Rick Campos

It was the fall of 1977. I had been a licensed real estate agent for just a few months at a solid independent RE company with a good reputation.

One of the other agents told me about a new company in town with a very different commission structure. I was  Interested in a model where I could earn more than a traditional 50/50 split.

He set up an appt for me to meet with Don Fernie, who had just opened Canada’s first RE/MAX brokerage. It was certainly unique. At that time - early in my career - I didn’t believe I could afford the fees, so I stayed at my current brokerage for another year. 

Fast forward 48 years to 2025, and I’ve now been with RE/MAX for 43 of them. I had no idea what the brand or balloon could or do for my career. I quickly learned that carrying a card that read RE/MAX opened doors I never thought I’d be able to walk through. But, it wasn’t just about the money - though that mattered, too. It was what the opportunity meant for my family. In fact my daughter, Alyssa, has now been licensed with RE/MAX for almost 25 years.

I had the incredible privilege of meeting, working with, and in many cases becoming friends with agents who were positive, professional, and highly successful. Every meeting seemed infused with inspiration—about life, family, and business.

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure meeting the second broker-owner of RE/MAX First, Rick Baker, and my immediate predecessor, John Riseborough, from whom I purchased the franchise from in 2008. We’ve grown from 80 agents to almost 200 year-to-date. 

We wanted to be part of something bigger than just ourselves, real estate, and making money. So as a brokerage, we set the intention to give to CMN—never imagining we would become the #1 donating office in Canada, North America, and the world.

We also became the #1 single office for transactions in the Metro Market in both 2019 and 2020.

The first line in Good to Great reads, “Good is the enemy of great.” Yes, it is.

In 2013, I had the opportunity to serve on the Calgary Real Estate Board as a director alongside my future business partner, Cliff Stevenson.

John Wesley said, “Make as much as you can. Save as much s you Can. Give as much as you can.”

I can’t imagine the opportunities—and especially the friendships—I would have missed out on had I not said yes.

 RE/MAX has made all of that possible for me personally.