Virginia Cook is one of the most nationally prominent women in real estate, a board member of the National Association of REALTORS® and the first female president of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. She advanced from owning a small agency to the presidency of Henry S. Miller Realtors, a company she grew from a seed into Texas' largest independent brokerage, one of the top 25 largest in the United States. Yet, despite her extraordinary success, something was missing.

"Like the American dream of home ownership, I wanted to have my own business," says Cook.

In spite of her extraordinary stewardship of the company and 28-year relationship with the Miller family, Cook was never offered an ownership position by the firm, an oversight the company may come to dearly regret.

She wondered if she could do it again - take a start up company straight to the top. "I just had to try," she says. Cook resigned her position as Miller's president, and immediately made plans to create a mid-size brokerage firm. Armed with over a quarter century of experience and contacts, Cook determined that Virginia Cook Realtors was not going to be a typical brokerage. And it already isn't.

Fighting weight trim, the elegantly coiffed and suited Cook sweeps from her Park Cities bank to the company's new office in Preston Center. To look at her radiant confidence, no one would know that she is operating out of temporary borrowed quarters. (It pays to have friends like industrial developer Trammel Crow.) Her new state-of-the-art offices are delayed in their openings by the Dallas building boom, where construction has slowed to a crawl. Out of one small space, Cook's two Dallas branch offices are operating with parallel phone lines. Agents have to watch out they don't elbow each other in the ribs. "The refrigerator has more space than I do," jokes Cook.

Cook and the agents take the glitches in stride, relishing the "adventure" of it all. The first agent to sign on, a Miller veteran from 1971, Georgia Maxon, has already closed the company's first listing - a $695,000 property. Excitement permeates the air. Cook has signed two top Miller agents, Jennie "Real Estate" Ling and Nora Ling Lane.

To call Jennie Ling a Dallas fixture is an understatement. She is a colorful 25-year veteran with an extensive hip-pocket clientele of some of the city's biggest movers and shakers. Ling has been the Top Producer for Miller more years than not, and her loss is sure to be felt.

"Jennie was a founding member of Henry S. Miller Realtors, and recognized across the country," offers Cook. "She has the highest following of customers in the industry. She really keeps up with past customers. She handles every sale as if they were family."

Ling's decision to leave didn't come without reservations. "We had a lot of change this year, a change in our MLS system and then change when Virginia and Sheila (Sheila Rice, Cook's partner) left. I felt disconnected - my team had broken up. Then I thought maybe it's time for me to change."

"Leaving was hard, but it has energized me," continues Ling. "I wanted to be part of a winning team and they have started this company in a big way. They are doing everything first class - technology, location, all the things I want to make my job easier."

Also leaving a long-term relationship with Miller is Nora Ling Lane, Ling's daughter. Though Lane never worked as a partner with her mother, she is also a formidable force in central Dallas real estate. Lane has also been recognized as a Top Producer numerous times, making the top twenty list every year of her 16-year career. Not bad out of 2,600 plus agents.

"Virginia Cook was Henry S. Miller Realtors, so why wouldn't I leave?" says Lane. "She started it, she developed it and she was the one who cared about me. But even if I had second thoughts, they evaporated when I saw the kinds of technology we will have at the new company. The technology is so incredible and her insight into the future far surpasses anything I have seen to date."

Cook's technology plans are ambitious, and many are still under wraps, but they will include instant posting of listings to the Internet, and each agent will have a personal Web page and Web-based email among other innovations.

"The offices are designed for agents to do business. Every desk station will be laptop or desktop computer-enabled and each station will network into the peripheral equipment like phones and fax machines. Documents can be sent electronically to buyers and sellers."

Cook's business plan boils down to simply amplifying the points of difference between her company and others. "We have created our tag line - "Expect more,""says Cook. "The leaders of our company are seasoned. Customers can "expect more" from them, and they will receive the highest level of service. As the owner, I am paying great attention to delivering what we say we will do. It matters a lot to me that this company focuses on the doing the right thing and doing things right.

"We are building a company that is focused on agents' needs and the needs of their customers," explains Cook. "The difference from firm to firm is the degree of customer service. It is easy to talk about customer service but tough to deliver. We are systematizing our process so customers will be part of the process and they can benefit from the education and knowledge of experienced associates."

Standards are high. Agents will have ongoing educational and technological training. The offices will open with a cultural diversity department. And the agents will be long on credentials. Instead of office managers, the company will have "leaders," who are treated as partners.

"We are looking at CRS, CRB, LTG, CS, or GRI designations," says Cook. "Our core foundation is integrity and education. Knowledge is power and customers expect experienced and knowledgeable agents."

With seasoned agents, top of the line technology, and a superior service ethic, few would bet against her. Can she do it again? You bet. She already is.

Cook sums it up. "This is my family. This is what I enjoy. This is what I want to do."

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