FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coldwell Banker Electric Realty Welcomes Peterborough REALTOR® Shirley Turner, “Shirl’s Your Girl,” Alongside Three Additional Real Estate Professionals

PETERBOROUGH, ON – Coldwell Banker Electric Realty is pleased to announce that well-known Peterborough REALTOR® and community leader Shirley Turner, widely recognized throughout the region as “Shirl’s Your Girl,” has joined our brokerage.

Turner makes the move alongside her longtime assistant and Client Care Coordinator, Jocelyne Stone, bringing the established Shirl’s Your Girl real estate brand to Coldwell Banker Electric Realty. REALTORS® Colleen Ryan and Paul Crough have also joined Coldwell Banker Electric Realty, making the move alongside Turner while continuing to operate their own independent real estate businesses.

Born and raised in Peterborough, Turner has built both her business and reputation around a deep connection to the community she serves. Her career before real estate included work as a 911 dispatcher and as an educator, including teaching at St. Peter’s Secondary School. Those experiences helped shape an approach to real estate centred on listening, remaining calm under pressure and providing highly personal service through what can often be one of the biggest transitions in a client’s life.

Since entering real estate, Turner has become a familiar name throughout Peterborough and the Kawarthas through her “Shirl’s Your Girl” brand. Her practice serves buyers and sellers across the region, with particular attention to helping clients through major life transitions including first-time home purchases, downsizing, estate sales and moves later in life.

“Shirley is exactly the kind of person and REALTOR® we want associated with Coldwell Banker Electric Realty,” said Ian Marshall, President and Broker of Record. “She has built an incredible reputation by genuinely caring about people. She knows this community, she’s deeply invested in it, and she has built a business that is personal, authentic and unmistakably hers. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Shirley and Jocelyne to our company.”

Turner’s commitment to Peterborough extends well beyond real estate. A longtime supporter of United Way Peterborough & District, she has served on its Board of Directors, chaired Women United Peterborough and was named Chair of the organization’s 2024 Community Campaign. Her volunteer involvement over the years has also included support for organizations such as the New Canadians Centre, Diabetes Association and Canadian Cancer Society.

For Turner, joining Coldwell Banker Electric Realty provides an opportunity to retain the identity and client-first approach behind Shirl’s Your Girl while adding the resources, technology, marketing, staging, training and support infrastructure of a growing locally owned brokerage.

“Coldwell Banker Electric Realty has built something really special in Peterborough,” said Turner. “There is an energy here, but more importantly, there is a real focus on people, service and community. I wanted to be somewhere that would allow me to keep being Shirl’s Your Girl while giving Jocelyne and I even more tools and support to take care of our clients. It feels like a really natural fit, and I’m excited about what’s ahead.”

Joining Turner is Jocelyne Stone, who serves as Client Care Coordinator for Shirl’s Your Girl. Known within the business as a “Possibility Maker,” Stone plays an integral role in the client experience, coordinating logistics, anticipating needs and helping ensure clients feel supported from their first interaction through closing and beyond.

The move also welcomes REALTORS® Colleen Ryan and Paul Crough to Coldwell Banker Electric Realty. While Ryan and Crough are not members of the Shirl’s Your Girl team, their decision to make the move alongside Turner adds further momentum to the brokerage’s continued growth in the Peterborough market.

“Having Colleen and Paul choose to join us at the same time makes this announcement even more exciting,” Marshall added. “Each of them brings their own relationships, experience and business to our company. We are proud that all four professionals saw something here that they wanted to be part of.”

Coldwell Banker Electric Realty is locally owned and operated from its downtown Peterborough headquarters at 215 George Street North. The brokerage combines the global reach and recognition of the Coldwell Banker brand with locally delivered services and support for its REALTORS® and their clients throughout Peterborough, the Kawarthas and surrounding markets.

Turner will continue operating under the Shirl’s Your Girl brand as a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Electric Realty, Brokerage.

About Coldwell Banker Electric Realty

Coldwell Banker Electric Realty is a locally owned and operated full-service real estate brokerage headquartered in downtown Peterborough, Ontario. Built around a culture of service, collaboration and professional growth, the brokerage provides its REALTORS® with comprehensive marketing, technology, staging, training and administrative support while serving buyers and sellers throughout Peterborough, the Kawarthas and surrounding communities.

