The Boom Team
Best known around the country for their creativity, innovation, fun-loving culture and endless desire to eliminate the use of nuts in dessert recipes, Todd Ferris and Terry Waggoner believe in breaking out of the box in order to build incredible businesses—and helping other agents do the same! They are the owners and operators of Ferris Property Group, a dynamic real estate brokerage in the greater Indianapolis area and also Co-Hosts of the Boom Real Estate Podcast. They focus on helping agents build an amazing business while building an amazing life!
John T Christy
John T. Christy, CFP®, was born and raised in the Kansas City area and earned his B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Economics from Kansas State University. He later completed the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certificate at the University of Missouri–Kansas City in 2010. With more than two decades of experience in personal financial planning and firm leadership, John is passionate about helping individuals, families, and business owners make confident financial decisions that align with their goals and legacy. As the founder of Craft & Sage Wealth, he has built a firm dedicated to delivering best-in-class advice and service, with a strong focus on empowering clients to understand financial concepts in an approachable way.
A passionate real estate investor, John has made real estate an integral part of Craft & Sage Wealth’s mission. He and his team provide holistic wealth management for real estate investors, including tax optimization, estate planning integration, financing strategies, 1031 exchanges, Delaware Statutory Trusts, Qualified Opportunity Zones, and more. John also teaches continuing education to industry professionals and collaborates closely with clients’ CPAs and attorneys to ensure seamless planning. Beyond his professional work, John and his wife, Melissa, live in Kansas City with their four children and Yellow Lab, Gentry. Active in his community, John has served as a youth basketball coach, volunteer firefighter, church committee member, city councilman, and currently serves as a Director for the Kansas City Estate Planning Society and Advisor to multiple boards.
Blaise Coco
Blaise Coco is the Founder & CEO of domii®, a powerful mobile app built specifically for REALTORS®. With over 37 years of real estate experience, Blaise has become a recognized leader in transforming how agents use data to grow their business.
A proud U.S. Air Force veteran from New England, Blaise built his career as a successful real estate agent and broker-owner. For more than 12 consecutive years, he sold over 100 homes annually and went on to operate his own brokerage for just over 20 years generating nearing a billion dollars in annual sales.
With that experience, he launched domii® — giving agents instant access to nationwide homeowner and property data, along with unique safety and compliance tools such as criminal background lookups to keep agents safe and built-in safeguards to stay compliant with the Do Not Call Registry.
domii® is now available as a member benefit through its partnership with the Kansas Association of REALTORS®.
At the Kansas REALTOR® Association Expo, Blaise will demonstrate how to turn deep, “extreme” data into actionable leads, safer client interactions, and smarter prospecting strategies that help agents save money, protect themselves, and grow their business
Asa Fleming
2024 REALTOR® Party Disbursement Liaison
Asa Fleming (AHWD, C2EX, SFR®), a REALTOR® from Raleigh, North Carolina, is 2024 REALTOR® Party Disbursement Liaison.
Asa has served at all three levels of the REALTOR® organization. At the national level, he served as 2017 Chair of the Leadership Academy Advisory Group, and graduated from the program in 2014. He was 2021 REALTOR® Party Community Engagement Liaison, and has served on many NAR committees.
Asa has also served as President of both the North Carolina REALTORS® (2019) and Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® (2013).
For his leadership, he was named Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® REALTOR® of the Year in 2016, and REALTOR® of the Year by North Carolina REALTORS® in 2020.
Having practiced real estate since 1998, Asa is experienced working with first-time buyers, investors, and everyone in between. He’s a REALTOR® at Allen Tate Realty Raleigh/Glenwood, and earned his master’s in real estate in 2019 from REALTOR® University/Columbia College.
Asa is also active in a variety of local organizations including The Carying Place, Southeast Raleigh Promise, and Central Wake High School, which is a charter school geared to dropout prevention. He is currently a member of the Wake County Planning Board.
Craig Grant
As the lead Subject Matter Expert (SME) of NAR’s upcoming rebuild of ePro, 2023 RIS Media Newsmaker as an Industry Futurist, over 150 in-person & virtual speaking engagements around the world each year, including sessions for NAR, several state conventions, franchises, CRS, & other key industry events, Craig Grant is considered one of the most sought-after technology, marketing & cybersecurity speakers around.
Whether it be at an industry event, in the classroom, or online via Zoom or the RETI.us portal, one thing that fuels Craig is to help today’s real estate professionals embrace and get over their fear of technology so that it can work for them and not against them.
As his motto, “Advanced Real Estate Technology & Marketing Instructed at a Pre-K Level” states, Craig is able to take extremely complicated topics & present them in a way that the average non-technical person not only understands but is able to apply & improve their business.
In addition to being the CEO of the Real Estate Technology Institute and RETI.us, the Real Estate Industry’s Home for Online Technology Education, Craig Grant is an avid sports fan & music lover who can be found watching and/or participating in events and concerts with friends.
Vern Jarboe
Concentrating his practice in the areas of real estate and business law, Vern has practiced law in northeast Kansas for more than 40 years.
