*Ann Raffaelli stands outside of the board room that is named after her at the Arkansas Real Estate Commission in 1996.*

The author Alex Haley once said, “The family is a link to our past, bridge to our future.” This quote rings true for Steve Raffaelli and Virginia Ann Prazak, the father-daughter team at ERA Raffaelli Realtors in Texarkana. Since 1981, Raffaelli Realtors has been helping citizens on both sides of the state line achieve their dreams of home ownership.

Real estate has always been a family business for the Raffaellis. Steve’s mother, Ann M. Raffaelli [who passed away in 2013] worked in Texarkana real estate while raising five children as a widow. It was not common for women to work outside the home in the 1960s, and Ann instilled a deep work ethic in her children. When Steve graduated from the University of Houston, he considered staying in the city to work for a real estate company. However, the location was not the right fit; Texarkana was calling him home. Soon thereafter, Ann, Steve, and his brother, Tommy, established Raffaelli Realtors in 1981. Their main purpose was to help Texarkana families find homes for a lifetime. Eventually Steve expanded their services to include rental and commercial real estate, and the company affiliated with the ERA franchise.

In the meantime, Virginia Ann and her brother, Stephen A. Raffaelli, Jr., graduated from Pleasant Grove High School. Real estate is in their blood. Stephen, Jr. currently works in real estate in Arlington, Virginia. After her University of Arkansas law school graduation, Virginia Ann and her husband, Jonathan R. Prazak, returned to Texarkana. Virginia established a law practice, Raffaelli and Prazak, with her uncle, John D. Raffaelli. She continues to serve as a partner in the firm while also working with Steve in the family business. This was not the first time Virginia Ann had worked for her father. “I’ve worked at ERA since before 2000,” she comments. “In high school, I would paint the rental units and occasionally answer the phones.”

Virginia Ann and Steve enjoy working together, yet they also face the common challenges of working with a family member who knows you inside and out. “I think from Dad deciding to stay 59 every year it stopped time for me aging in his eyes. Therefore, I’m not quite 20. That’s made me push myself harder to have a voice at the table,” Virginia Ann explains. “I do truly think he pushes me harder than your average boss, especially since he has the code cracked to push my buttons. The biggest challenge is when your dad should say you are perfect, but your boss needs to let you know that there is room for improvement.” Steve concurs, “It’s been great to work with Virginia Ann. It’s a lot of fun. I can see her personality reflected in the office. We’re family, and I can tell when she’s not in sync. I can recognize her facial expressions.”

Collaboration, regardless of blood relation, requires communication, listening, and respect for different perspectives. Although Stephen, Jr. works in Virginia, he “brings ideas from afar,” states Virginia Ann. She offers her legal expertise. Both father and daughter recognize the benefits from each other’s strengths. Steve praises his daughter’s easygoing personality. “She is able to laugh things off, which I’m not so good at doing. She also has a lot more knowledge than me.” Virginia Ann quips, “We definitely play good cop, bad cop. I do think there is value in the way things have been done, but change is good, too. The combination of Dad’s techniques with my changes has made a great mix.” Virginia Ann would recommend to anyone joining forces to operate a business to “be open to new ideas and get out of your comfort zone.”

*Steve gives 4-year-old Virginia Ann a lesson on driving a boat at the lake.*

Steve and Virginia Ann also contribute to the Texarkana community their volunteer hours. Steve is a member of the Arkansas Realtor Risk Reduction Committee and ARPAC, the Northeast Arkansas Board of Realtors political action committee. Virginia Ann is a member of the Junior League of Texarkana, the Twin City Toastmasters club, and helps the Texarkana College scholarship program. She has also served as a celebrity artist for Women for the Arts’ Party with Picassos.

ERA Raffaelli Realtors intends to continue its traditions while looking toward the future. Virginia Ann works full-time as a wife to Jonathan and mother to Celia, age 3 and Esme, age 2, no doubt instilling that Raffaelli family work ethic in her own daughters. “The future of the company is to be a bigger part of the community. It’s hard to predict the future, but I will say that this is the best team of realtors that I feel privileged to work with, for sure. Joe Sterle, Ashly King, Kristi Crane, Mike Brewington, Hannah Haltom, and soon to be realtor, Silvia Martinez are just great, and the same goes for everyone in the building that teams up for the property management,” Virginia Ann says. “My dad has concentrated on affordable housing in the area and options for the area. I enjoy working with small business owners in the area and keeping a local flair to our town.” “I hope that Virginia Ann has as long a life with Raffaelli Realtors as I have had,” Steve remarks. “I have enjoyed being in the real estate business for 50 years. Texarkana is a great place to live.” Together Virginia Ann and Steve illustrate that families helping families is a noble vocation.

*Virginia Ann and Steve after her graduation from the University of Arkansas School of Law.*

Feature Stories

Real Estate is in their Blood