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Allison represented us when we sold our first home and bought our second home in Santa Clara in 1998. The transaction had a few challenges and she was more than up to the task of negotiating a successful sale. Most recently, she sold our home when we moved out of state. We moved even before our home was listed and she handled everything. She arranged the staging, the open houses, and checked regularly on the gardener and pool maintenance service. She was very strategic at how to price, prepare and best show our house for the existing market conditions to get us the best offers (18 of them!). In the end we got more than $440,000 over asking price in a matter of days. Allison has also been effective in helping us choose and coordinate with our out of state Realtor in order to facilitate the seamless sale and purchase of both properties. Allison grew up in the Bay Area and has more than 30 years of experience working with clients throughout the Peninsula, South Bay, Mountains (Portola Valley and Woodside) and Coast. I have found her to be exceptional at listening to her clients. She understands the nuances of what both sides (buyer and seller) need to be successful. Her integrity is exceptional and her reputation in the industry is stellar. She takes pride and ownership in each listing. She will only handle the listings and buyers that she has time to give her personal attention to. I recommend anyone interested in buying or selling to go to her first- You would be lucky to have her represent you.
E. Holmes Family |
3244 Rosita Ave, Santa Clara, CA, Close of Escrow 8/14/2023
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Over the past 20 years, Allison has helped us buy and sell our two peninsula homes. She has earned our complete trust and lifelong gratitude. Most recently, during an especially fraught time of the pandemic, she helped us sell our home within two weeks on the market and with multiple over-asking offers. I believe that Allison’s exemplary drive begins with her understanding and respect for the fact that we have entrusted her with the biggest financial transactions of our lives. Bottom line: Allison will make sure you’re happy with the bottom line of your purchase or sale.
She has expertly counseled us on how to prepare for purchase or sale, how to interpret the market (even during a pandemic!), when to be patient, and when to be proactive. She is ethical and straightforward. She brings years of experience, a boat load of resources and quality support (staging experts, photographers, trades people, title company…) and an uncanny talent to understand and read people and the business. But she doesn’t fall back on any of this – she appears to be tireless – and works really hard! I truly believe the real estate business is in her blood, and it is her joy.
Each of our real estate transactions, as is probably common, came at very transitional times of our life. What makes working with Allison extraordinary is that she cares about making these important life events positive, substantial, and especially memorable. She is our advocate, our ally, our detail-oriented admin assistant, our Sherpa, our pool sweeper, and she even helped us get our beloved dog after our first home purchase. Our lives have been enriched from these experiences.
Laurie and Wally Ausserer |
Menlo Park Home Sold in Record Time with 4 Offers - August, 2020 |
Allison was attentive, supportive, and advocated on our behalf during the home buying process. We appreciated some of the more personal touches she delivered, including the way she presented our offer and established a relationship with the sellers agent. She respected our budget and listened to our preferences when it came to finding the perfect home. We are grateful to have found an agent that kept our best interests in mind and helped get us into the house of our dreams.
Thanks again for all your help and support!
Rachel & Nick |
Represented the buyers on 6/2019 with multiple offers on a home in Atherton, CA
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I had the absolute pleasure of being referred to Allison Akana after a dear friend passed away and I, the Successor Trustee, was responsible for selling his home. This was my first experience selling a home and besides being distraught over my friend's passing, I felt lost about the entire process. The moment I met Allison I felt completely at ease, and her concern and empathy were clearly genuine. I knew I was in great hands. She referred me to a wonderful company, Trustee Help, that cleared out the home over the following weeks. During that time, Allison kept me updated on her communications with a particular realtor who had an interested buyer, and things moved quickly. It was clear to me that Allison not only had excellent communication skills, but also excellent rapport with other realtors in the business, as well as connections with other small business owners like a locksmith, house cleaner, landscapers, etc. I never once doubted her referrals for anything and each one produced great results. I have worked in the law enforcement field for for over twelve years and trust is paramount. I knew without a doubt that I could trust Allison from the beginning to the end, and I have given out her business cards to many of my coworkers because they trust my judgement. The house sale was practically seamless and throughout the process, I felt completed supported by Allison. She is kind, honest and very knowledgeable in her field and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Thank you Allison, you made a particularly challenging and difficult time for me one that I will always reflect on with contentment and peace. |
Referral Letter from a Grateful Successor Trustee 2/2019
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ALLISON AKANA IS THE BEST!
