The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 16

the gist

written by Christina Nifong Divine Fog Realty Company founds a nonprofit arm to
give back to the community.

Divine Fog Realty Company formed a nonprofit in April 2020 and in November launched Divine Fog Serving
Heroes, a program to help first responders, veterans, health care workers and teachers purchase homes.

ast fall, the newest real estate firm to
open its doors in Roanoke - Divine
Fog Realty Company - kicked
off an effort to give rebates and discounts
to first responders, veterans, healthcare
workers and teachers who buy homes with
its agents.
Called Divine Fog Serving Heroes, the
initiative offers discounts on appraisals,
moving services, insurance, lawn care and
pest control. In addition, agents give 15%
of their three percent sales commission
back to the buyer.
" We know that it's going to be a huge
success, " says Amy Carter, Divine Fog's
director of sales and agent support. " Why
would you not, if you're looking for an
agent, want to work with somebody who
also wants to help you? "
But Divine Fog Realty Company's
impulse to lift up the community isn't
limited to one program. It is woven into
the fabric of who the business is.
In 2017, top-selling agent Scottie
Booker left his former firm to found a
new real estate company in the Lynchburg
area. He wanted his Christian principals
to be central to his business. When he
contemplated a name, the words " Divine

16 JAN/FEB 2021

Fog " came to him. " FOG " is an acronym
that stands for " Favor Of God. "
" It's there in plain sight, " says Stephanie
Varney, managing broker of the Roanoke
office. " Because basically our vision and our
values are defined by that. "
In 2019, Divine Fog opened a
Roanoke location, on Electric Road near
Tanglewood Mall.
The agency's motto is " Love, Family,
Team. " Agents brought on board connect
with Divine Fog's tight-knit atmosphere
and intentional approach, Carter says.
Divine Fog is also a Black-owned
business. The 33 agents in the Roanoke
office represent a wide diversity of
ethnicities, ages and experience levels.
" We are definitely about empowering
everyone, " says Varney.
Many realty companies give back to
their communities - hosting charity
events, encouraging employees to volunteer
and serve on boards of directors, sometimes
choosing a specific nonprofit to raise funds
for. But last spring, Divine Fog took its
corporate giving in a new direction when
it founded a nonprofit subsidiary, called
Divine Fog Serves.
Divine Fog Serves runs the Heroes

program, as well as collecting donations for
Toys for Tots, and supporting other local
charities. In 2021, the nonprofit has plans
to create another charitable effort, called
Homes From the Heart.
" We're going to be building or
renovating a home and actually give it away
to an eligible family, " explains Carter. " The
long-term goal is to create a community of
homes built to be given to people in need. "
Carter thinks of Divine Fog Serves as
the heart of Divine Fog Realty Company.
She says every good deed reaches far
beyond even the people who initially
benefit.
" Whatever you're doing, the ripple
effects of that, you never know where that's
going to lead and what an impact that's
going to make, " Carter says. " We want to
focus on the good, you know, and be really
intentional about making good things
happen. "
To learn more about Divine Fog Serves,
head to divinefogserves.org. I

New Dance
Academy Opens
in Salem
written by Aila Boyd En L'Air Academy
of Dance and Acrobatics strives for an
environment that's fun for all ages.

ost people would balk at the
thought of opening a new
business in the middle of a once
in a generation global pandemic, especially
a performing arts business, but Bristol,
Tennessee native Arianne Thompson isn't
like most people.
Last fall, she launched the En L'air
Academy of Dance and Acrobatics in
Salem with the goal of providing a quality
dance education that is designed to give
each student a strong and technical
foundation in an environment that fosters
creativity and fun for all ages and levels.
Thompson, a graduate of the dance
program at Radford University, says that

TheRoanoker.com

COURTESY OF DIVINE FOG REALTY COMPANY

Real Estate Firm
Focuses on Doing Good

http://www.divinefogserves.org http://www.TheRoanoker.com

The Roanoker - January/February 2021

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