Ebby Halliday (born March 9, 1911) is the First Lady of Real Estate who founded Ebby Halliday Realtors, which now sells more homes than any other broker in Texas, was the 11th-biggest in the country in 2007, according to a new report from RealTrends Inc.

She is one of the first successful female entrepreneurs in Dallas and she claims that being a woman never discouraged her. She has been commended by many in the Dallas business and real estate communities. And Halliday, at 99, still drives herself to work every day and, as chairman of the board of her company, is very active in its management.

Halliday graduated from high school in Abilene, Kansas in 1929. Even though the Great Depression was burying the financial well-being of millions, she got a $10-a-week job selling women’s hats at The Jones Store in Kansas City. In less than a year, she was the top salesperson. In 1938, she was asked to take over the millinery department at Dallas’ W.A. Green Store. Soon she had her own Dallas boutique, Ebby’s Hats.

One day in 1945, Clint Murchison Sr. a stopped by her store to see her. “Ebby, I’ve built a bunch of houses out of concrete. Everyone says they’re ugly. Must be, I haven’t sold a one. I figure if you can sell my wife some of those awful hats she comes home with, selling my concrete houses will be a piece of cake for you.”

Ebby took the challenge, fussied them up with carpet, curtains and cottage furniture, and dumped all of them within a year – the two-bedrooms for $7,000 and the three-bedrooms for $9,500. She was inspired by this experience to enter the real estate business full time.

She married former FBI agent, Maurice Acers, while she built Ebby Halliday, Realtors, into a company of more than thirty-one offices, fifteen hundred agents, and the company that in 2005 participated in $3.8 billion of sales for 17,500 Dallas area families. In 2009, Real Trends magazine ranked Ebby Halliday, Realtors as the 10th largest real estate brokerage in the United States.

President and Mrs. George W. Bush are the Honorary Chairs of Ebby 100. The Gala Dinner and Concert Event will be held at the Meyerson Symphony Center on March 9th and will honor legendary Dallas entrepreneur and Horatio Alger Association lifetime member, Ebby Halliday on her 100th birthday with a special tribute. Halliday is well-known for her philanthropy, business savvy and entrepreneurial spirit which enabled her to create one of the most successful real estate companies in the nation.

Her favorite quote is “Do something for someone every day.” What a simple statement that could change lives if acted upon. Thank you Ebby for leading the way for women, not just in real estate but in the workplace as a whole. We celebrate you today!

  
Source: Wikipedia, www.ebby100.com