I have worked with several real estate agents over the years, through multiple purchases and sales. And while others have been competent, Allison is extraordinary.
I was extremely lucky to meet Allison years ago, when I was selling two properties in Santa Clara County. Her calm and reassuring style provided me with a great deal of trust and confidence in those transactions during a stressful time in my life. She is attentive to the many details of the process while never losing sight of the human emotions involved in buying or selling one’s home.
When I recently decided to look for a new home in San Mateo County, I was thrilled to have Allison represent me again. She made all the difference in reaching a successful outcome, interpreting the nuances of this particular negotiation, and giving me expert guidance. She communicated effectively with other agents and kept me informed at every step.
Allison is ethical, hardworking, knowledgeable, and intelligent. She demonstrates a strong commitment to her clients and operates with a high degree of personal integrity. I trust her completely and appreciate the dedication she showed in representing my interests. She is also a lovely person, and truly a pleasure to work with. She is warm and genuine, without the obsequity of some others in the real estate world.
I enthusiastically recommend Allison Akana to anyone looking for an agent in San Mateo or Santa Clara Counties – she’s a gem! |
Susan Christopher
Pacifica, CA
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SUCH A JOY TO WORK WITH!
Allison helped my husband and I navigate the CRAZY Peninsula real estate market with calm, ease, and humor. She was always available for questions. She showed us houses at all times of the day/week, even going with us on some all day Open House tours on the weekends.
Allison helped us put in smart offers and walked us through all the paperwork so we understood and knew what we were signing. She is extremely experienced and knew what to expect and how to navigate a bunch of challenging situations. Allison builds relationships with other agents and works hard to personalize the process, making sure we were remembered by selling agents. We ended up with the house of our dreams after a short time looking, thanks to Allison! |
L.W. and A.N.San Mateo
July/2018
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Allison Akana is a skilled and experienced professional. Experience truly matters in high stakes real estate transactions!
Allison expertly guided me from property searches to the close of escrow. She made the entire process stress free at a very busy time in my life. My purchase “coulda/shoulda” been very difficult with multiple offers on the desired property but as I listened to Allison’s recommendations, based on her research, I knew I could trust her judgment. I got out of the way and let her do her job!
Allison stayed in touch with me at every stage of the process. Information and documents were timely sent and she knew people to assist me with closing tasks. Equally important, she did it all with caring and an understanding of how important this life step was to me.
She is a gem and I feel very fortunate to have had her as my agent.
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Y.S. 2018 |
Allison has helped me buy and sell 3 houses in the last 7 years. Not only is she incredibly conscientious she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I recently sold my home in Redwood Shores and as always Allison made sure it was a smooth sale and very stress free. The photo shoot of my home was very well done and my home sold very quickly. In addition I bought a home in Sonora and although I used another agent I soon learned how awful another, less competent agent could be. Allison was more help with advice and guidance with the purchase of my home in Sonora than the agent I used in the area. I HIGHLY recommend Allison Akana. Her connections with the Title Company and other team members is seamless and you could not find a better agent. |
Sandy Greenberg |
February 15, 2016
To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter of referral for Allison Akana who represented me for both the purchase of my new home in El Granada and the sale of my previous home in Menlo Park. I chose Allison due to her history of having worked as a real estate agent in the Palo Alto and Menlo Park area for decades. When I first interviewed her as a possible agent, it was immediately clear that she had a strong knowledge of the area having not only done real estate work, but also having had investment properties in the area. From the day I contacted her, she was proactive in regards to every imaginable detail regarding the sale of my home. She frequently made use of her connections with area relators, trades people, staging experts, etc. as needed as I prepared my home for sale. Whenever I asked her for a recommendation or assistance with any kind of detail, she would work day or night to get me the information as soon as possible. She worked closely with me to determine the best day to list the home to give me maximal exposure to the market. I had multiple offers on the home within a week of the first open house. She worked diligently to attend to every detail of the offers. When the initial buyers had to withdraw due to personal circumstances, she literally worked through the night to get me back in contract with a new buyer within 24 hours. She managed every detail of the closing process to minimize my stress and time. Due to all these reasons, I highly recommend Allison to you as a real estate agent and consultant. |
Sincerely yours,
Julie Kriegler, PhD
juliekriegler@gmail.com |
Allison Akana recently sole our Palo Alto family home of 62 years where our beloved mother just passed away end of May 2015. She made the experience completely painless for all of us and was able to find buyers who, at least at this point , seem to love the house and will keep it as a historical landmark that it is and make improvements without tearing it down. Because I grew up in the house and have been making small improvements on it myself such as the kitchen and the front door I was somewhat sentimentally attached to the house remaining more or less enact.