-30-

Media Contact:
Spanky Goodin,
Director, Partnerships
Coldwell Banker Electric Realty, Brokerage
sgoodin@cbelectricrealty.ca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coldwell Banker Electric Realty Announces Chris Papas as Vice President, Agent Success

Peterborough, ON – Coldwell Banker Electric Realty is pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Papas to the role of Vice President, Agent Success, marking a strategic step forward in the brokerage’s continued investment in agent performance, support, and growth.

This newly structured leadership role brings together training, agent development, and curated service delivery under a single mandate focused on one outcome: driving higher levels of production and success across the brokerage.

In his new position, Papas will lead all agent training initiatives with a clear emphasis on production-centric programming. His focus will be on equipping agents with the tools, strategies, and accountability needed to grow their businesses, close more transactions, and operate at a higher level in an increasingly competitive market.

Papas will also oversee the brokerage’s curated services, ensuring agents continue to receive the high level of support, responsiveness, and operational excellence they have come to expect, while further enhancing the overall agent experience.

“Chris has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to our agents and a clear ability to execute,” said Ian Marshall, President & Broker of Record at Coldwell Banker Electric Realty. “This role is about aligning leadership around what matters most, agent performance. Chris is the right person to lead that charge.”

As part of this leadership evolution, Marshall will take on a more direct role in agent growth, reinforcing the brokerage’s commitment to attracting high-quality talent while ensuring existing agents are fully supported in achieving stronger results.

Papas’ promotion reflects Coldwell Banker Electric Realty’s broader strategy to create a performance-driven environment supported by structured training, elevated service, and focused leadership.

Coldwell Banker Electric Realty continues to expand its presence across Peterborough and the Kawarthas, with a growing roster of agents supported by innovative systems, hands-on leadership, and a clear focus on results.

About Coldwell Banker Electric Realty:
Coldwell Banker Electric Realty is a forward-thinking real estate brokerage based in Peterborough, dedicated to delivering a high-performance environment for its agents. Through innovative tools, structured support, and a commitment to excellence, the brokerage empowers its agents to grow their businesses and deliver exceptional results for their clients.

Media Contact:
Spanky Goodin
Director, Partnerships
Coldwell Banker Electric Realty, Brokerage
sgoodin@cbelectricrealty.ca

One hundred and forty years and two blocks away from the newly renovated offices of Coldwell Banker Electric Realty, Brokerage in Peterborough, Ontario, the first electric streetlights in Canada were lit.    

Brilliantly, Ian Marshall has channeled that piece of history into the name of his new real estate brokerage: Coldwell Banker Electric Realty.   

“Peterborough is commonly referred to as Electric City and I wanted to make sure that the brokerage from day one was deeply rooted in the local feel of our city,” said Marshall.   

“We knew immediately that the real estate brokerage that will serve this community was going to be called Electric.”   

Ian Marshall, President & Broker of Record, Coldwell Banker Electric, Peterborough, ON.

Location, location, vocation

Marshall recalled the day 12 years ago when a switch went off and his future in real estate came into view. He was selling his house nearby and was in the market for a new one. The process—the details, the dreams—grabbed his attention.

“It was so intriguing to watch the agent I was working with at the time do his job —all the stuff behind the scenes, the paperwork, the conversations, the staging of the house,” Marshall said.

“I already enjoyed watching real estate shows on HGTV,” he said. “So, when I got to experience it myself on the client side, I said to myself, I can definitely do this!”

Inner voice

That inner voice that said “I can do this” has been a faithful navigator in Marshall’s life. It has reassured him that dropping out of high school was a beginning and not just an ending.

“High school was difficult for me, and I knew to survive I needed to blaze my own trail,” he said. “Leaving high school early is certainly not a path for everybody because you have to work incredibly hard to overcome the difficulties that come without that diploma, but I’ve been able to make it. Life has been my teacher.”

That inner voice has expected things of him.

“Leaving school at age 15, means a person grows up overnight,” Marshall said. “You instantly have to become an adult, get to work and figure out how life works.”

That voice has told him to keep going.

“I worked overnights in fast food straight out of high school,” he said. “I’ve done sales, telemarketing, network marketing, sold door-to-door. I’ve done over-the-phone tech support, worked in search engine optimization, supported executives, managed commercial properties and started a commercial and residential cleaning company.”

That voice has taught him to see people in everything he did.

Ian Marshall, President & Broker of Record, Coldwell Banker Electric, Peterborough, ON.

“In my opinion, the backbone to any sales relationship is understanding people and understanding what they really need and what they really want,” Marshall said.

“That means understanding, especially in our line of work, that purchases made today have the potential to impact the course of one’s life in a great way. To be a small part of that journey is amazing.”

