SWAMPSCOTT — Phyllis Sagan has found success in real estate, but gets her rewards from what she does away from the office.
“I constantly live by the motto of giving back,” she said. “I work so I can also work to make the world a better place.”
For example, shortly before Christmas, the Lynn Community Health Center had its annual party for all families of babies born this year. The LCHC couldn’t have this function without volunteers. Two of them were Phyllis Sagan and Helaine Hazlett — both of them Item Persons of the Year (Sagan in Swampscott, Hazlett in Marblehead).
“At the end of the day,” she said, “I ask myself ‘did I love enough? Did I laugh enough? And did I make enough of a difference?’”
Sagan’s resume, both professional and in terms of community involvement, is prolific. She was a board member (and Woman of the Year) for the Aviv Center in Peabody; is a board member of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore; is chairwoman of the North Shore Advisory Board of the Anti-Defamation League; a past Rotary Club member and recipient of the Paul Harris Award; a supporter of St. Joseph’s Food Pantry in Salem; a supporter of Girls Inc., My Brother’s Table, Marblehead Counseling Center, co-chair of the LCHC women’s breakfast; a co-Chair of the North Shore Development Committee of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies; and a supporter of the Lappin Foundation Youth to Israel Award, which has honored her for her work with the organization.
For someone who has thrown herself into her charity work with much the same zeal in which she’s devoted to her profession, Sagan’s parameters aren’t that demanding.
“I always say that if every person did one thing — just one thing — the world would be a much better place.”
And that one thing doesn’t have to involve money either. All Sagan and Hazlett were doing at the LHCH function was serving pizza to the families who attended.
But, as she says, “even if all you do is go to My Brother’s Table and serve a meal, that’s doing something, and it makes this world a little better.”
No story on Sagan would be complete without discussing her company, Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty.
The two firms — Sagan Realtors and Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty — merged in April 2018 with the goal of strengthening their presence in Swampscott and Marblehead, and to further expand the company’s reach across Essex County. The new firm has grown to more than 75 independent sales associates.
Sotheby’s, says Sagan, is known for its “white glove” approach to selling real estate.
“It is a luxury service at every price point,” she said.
That doesn’t mean that she’s limiting her business to selling luxury homes. It means that every home the company sells will get the luxury treatment.
Pointing to pictures on the walls of her office, and to the monitor that scrolls the latest homes her company is selling, she says “if we handle your transaction, a picture of your house will appear on that screen just like one of those.”
Sagan has a daughter, Shari Sagan McGuirk, who is a partner in the firm, as is her daughter-in-law, Julie. She also has a son, Scott Sagan and four grandchildren.