Allison was listed in the my Mom's will as the realtor and she has been a family friend for 47 years. As well as finding a couple who love the house Allison was able to get a price well above what she listed it at and we never had to think about the process which seems to be much like a poker game. Allison was completely professional in every way with all the paper work and with contacting us whenever necessary. This was a challenge as three of us siblings had to be involved in signing and agreeing to everything and we are spread out across the country.
I would recommend Allison in a heartbeat to handle the sale of any home in the Palo Alto Area either to represent the seller or buyer. She has an uncanny knack for reading people. |
| Michael Bock |
July 8, 2014
To: Allison Akana
From: Linda and Bob Silva
Re: absolutely wonderful worry-free real estate transaction
Dear Allison:
Bob and I want to thank you for the amazing job you did in selling our home in Belmont. We met with you just to get some information, and after talking to you for about a half an hour, we were so impressed with your forthrightness, integrity, and your knowledge of both real estate and of the laws that we looked at each other and nodded in agreement and asked you on the spot to represent us.
We have worked with several real estate people in the past who got the job done, but they didn’t hold a candle to your intelligent responsiveness and caring.
You have been remarkable. Within one day, you inspected the house, gave us advice about what needed to be done, lined up inspectors and a photographer, and researched what we couldn’t remember or didn’t know for disclosures. You walked us through the lengthy disclosure statements, you developed the brochure and scheduled the open house dates within 10 days of our first meeting. You had all the details when you showed the home to realtors and to prospective buyers on the 9th day after our first meeting. You monitored the security of the home and even went back ten miles to the home just to make sure you had secured the gate (which you had). Your phone calls and emails to us during that time showed that you worked consistently day and night to get everything done precisely.
The home garnered 8 offers within 17 days of when we first met. You checked every detail of the home, the paperwork, and the potential buyers. You provided outstanding follow-up with us on complex paperwork by simplifying it line by line, and you helped us through the escrow process. I hate paperwork but you simplified it so that we had little to do. You took on the “worry,” so we could just relax.
Bob and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the superb manner in which you took us through the entire process of preparing the house for sale, marketing the home effectively, and providing peace of mind to us as we went through the information of 8 prospective buyers and options for negotiation. You had told people to bring their highest and best offer, and we really set the mark for the highest price in the neighborhood when we did select one qualified buyer who was able to close within the month. It was the smoothest real estate transaction and the least stressful that we could have experienced.
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Many hugs,
Linda and Bob Silva |
It is a huge pleasure to write this recommendation for Allison Akana who made the impossible happen with the purchase of our new home in Half Moon Bay in May 2013. My husband and I are admittedly picky but this offered us the distinct pleasure of working with Allison for three years to discover our wonderful new home. Her patience and skill in understanding what each of us was looking for (not always the same thing!) combined with a calm and confident approach, assuring us that we would eventually find a great place, allowed us to enjoy our search adventure while becoming increasingly familiar with our new community during the interim. She gamely showed us properties along the coast with building potential (my husband’s initial idea) but over time, helped us realize that this would be a longer and way more difficult process than what we were willing to invest in. Once we clarified what we were looking for and found the house, she became a skilled negotiator, scrupulously honest while looking out for our interests during the contract period. Because she is so organized and detail-oriented, the closing process went very smoothly. Since then, she has recommended a great group of inspectors, movers, electricians and plumbers to take care of our move and provide some of the upgrades as we continue to make the house “ours”. I truly can’t imagine going through this with anyone else; without her guidance, I’m sure we’d still be in our old home, deprived of the chance to enjoy Coastside living in this new phase of our lives. Thank you for your help Allison and it’s a wonderful bonus to have you as a neighbor!
