If you live or vacation on the Crystal Coast, then you are likely familiar with Mary Cheatham King Real Estate (MCKRE).  Mary Cheatham and her team has been the #1 real estate team on the Crystal Coast since 2017.  They are on track to serve 377 families in 2021, and they were the 14th Keller Williams team in the world in 2020!  Woah!

And while you may know them for real estate, they continuously and selflessly support the Crystal Coast community that they serve.  Caroline had the pleasure to chat with Meg Gravely, the MCKRE Marketing Director, to discuss all the details of the team!

Mary Cheatham Team Real Estate

Caroline: Y’all are always shining a spotlight on others, and we are so excited to be able to shine the spotlight on the MCKRE Team!!  Give me the 101 on what you all do!

Meg: Well, that is so kind! We are a team of 24 women (and growing!), each specializing in our own unique area of real estate. We have two sides to our business: the buy side and the listing side. The buy side helps buyers find their dream homes here on the Crystal Coast, while the listing side works alongside families who wish to sell their home to move onto their next big adventure. These two sides of MCKRE work in tandem to deliver a seamless experience for the families we work with, no matter their price point and no matter their goals!

Caroline: I had the pleasure of attending the Crystal Coast Women in Business Conference in October where Mary Cheatham was the keynote speaker!  I learned that MCKRE is the 14th Keller Williams team in the world!  That’s incredible.  I’m sure the team’s success is a conglomeration of many things, but can you name a few things that you would consider game-changers?

Meg: First and foremost, our main priority is to ALWAYS make sure our clients are taken care of every step of the way. Buying or selling a home involves a great deal of emotion, lots of logistics and (nowadays) very quick decisions. It’s a humongous life decision that we take very seriously with each family we serve. Then, in addition to serving our clients, something we have always held in high regard is our devotion to serving our community. 

Caroline: Y’all are also growing by leaps and bounds.  I think I see a post every other month that you are hiring, and I joke that if I had a 48-hour day, I would take the job!  It looks like y’all are a group of friends having fun.  Please tell me that y’all are as close as it seems!

Meg: It’s hysterical – we get this question a lot because it’s hard to believe that 20+ women all get along so well! Well, it’s 100% true and here’s why we think it works. First of all, we have a leader in Mary Cheatham who gives us the grace and the space to make mistakes and learn from them. That automatically creates an environment of mutual respect, vulnerability and creativity, resulting in incredible collaboration and learning moments. Secondly, we are each in different stages of life, at all different ages, with different personalities. We all help each other out both professionally and personally because someone on our team has likely been there. And, lastly, team socials and spending time together outside of the office is so important – ours often involve wine and a 90s hip hop playlist 🙂

#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_5888 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_5888 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

Caroline: Oh my gosh! I would fit right in with your team!! I’ll let you know when I find that 48-hour day.

Ok, what I’m really excited to discuss is how much y’all do for the community.  One thing (out of many) that has always impressed me is that not only do you donate money to organizations, but the team volunteers time with so many organizations.  Habitat for Humanity and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain (our November client Spotlight) come to mind, but I’m sure there are more.  Tell me more about why and how you all get involved with non-profit organizations?

Meg: Everyone who lives here or has ever visited knows that our community is a special place. So, we wanted to create a wing of our business that gives back to this place and the amazing people within it.

In April of 2020, MCKRE Gives was born. This initiative is dedicated to supporting local non-profit organizations and directly helping those who make a difference in Carteret County. When folks choose to buy or sell their home with Mary Cheatham King Real Estate, they are a part of an ongoing effort to change the lives of the folks of this community. Our mission is twofold – to provide the highest level of service to our clients and to give back to our community at the same time. In addition to our team’s hands-on involvement in the community, we also donate $100 from each closing to the MCKRE Gives fund, which is then distributed to local non-profits and people in our community who need it most. Since inception, MCKRE Gives has donated over $60,000 locally. Folks can learn more about this arm of our business at www.MCKREGives.com!

Caroline: I know you are also big supporters of the Toys for Tots program.  Are you teaming up with the Friendly Market again this year for a toy drive?

Meg: Yes! Our 5th Annual Toys for Tots Holiday Celebration is just around the corner. Community members are encouraged to join us on the porch of The Friendly Market on December 3rd from 4-6pm for live music, a wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, giveaways and special time spent with fellow community members and friends. All folks need for entry is a new, unwrapped toy, which will be donated to local kids in need through Eastern NC’s Toys for Tots. We can’t wait to see you!

Caroline: Not to leave out the for-profit businesses, you all have a magazine and a new Instagram account (Carteret Curated) dedicated to showcasing all of the amazing things to do here on the Crystal Coast!  That is a massive task for any business!  Tell me about how those communication tools came to be. 

Meg: While our printed quarterly publication is something that started as a Microsoft Word document folded in half, the mission has always stayed the same: to shine a light on our community and provide a resource to locals and visitors alike to learn more about it. It has evolved into a 24-page glossy magazine that is mailed to over 10,000 people (and an additional 1,000 copies distributed to local small businesses!). Through the MCKRE Magazine, we have created so many incredible relationships with local small businesses and community members – something we are so grateful for!