He regularly authors material for publication and lectures on real estate and construction law matters.
Vern has long been recognized as a true expert in legal and ethical matters that affect Kansas REALTORS®.
Jackson Kerchis
Jackson is a former management consultant, startup executive, and Zen monk.
He is the first person to major in Happiness. After creating this degree and teaching the first Happiness course at the University of Alabama he shifted his focus to the intersection of happiness research and work.
As speaker, author, and executive coach he champions the transformative role of happiness in both personal fulfillment and professional success. As a trusted advisor for companies and military forces, Jackson empowers organizations to create positive, thriving work environments.
Despite these many roles, Jackson has become known, for lack of a better term, as the Happiness Nerd.
Want to learn more about him? You can view his TEDx talk here.
Matt Ritchie
Matt has more than 25 years of experience as a broker, investor, and property manager. He purchased his first rental property while attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and became a licensed real estate broker in 2002. Known for transforming overlooked properties into high-value assets, he led the development of an industrial site in Alexandria that secured Amazon as an anchor tenant and converted a former rodeo arena into a Class A distribution warehouse for Lowe’s. A respected industry leader, Matt holds the CCIM designation, was named the 2026 Vice Chair of the NAR Finance Committee, and previously chaired the NAR Real Property Operations Committee. He also serves as the NAR Federal Political Coordinator for U.S. Senator John Kennedy and has been appointed by two Louisiana governors to serve on state real estate commissions.
Deeply committed to his community, Matt has served on the CHRISTUS Cabrini Foundation Board for 14 years, founded the “Play It Forward Tennis Tournament” benefiting the local children’s hospital, and hosts a live radio show highlighting economic opportunities in Central Louisiana. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Alexandria with their son, Matthew, a student at Louisiana State University, and their family dog, Lego. Together, they enjoy traveling and have visited all 50 states as well as many countries abroad.
Jason Schatz
Jason Schatz has been working at Florida Realtors for 16 years, starting his journey as a Tech Analyst on the Technology Helpline. Today he is the Senior Product Development Manager and is responsible for all phases of Form Simplicity product management, including product development, user advocacy and quality assurance, and feature request tracking for the application.
Vicki Schmidt
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, a lifelong Kansan, was born and raised in Wichita. After graduating from Wichita South High School, she and her husband, Mike, continued their education at the University of Kansas, where she earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. For more than 40 years, Commissioner Schmidt served Kansas families and seniors as a local pharmacist. Her professional experience revealed costly errors in the Kansas Medical Assistance Program, which motivated her to run for office. Her advocacy for reform led to the recovery of more than $391 million for the state and its taxpayers.
In 2005, Commissioner Schmidt was elected to the Kansas Legislature, where she represented Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties for 14 years. She was elected Kansas Insurance Commissioner in 2018 and reelected in 2022, each time receiving the highest statewide vote count. The first pharmacist to serve in this role, she also holds national leadership positions with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, where she contributes to key regulatory and policy initiatives. Commissioner Schmidt and her husband reside in Topeka, where they raised two sons and are proud grandparents of four grandchildren.
Officer Nate Schwiethale
Officer Schwiethale has been with the Wichita Police Department for 24 years. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wichita State University.
In 2013, Officer Schwiethale won the Officer of The Year award for developing the Wichita Police Departments Homeless Outreach Team (H.O.T.). This team works to help homeless into permanent or transitional housing. To date, H.O.T. has assisted over 1,600 homeless out of homelessness and worked with providers to dramatically reduce chronic homelessness. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and multiple other federal agencies have listed Wichita H.O.T. as a best practice and Officer Schwiethale is currently assisting the federal government to implement H.O.T. in other cities.
Officer Schwiethale is currently a consultant on police Homeless Outreach Teams and has done consulting work for the National Advisory Board for the Department of Justice, COPS, IACP among other federal agencies.
Brandi Snowden
Brandi Snowden, Director of Member and Consumer Survey Research, is part of the Survey Research and Communications group. She directs the production and dissemination of survey research reports, as well as focusing on digital/social media maintenance and content creation. She also serves as a liaison between internal Research Department staff and non-members/consumers. Brandi has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Jacob Speckeen
Jacob Speckeen is the founder of Canmore Trails and Tales, a respected outdoor adventure company based in Canmore, Alberta. With over 25 years of experience in adventure tourism, Jacob has built a reputation for delivering unforgettable excursions into the Canadian Rockies. A lifelong lover of nature, he combines expert trail navigation with deep knowledge of the region’s ecology and geology, offering participants not just a hike, but a rich educational experience that highlights the beauty and fragility of the natural world.
Known for his ability to uncover forgotten trails and hidden gems, Jacob brings storytelling and exploration together in a unique way. His guided tours blend adventure with history, creating a sense of connection to the land and its past. A strong advocate for sustainable tourism, he emphasizes responsible outdoor practices, ensuring the Rockies remain pristine for future generations. Whether leading a gentle walk or a challenging trek, Jacob’s passion and charisma leave a lasting impression on all who join him.