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| CD and DD from Half Moon Bay |
We had been looking for a vacation home on the coast on and off for two years but these homes kept getting sold before we could make a bid; we were referred to Allison and spent a couple weekends looking at homes and spending time with her during which time she came to assess our needs and was connected such that we had a home sale completed in less than a month from when we began working with her and have enjoyed it happily since.
Naturally, when it came to selling our primary home in Silicon Valley, we asked Allison if she would do so. She provided us with advice about the property and how we might approach the sale based on our needs and then guided us throughout including helping with referrals for a handyman and inspector who were great professionals in their own right. She helped us to create a timeline and provided resources and references with a supportive, attentive, and insightful attitude that always is full of integrity and disclosure. She worked hard and in a timely manner in a market that had heated up such that we had multiple offers the day of the brokers' tour one of which resulted in the sale of the home in less than a month from the house going on the market.
She will be a trusted ally and advocate to you during your property's sale or purchase of a new property in the greater SF Bay Area. |
Close of Escrow 5/24/13
Same Happy Buyers in El Granada and Sellers in Silicon Valley |
| Allison's great! This was the first time I'd sold a house. Allison worked very hard to make the process transparent and trouble free from the start and was always ready to do whatever needed to be done to get my house ready for sale and then sold. She's hardworking and proactive, pays attention to detail, and is a great person to have on your side. |
| 8/13/2011 QW HMB |
Dear Allison
Thank you so much for all you did to make the very sad sale of my family home happen so easily and quickly. It was amazing really. You were so kind and understanding of how overwhelming the task was for me, and then you made the whole experience as painless as possible. In fact, it feels like I just had to have many phone calls and emails, sign a lot of papers, and have things moved out (all with the help of good referrals from you). The rest you just made happen. The result was a fair sale in record time, in a very tough market, and to a young family that truly needs and will appreciate the house, yard and lovely location. I lost a family home, but another family gained one. Can't really think of a better result, emotionally or financially, considering all the circumstances. Thank you, really. I will be delighted to refer all in need of real-estate services to you.
Sarah
January 2011 |
Dear Allison
I have bought and sold several homes over the last 35 years and feel I know quality in the extreme when I see and experience it. From start to finish you listened to my dream of what a house should be and why my home was not what would make my heart soar. You looked at me and said, "let's fix that" and you did! You guided me through a very complicated sell of my Palo Alto home and helped me find the true home of my dreams. This was not an easy thing I tasked you with and with wings on your feet, a never ending smile and gracious attitude and let's face it endless energy, sometimes far into the night, I now sit here with boxes all around me and beautiful new shiny house keys in my hand thinking of the times you cheered me on when I was discouraged.
I truly don't know how you and your excellent team of "friends" and contacts helped me through last minute repairs, open houses whenever I wanted them, researched numerous properties with my best interests truly at heart, negotiating last details until Christmas Eve while putting their own families on hold, finding a mover on XMAS Eve on very short notice (that's a good one) . . . Allison was there anything you would not of done to help me through a truly important phase in my life?
I look forward to knowing you as a friend forever and I will sing your praises to anyone who is interested in buying or selling a home or who just really needs a friend! In fact, please feel free to use this e-mail or have anyone contact me at any time for a reference.
With all my heart I wish you a Merry Xmas and a fantastic New Year!!!!
Your Friend,
Sandy Greenberg . . . the one who now has the beautiful wide water views in Redwood Shores |
October 2010
Dear Allison,
We would both like to thank you very much for all of your wonderful help in the purchase of our Montara home. Throughout the process you were very accessible, calm, knew a great deal about the Coastside's unique issues and nuances of the local real estate market, worked incredibly hard to have things go smoothly, and had a great sense of humor. As first time home buyers, you were always very patient as we asked lots of questions and discussed various hypothetical scenarios, and you listened and tailored the process to our financial circumstances. As a result, we felt educated, empowered, and comfortable with the pace and structure of our purchase. We were able to build on long-standing relationships you had already developed with other professionals in the area, such as inspections, insurance, and others. With impressive integrity and creativity you were very proactive with the negotiations, enabling both the sellers and buyers room and time to consider, discuss, and come to an agreement that was a win-win for both sides. Thank you so much for making this process as stress free as possible.
