trick, she says, is a matter of organization and delegation.

“I’ve worked for years on breaking everything I do into a system and creating a checklist for each task at hand,” says Slep. “So when it comes to getting involved in the community, you have to stick to what you’re passionate about. That way, when you begin to help others, you’ll feel good about it.”

That’s why when the opportunity to sponsor the 17th Annual YMCA Healthy Kids Day arose, it seemed to be a perfect fit for Slep and Team Go-Getter. Held at the local Harris YMCA in South Charlotte-one of the 1,800 participating YMCAs across the country-the event was designed to encourage kids and families to play more, make healthy food choices and build stronger relationships at home and in the community.

“What’s great about this event is that it caters to families and as a real estate agent, that’s really what our main purpose is-to help families,” says Slep. “I had been looking for an outlet to host a client appreciation event for some time and felt it was a perfect match.”

The day was filled with activities that included inflatable bouncy houses, the RE/MAX Balloon, martial arts demonstrations, face painting, live music, free give-aways, numerous health-related vendors and much more.

“We had a lot of people come out for the event; it was a lot of fun for everyone,” says Slep. “It’s really important to put yourself out there because it all comes back to you.”