We love our clients, and nothing makes us happier than serving as their guide to this special place we all share. While we love answering questions one-on-one, we decided that there had to be an easier way to help folks plan their days, whether they live here full time or are visiting for the weekend. Enter Carteret Curated, a website and Instagram account we put together just for our community and those who love it! We highlight local food, experiences, people and places to make it easy for you to choose how to spend time here. There are two ways to let Carteret Curated be a guide. Here’s the scoop:

• This spring, over 10,000 people participated in our First Annual People’s Choice Awards. They nominated and then voted on the best restaurants, stores and small businesses in over 30 specific categories. The result? A truly curated list to rely on for any occasion, with categories like favorite place to get a cocktail, favorite rainy-day activity and favorite place to buy beach essentials. At www.carteretcurated.com, the local businesses with the highest votes in each category are listed on the home page. Suggestions for additional options? Click on the digital guide that breaks down hundreds of small businesses by category and location. You’ll find the perfect spot in a flash!

• We are constantly updating our Carteret Curated Instagram account to keep folks in the loop about new businesses, favorite dishes, incredible sales and ways to give back to our community! The account focuses on four main categories: Taste, Shop, Experience and Give. We work hard to stay up to speed on local events, including our insider tips, so that our community can check just one spot and be in the know. Search for @Carteret.Curated on Instagram and follow along with us!

Caroline: Ok, time for a little promotional product spin.  What is your most-used or favorite promotional product, and what is the logo/organization on it? (It does not have to be a CCM or an MCKRE product!)

Meg: Folks went crazy (I mean CRAZY!) for the pink Here Fishy Fishy stadium cups that y’all did for us for the KWLA Tournament. This past summer, we used them to serve mimosas at Big Rock Landing. The coolest thing? Hundreds of people will have this cup (which, of course, sports our logo) in their drinkware cabinet for life!

#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_11550 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_11550 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

Caroline: Those cups are so cute!!  I was so happy to be able to snag one for myself!!  Your first order with us was for a table cover in February 2020.  That feels like eons ago!  Since then, we’ve done lots of hats, key chains, adorable stadium cups, and other things.  Will you tell me a little about how you all use your swag?

Meg: OMG, we use this table cover all. The. Time. It has been such a great brand awareness tool no matter where we go! In addition to that, we utilize koozies, key chains, cups, etc. for all events as handouts and also in giveaway baskets whenever we’d like to include branded items. We’ve learned that having high quality promo items on hand is key when you’re in a pinch or just want to add a personal touch to a client gift, local event or community giveaway!

Caroline: Is there one item that everyone always wants?!

Meg: Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) wants our olive-green Richardson hats with the leather patch. People have even offered to buy one from us, to which we – of course – give to them for free! We adore how these hats serve as walking billboards for our brand all over the county!

#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_15949 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1638550245975_15949 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

Caroline: I love that you see them as a walking billboard because that’s exactly what they are!  It’s so worth purchasing a quality brand that people will want to wear because they are advertising for you!

What are you looking forward to the most as we wrap up 2021?  Professionally and/or personally.

Meg: At the end of each year, we love to look back on the growth and changes that happened along the way. In addition to growing our team by 10+ team members in the past year, MCKRE has welcomed two new babies to the bunch (Amelia Kate Waine and Archie Matthews Darden!), with another sweet babe on the way. We’ve celebrated two engagements, a handful of milestone birthdays and a very exciting closing day for one of our team members. We’ve also been there for each other through some of the bad days – whether it’s providing support at work or lending a listening ear over a glass of wine. In 2022, we can’t wait to continue celebrating each other’s wins and providing shoulders to lean on through the lows.

Caroline:  I just love y’all.  Thank you for sharing so much of your stories on social media.  I’m so thankful to know many of the team members personally, and I feel like I know everyone else!  Speaking of social media, please share how everyone can learn more about MCKRE!

Meg: We are avid social media users (shout out to our digital marketing guru, Andie!) and are always posting things both about our community and our beautiful listings on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We also recently launched an additional Instagram page called Carteret Curated (@carteret.curated) that is chock full of local small business spotlights and ways folks can shop, taste, give and experience the Crystal Coast – it’s so fun! Folks can also go to our website at www.marycheathamking.com to read more about each of our team members and, most importantly, how MCKRE can help their family buy or sell their Crystal Coast home! 

If you a real estate transaction is in your future, then you must get to know this team of women. But even if you are already in your dream home, you will love following them on social media, and get on their mailing list to receive their magazine in the mail!  It’ll be the best mail you receive that week!

For more information on the Mary Cheatham King Real Estate Team and the Crystal Coast Community:

• Website: www.marycheathamking.com

• Facebook: @marycheathamkingrealestate

• Instagram: @mckrealestate