It is now with great pride that we say we are new members of the Coastside community. |
With great appreciation,
Ashley and Michaela |
Allison,
We can't thank you enough for the wonderful experience we had in purchasing our dream home in El Granada with your support. You had always told us the right home would come along at the right time which made us relax in our search. You guided us through our process of determining what we wanted, what we needed and where we wanted to be, with your incredible knowledge of the coastal real estate markets. You took great care in allowing us to view an array of homes in many areas and price ranges thus giving us an opportunity to narrow our search. We really appreciated your patience and accessibility.
You made the whole process seem so easy! We were amazed at how seamless the process went once we found the house and said "Let's do it.". We now know that you worked diligently behind the scenes, keenly focused on bringing this all together for us. There was not a glitch in the flow, not a hurdle we had to overcome. It was an incredible experience.
All the while, we felt very supported; confident in your expertise. For us, you made what can be a very scary and stressful event, very enjoyable.
For anyone looking to buy or sell their home, we highly recommend you. You are a competent, honest professional with an easy-going style that comes from a clear base of integrity. Thank you for this.
We are honored to have worked with you on this important endeavor. Not only did we get the home of our dreams but we also found a great friend in you. |
Very Sincerely,
Laurel Frishman and Marty Cody, July 27, 2008 |
Dear Allison,
I wanted to commend you in the handling of the recent purchase of my new home.
I also wanted to use words that would recommend you to any future clients...I read the testimonials on your website. I found that one of the recommendations was written by the buyers of my prior home.
There could be no better recommendation for a real estate professional than to have both buyer and seller of the same transaction, commend and sing her praises. And, for both parties to return to her for their future real estate needs, which we both did, is truly admirable.
Allison, I salute you.
You made the handling of the always endless details seem effortless. Thank you for making me feel safe and comfortable and for still being there for me, even after the whole she-bang is over. |
Sincerely,
Norma H. Wilson, 12/11/06 |
Dear Home Buyer or Seller:
If you are looking for a real estate agent to represent you in one of the most important transactions of your life, you simply can't do better than Allison Akana. She has handled three transactions for us. She is incredibly competent, smart, funny and kind. This is a wonderful combination for someone you work closely with to buy or sell your home. We first got to know Allison when we were in Washington, DC, and trying to find a house in Half Moon Bay. She found wonderful houses for us to look at and provided all the necessary information to make decisions, sometimes across the country. Always sensitive to our travel schedules, she arranged house tours, found experts we needed to consult, and there was no question too minor for her full attention and immediate response. She was always accessible and in good humor, often at difficult times of the day or night given the time differences. As a result, we bought our first California house through her and have become friends and neighbors. When we later decided to move to Moss Beach she represented us, both selling our Half Moon Bay house and buying the new house. We have recommended her to friends and are happy to act as a reference. There is no question, when we have another real estate transaction to consider Allison is the first person we will contact. |
| TJ Glauthier and Brigid O'Farrell, 9/10/06 |
| Allison Akana made it possible for us to get our new home. We saw the house one morning and by that evening we had the house under contract. Allison helped us get a loan arranged on the weekend that allowed us to get this house. She is resourceful, attentive, kind, and very helpful. We would not be enjoying our wonderful coastside home without Allison. She is terrific. |
| Sandra LaFave and David Danielson, 6/12/06 |
| Allison's honesty throughout the process earned our complete trust. We were always certain we had made the best choice in selecting her as our agent. She not only listed our home but also was the agent for the buyer. We also bought our new home through her. If we had to make a decision of selling our home in the future, we would want Allison to be our agent again, and we would highly recommend her to any one who is looking for a dependable, highly professional, and totally honest agent. |
| Harvey and Mary Ann Koeph |
Dear Mr. Bill Alhouse and Mr. John King:
Thank you does not quite express our gratitude for the guidance and effort provided by Allison Akana in the recent purchase of our new home in San Mateo. Allison was our buying agent, our guidance counselor, at times our financial advisor, and our friend. Not only did she do a stellar jog of representing us on the buying side, she provided us with an invaluable recommendation for a realtor in the East Bay, to represent us in the sale of our old house. Allison worked closely with our selling agent to ensure that our transition between the selling and the buying was as smooth as possible--our two houses closed two days apart, without the need for a bridge loan.
