Ronald Peltier
Ronald Peltier, chairman and CEO of Minneapolis-based HomeServices of America, will be the next speaker in the University of St. Thomas Alumni Association’s First Friday Speaker Series at noon Friday, Oct. 1, at Nicollet Island Pavilion, 40 Power St., near downtown Minneapolis.
Peltier’s talk, co-sponsored by St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business, will be the first in the 20th season of the series.
HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, is the holding company of Edina Realty and the nation’s second-largest full-service, independent, residential real estate brokerage firm.
Peltier grew up on St. Paul’s East Side, near Swede Hollow, and graduated second in his Johnson High School class of 700. Captain of Johnson’s hockey team, he was named the 1967 Minnesota Athlete of the Year. A four-year Williams Scholar at the University of Minnesota, he received a bachelor’s in history and political science and, again as captain, led the Gophers hockey team to the NCAA finals.
Peltier, now of Dellwood, earned a master’s in education at St. Thomas in 1973 and became a teacher and hockey coach at Blaine High School. He began his career with Edina Realty as a sales associate in 1977. Within two years he opened a new sales office for the company. Over the next several years he served as a regional manager, general manager, and senior vice president. Peltier became president of the firm in 1999 and since has been named one of Realtor Magazine’s 25 most influential people in real estate, a Master Entrepreneur by Ernst & Young, and to a list of the top five most-admired individuals in real estate.
Last March Peltier received the university’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Established in 1971, the award recognizes leadership and service to the university, to the community and in the person’s field of endeavor.
On first Fridays of each month during the academic year, the St. Thomas Alumni Association’s First Friday Speaker Series offers lunch and a speaker of current interest. St. Thomas alumni and friends, along with the general public, are invited. Cost of each luncheon and presentation is $25. Student tickets are $15.
For reservations and more information, call the St. Thomas Alumni Association, (651) 962-6430, or register online at the association’s Web site. The deadline to register is Friday, Sept. 24.
