Photography by Steve Buchanan
It seems like Betty Jans never stops. The real estate market and The Masters Club of Annapolis consume her. The veteran agent stays busy volunteering for the 33-year-old The Masters Club, which brings together high-earning real estate agents with strong moral and ethical groundings.
Jans is the club’s second longest-serving leader, joining it almost two decades ago. She’s held numerous positions in the organization, including president, first vice president, treasurer, secretary, and membership chairman.
Jans, a humble person who doesn’t like to talk about herself, also has served on The Masters Club Board for 15 years. The nonprofit donated $14,000 last year to several area charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County, the Lighthouse Shelter, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the VET Center of Annapolis.
“Whatever I have to do, I want to see the club succeed,” Jans says. “I am very detailed-oriented. We all have good relationships with each other because we get to network and work with each other.”
Masters Club President Jennifer Klarman admires Jans for her dedication to the club and for her outstanding career. Jans has been a real estate agent for 39 years and currently works for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty in Annapolis.
“Without Betty, I don’t think we would have a Masters Club,” Klarman says. “She knows the first name of every one of our (138) members. She is organized and diligent about everything. I don’t make an important decision without running it by Betty. She always makes herself available.”
There’s no doubt Jans, an Annapolis resident, rises to the biggest challenges. The club named her president during the height of the pandemic in January 2020 and she finished her two-year term in December 2021. During that time, she also doubled-up on duties, taking over as membership coordinator.
While some nonprofits struggled during that time, Jans helped keep the club headed in a positive direction. Memberships went up. To become a member, a realtor must have had 6.5 million in sales volume the prior year to join.
“It was one of the biggest challenges (in 19 years),” says Jans, referring to the challenges of keeping things running smoothly during the pandemic. “We had to keep everybody motivated and engaged.
“We had to reinvent our way of engaging each other,” she adds. “We had to find ways to have our meetings and make them interesting.”
Jans steps right up whenever a fellow club member has a question or needs advice. “Sometimes it’s daily,” Jans says. “I am a people person. I am a good problem solver.”
Jans also is treasurer of Anne Arundel County Association of Realtors and a member of the National Association of REALTORS.
“She mentors all the board members,” says Klarman. “She knows everything about The Masters Club. She goes above and beyond on the local and state level. She has outreach to the national level.”
The Masters Club First Vice President Debra Lagg says that Jans is the heart and soul of the organization—that you can call her the leader of leaders.
“I think she works harder and puts in more time than anyone has ever seen in this organization,” Lagg says. “Betty is like the momma bear that keeps everything running. She has been the leader behind all of us no matter what role she is doing.”
Do you have a volunteer to nominate? Send What's Up? an email to editor@whatsupmag.com.