We found the house that we ended up buying on a Saturday afternoon. My husband and I fell in love with the outside of the house, so we phoned Allison to let her know that we were interested in looking at the house. She met us on Sunday afternoon, and told us that the house had been on the market for nine days and that offers were being accepted at noon, on the very next day, Monday. After spending some time in the house, we told Allison that this was the house for us-she jumped into action. Allison worked through the night on Sunday, periodically contacting us, and coordinating with Linda Nunes-Krieg, our loan broker, to ensure that we would have a viable bid.
On Monday, there were 10 bids submitted along with ours. According to the story, we were one of the top three bids financially. The couple selling the house called each of the buying agents for the top three bidders, to interview them about the perspective buyers. Allison went to bat for us, and we won -- we firmly believe that had Allison not been our agent, we would not have won the bid for our house.
We couldn't be more pleased with our purchase, and we feel lucky to have been represented by such an amazing real estate agent and person. When we are ready to sell and buy again in the future, we hope that Allison is still working as an agent in the area -- we wouldn't want anyone else representing us!!!!!! |
Sincerely,
Kimberly and Todd Lawrence |
To whom it may concern:
I am very pleased to write this letter of referral for Allison Akana who has seen me through two real estate transactions in the past year. When I first looked to sell a condominium in Palo Alto, I met with several agents to get appraisals; subsequently, I have met innumerable agents (as I sold a second property, in Los Gatos, and bought a third, in San Francisco). I have yet to meet anyone in the real estate business whom I respect as much as I respect Allison Akana. More importantly, perhaps, I trust Allison more that anyone else I have met!
Allison was always kind and patient, walking through each step of a process that was completely new territory for me. She knew how to pace our conversations so that I wasn't overwhelmed by too much information along the way, yet she was very specific and exact about the many details with which I had to become familiar. She lent her expert advise to me without imposing on my own judgement-making process. I always knew I could ask her any question and she would be both understanding and helpful. I felt very secure throughout the process of selling the first property, even as we ran into the inevitable hassles of inspections and termite reports. Under Allison's guidance, such hassles were inconsequential.
I was especially impressed with the way Allison handled the multiple bids we received for the second property, which was sold during the height of a very volatile market. She was a steady voice of reason, lending good sense to a situation that could have easily become quite frenetic. Allison calmed my own nerves as well as soothing the anxieties of the other agents and their clients; she provided me with her informed opinions without ever making me feel pressured, and I felt extremely reliable when it comes to staying in touch with me, and quite persistent in following through with myriad details until everything was complete. It is clear that she makes a sincere commitment to serve her clients, and she brings the highest degree of personal integrity and professional responsibility to her work.
Allison is an outstanding real estate agent, and I feel extraordinarily lucky to have worked with her. I have already passed on her name to friends in the Bay Area who may be in the market soon, and I have shared many of her words of wisdom with friends in other parts of the country. I would enthusiastically recommend her to anyone who was looking for an agent in this area. |
Sincerely,
Susan Christopher, Ph.D
Acting Assistant Professor
Stanford University School of Education |
| I have known Allison Akana for more than 30 years. I recently had the opportunity to work with her as the real estate agent selling our parent's house in Belmont. I knew Allison was good, because she has always given 100%+ to any endeavor she takes on. When she said full service real estate agent, I had no idea what she meant. However, I found out when she handled details that had to do with the preparation of the house for sale, negotiations with city officials regarding building codes, and other issues that came up. Allison answered calls and requests promptly, went out of her way to make sure the house was in its's most presentable state and kept us informed every step of the way. I strongly recommend Allison Akana with no reservations and great enthusiasm. |
| Gail Echternacht Chabran |
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