By Liz Page

STAMFORD – A Stamford couple who has been and continues to be an integral part of the communityhas been fortunate enough to find a pair of woman who are looking to continue their legacy of beinginvolved in the community and the tradition of providing customer service in the real estate business.After 51 years, Betty and George Bergleitner have sold their Delaware County Real Estate business toElizabeth "Beth" McGuire and Evelyn Kuhn. It is now Keller Williams Upstate NY Properties.

While Betty retired in January, George will now relax a bit, but intends to stay involved. "I'm doing thisfor Betty, she wants to travel," he said. He has moved to a smaller office at 108 Main St., but he will stillbe making an appearance.

McGuire and Kuhn have purchased the building and plan to use the opportunity to keep a local real estate business in operation. They do plan to update it a bit and will be giving it a fresh coat of paint, along with rearranging some of the office space.

"Keller Williams provides advanced technology for their agents and support for our brokerage-ownedbusiness," said Kuhn.

While they realize a great deal of work is done online these days, McGuire said Delaware County has adifferent environment where people like to know there is a brick and mortar business in addition to thatonline presence.

"George has a lot of stock in the community and that is another reason to have someone here inStamford," said Kuhn.

"Somehow, I feel his legacy of community service is more important than his real estate. We really dowant to be involved in the community," said McGuire.

The two women forged a friendship through their real estate ties. McGuire has been in the business for 25years and Kuhn for more than 20 years and each has worked at other agencies. Now, both at KellerWilliams, they became partners in August of 2022. In conversations with George, they saw theopportunity to open a branch office that is close to home for both of them. KW also has offices in Delhi,Margaretville, Oneonta and Norwich.

They are also familiar with Betty and Gorge, working with them for several years in real estate. So theyknow the type of service the Bergleitners have provided their customers."It is a good spot for both of us," said Kuhn. "The real estate business has been crazy for the past coupleof years." While things do seem to be slowing down, she does not see it stopping and believes the marketin Stamford has been undervalued in the pas. "It is now where it belongs. People are coming into thecommunity and there is real estate to sell here."

Real estate has changed, according to Kuhn, with many new laws. KW keeps them updated on the latestreal estate trends and keeps them educated about the market. They are always learning new ways andtechniques.

"With this office, we will be taking all of the new ways, such as the internet and online media andcombining it with the more traditional concepts based on relationships and interactions with tour clients,"said Kuhn.

She believes real estate agents are an important part of the real estate business. They are there to guideclients to make the best purchase for their needs. The agents know the area and they admit the market is a little bit different here. They believe it is important to know the region and to help clients assessproperties that are not of the same type of construction or size.

A graduate of St. Francis Prep school, Bergleitner founded the Christmas Feeling Fund in Stamford morethan 50 years ago. Has been president of Delaware County Real Estate, a broker and appraiser for 51years, A Knight of Columbus for 58 years; Vice Chair of the Delaware County Republican Committee for30 years; a 20-year Knight of Malta; a member of the Delaware County Industrial Development Agencyboard of directors for more than 25 years; past president of the Otsego-Delaware Board of Realtors and adirector; on the board of the NYS Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Hehas also served as president of Stamford Financial; recipient of the Fitzgerald Kennedy Award; HonorLegion for theNY Police Department; Realtor of the Year in 1972; Citizen of the Year in Stamford 1991;Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow 1990; member of various exchanges and NASDQ and presidentof M.J. Manchaster and Company.

His accomplishments, along with Betty's, will be difficult to match. However, McGuire and Kuhn, arehere to keep the legacy of providing good customer service to those wishing to buy or sell property.Known as the Catskill Regional Team, Upstate NY Properties, their contact information is:

Beth McGuire, 607-353-2590 or email: bethmcguire56@gmail.com; Evelyn Kuhn, 607-437-2910 oremail: evelynkuhn@kw.com.

They plan to host a grand opening sometime next month.Gearge and Betty Bergleitner, left, of Delaware County Real Estate, hand over the reigns to Evelyn Kuhnand Elizabeth "Beth" McGuire, who will keep the local real estate office booming as Keller WilliamsUpstate NY Properties. The Bergleitners have been stalwarts in the local real estate market for the past 51years, selling the building and their business to enjoy some overdue retirement.