When Erika Grnwaldov became the first woman to enter the grueling National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the US, she did so with an interesting personal history. She had been raised as a German in foster homes, and after the war was over, came to the United States with her brother. They settled in California, where Erika eventually became a chef, and then a writer. She never fit the mold of a typical NAR member, even though she had worked for several before-mentioned corporations. By all accounts, she remained an outsider throughout her years as a member of NAR. Part of the reason for this was that NAR’s founder, Richard W. Sears, was a Klansman who was resentful of Nationality’s focus on ethnic communities.
It seems that Erika Grnwaldov resented Nationality’s focus on race during her time as a member of NAR. Despite having had previous interactions with Nationality’s founder, she refused to join the organization, and was not comfortable with members of Nationality whose views she found to be racist. In fact, one of Nationality’s foremost patrons, George Steinbrenner, was a racist who was a close friend and business associate of Nationality’s. It was this close relationship between Nationality and Steinbrenner that likely inspired Erika Grnwaldov to begin her association with NAR.
The question of whether Erika Grn Waldorf truly considered herself a NAR member has been debated by some in the blogosphere. On the one hand, Nationality’s own definition of a member is someone who “actively participated in the development and growth” of NAR. On the other hand, it seems that Nationality’s membership guidelines are so broad that it is possible for someone to be a member of NAR and still be against it (e.g., someone who belongs to a splinter faction of Nationality). Whether or not Erika Grn Waldorf ever considered herself a member of Nationality is irrelevant: Her story and those like it are hurting the credibility of the Nationality organization. As the story suggests, however, Nationality is nothing more than a fraudulent company that prey on those looking for true independent businesses.