And that voice has reminded him to trust himself.

“I never say good luck. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work. I believe that everybody has the same opportunities. We all get the same 24 hours in a day, it’s what we do with that time that makes us ‘lucky.’”

“I’ve done a lot of things,” says Marshall, here in front of a first listing in Pickering, ON, in 2016, “but my passion has always been real estate.”

The road home to Coldwell Banker

In 2014, it was time for real estate for Ian Marshall.

Marshall studied for and got his license and then joined a boutique brokerage. He quickly realized he needed the training and support offered by a brand.

He joined a family-owned RE/MAX brokerage, found a mentor, thrived and loved it there until it was swallowed up by a “conglomerate-type brokerage.”

The feeling of the place changed almost overnight, he said. It was a good time for a change. He spent a few years trying to find a brokerage that felt like home.

He was convinced he could build a brokerage where agents received real value for the real contributions they made.

Reciprocal value at Coldwell Banker

“There are definitely some brokerages that do an amazing job providing value to their people, but there are many brokerages where agents get to the point that they’re seeing expenses off their commissions cheques and they find themselves asking, ‘What is this brokerage providing me that equates to this expense? What’s the value for both of us?’” he said.

Those questions led Marshall to investigate franchising options. At first, Coldwell Banker Canada wasn’t on his radar. Then, he said, he saw all the good things happening with the company, including the master franchise being acquired and its connection to Coldwell Banker’s global branding. Marshall went for lunch with Paul Abbott.

He shared his vision.  It was, he quickly learned, a shared vision.

“He was just a fantastic guy to deal with and extremely generous,” said Marshall of Abbott, Coldwell Banker Canada’s Vice President, Franchise Development, in Ontario.

“He talked about the great things Coldwell Banker Canada is doing to provide value to their both their agents and their Broker-Owners, shared key parts of the franchise agreement that clicked perfectly and showed us the amazing branding and marketing materials Coldwell Banker offers. We left that meeting realizing just how much sense it made to partner with Coldwell Banker.”

Paul Abbott, fourth from right, and Ian Marshall, second from right, joined Coldwell Banker Canada CEO Karim Kennedy, centre, and Coldwell Banker Broker-Owner colleagues, Oakville, ON, December 2023.

Value for agents

Marshall came away convinced that his dream of a brokerage built on reciprocal value could be made real at Coldwell Banker.

“That is going to be part of Coldwell Banker Electric,” Marshall said.

“Every dollar our agents pay us, we want our agents to feel that dollar reciprocated. We want our agents to feel that this is a place where they are getting what they pay for and to never question whether their relationship with us is valuable or not—because it always will be.”

For Abbott, the stage is now set for Marshall’s innate leadership skills to do what innate leadership skills do: attract talented agents.

“With Ian Marshall at the wheel, Coldwell Banker has added to our team another sharp, experienced, passionate leader who understands real estate and understands people,” said Abbott. “The future is bright for Coldwell Banker Electric.”

Recruits

Coldwell Banker Electric will open the doors to its newly renovated 6,000 square-foot headquarters on historic George Street in late January 2024.

“It’s a great location,” Marshall said.

“There’s tons of foot traffic and a lot of history with our building. For many years, the building was known for being the home to Copperfields Restaurant & Bar and then to The Protectors Group. Before that it wore several hats but was originally built as a Loblaws in the early 1950s, it then burned down, and was rebuilt. Like me, it’s done a lot of work.”

Marshall said he’s ready for the good work ahead.

“We are going to hit the ground running with our recruiting efforts to attract the best of best agents here in Peterborough,” he said.

Who has the makings of a Coldwell Banker Electric agent?

“We want our culture to be that of productive agents,” Marshall said. “We’re looking for people who aren’t afraid of hard work and are eager to learn and grow. Maybe they haven’t had a ton of success where they are. Maybe they are new, maybe they’re in a slump. Maybe they are just looking for a change. But the makings of our agents will be that they’re hungry and humble and good people who realize everybody has their own story to tell.”

Marshall, fiancé Jeff and daughter Charlotte, Christmas 2023

Strong market

Marshall said the real estate market in Peterborough has always been strong and that the prospect of relief on interest rates suggests good things ahead in 2024.

“I am so excited to bring Coldwell Banker Electric to Peterborough and start sharing our vision and our passion with the agents, the great agents of Peterborough, and show them why Coldwell Banker Electric is the brokerage to partner with here in town.”