The top real estate professionals of the Pikes Peak region celebrate our city by giving back.

Thirteen years ago, Bill McAfee of Empire Title in Colorado Springs invited a group of top-producing real estate agents together in a series of roundtable discussions aimed at creating a professional forum to benefit both the local real estate industry and the community.

“I just wanted to work with agents at the forefront of the community to celebrate our city through giving back,” McAffee reflects. “Our goal was to define a methodology where we could donate money or volunteer on a local level.

His initiative formed what is known today as the Peak Producers: a prestigious group of 100 real estate professionals, who by invitation only, must qualify for membership based on the number of transactions completed in a given year. For 2022, a Peak Producer must be in the top 10 percent of sales in the entire Pikes Peak Region. Comparatively speaking, that’s an average of more than four times the number of transactions for all the agents in the region.

“Peak Producers are some of the most productive and hard-working agents in the Pikes Peak region,” says Cherise Selley, current president. “They share a spirit of cooperation with each other and steward their leadership strategically by giving back to the community.”

Not only have the Peak Producers proven to be successful leaders, but they are generous contributors as well. According to past president, Mike MacGuire, they have raised “hundreds of thousands of dollars” since their inception in 2010. While individual monetary donations are optional for the agents to participate in the group, the collective effort has benefitted Colorado Springs.

“It’s all about giving from the heart,” MacGuire explains. “Our members want to connect to a cause. they want to feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves.”

McAfee remembers the first project the Peak Producers tackled as a group. “‘The Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful’ campaign to clean up the city’s public areas was sorely inefficient,” he says. “We decided to clean up the trash ourselves, and ultimately picked up over two tons of trash that was left behind as a result of a city budget shortfall.”

In the past few years, the agents have directed their charitable efforts toward the Springs Rescue Mission’s New Life Program, a yearlong rehabilitation program to help men transform their lives from homelessness and addiction into viable careers and, oftentimes, reunion with their families. In addition to monetary donations, the group has offered free transportation, repaired vehicles, and found temporary housing for families via the MLS database. Selley views this as an opportunity to connect with individuals in need on a personal level.

“It’s the firsthand stories that drive us oftentimes to tears, when we actually hear a testimony of how the program has literally saved that person’s life,” says Selley. “The collective efforts of Peak Produces results in contagious giving that is changing lives and breaking generations of poverty and addiction.”

This year the Peak Producers’ goal for donations is set at a total of $150,000 to support three very worthwhile organizations doing extraordinary service in our community: Springs Rescue Mission; Mary’s Home; and, Reclaiming Hope.

It’s a win-win for everyone. The spirit of cooperation and giving transcends from the closing table to the community.

“Everyone feels like they are a part of something greater than themselves,” MacGuire says.

Selley sums it up, “Our group has a soul. We want to make Colorado Springs a better place.”