About Whitney & Kirby Maronda
REALTOR® in Lethbridge, Alberta
My identical twin sister Kirby and I were born seven weeks premature in the Spring of 1981, each weighing just over 3 pounds. How lucky are we to have always had each other! To this day, I can say it is the best thing in my life. I have a built-in best friend that wants to help me in any way she can, who likes to do the things I do and is always there to listen.
Being a twin has always been such an attraction and most people cannot get enough of it... they love looking at us and asking questions and trying to spot the differences between us - it has always been such a great experience.
We grew up in a small farming community north of Lethbridge called Lomond, where our family dryland farms. We went to school in Lomond from kindergarten to grade 12 and graduated with six kids in our class (4 boys and us 2 girls). We were involved in 4-H, where we learned to public speak, perform community service and get creative in crafting and sewing. We loved all sports, including curling, volleyball, badminton, track; every sport that was offered, we did. We even coached the junior girls volleyball team when we were in grade 12. We also loved skiing as a family in Fernie and Whitefish.
Our younger sister Brett is five years younger than us, but we love to do so many things together, including traveling, paddle boarding, golfing and we even drag her along for shopping!!
When Kirby and I came to post-secondary school in Lethbridge we bought our first house with our parents and the help of our grandparents. That is what gave us “THE” start in real estate!
I attend the college and university and graduated with a business Diploma and Management Degree, while Kirby graduated from Lethbridge College with an Interior Design Diploma. After Kirby finished school, she completed her practicum with Daytona Homes and worked there for 12 years in many different roles, such as interior designer, service and warranty, in-house sales consultant, assistant sales manager and much more. She continued her career in a Custom Build role and Sales Manager with Galko Homes, and most recently worked for Galko Renovations in sales, estimating and project management.
After finishing university, I worked for All Weather Windows selling windows to lumberyard‘s, home builders and contractors around Southern Alberta. I was the first dealer woman sales person.....in a company that had been around for 30 years! I won rookie of the year and had fantastic sales numbers because I gave the attention to detail that all customers want.
I followed in Kirby’s footsteps of working as an in-house sales consultant when I joined Ashcroft Homes for seven years. I knew the different builders in Lethbridge since I had already worked with them selling windows and through Kirby’s previous experience in the industry. As an in-house sales consultant we were experts in helping family’s choose their new home. Picking a floor plan that functioned best for each and helping make the tweaks and changes to make the perfect home. We would help with selecting the lot to build on, going over the process of finances and logistics, and just making this process as easy as possible for the client. This experience makes us your go to girls for new home construction.
We have been involved in many organizations and fundraisers throughout the years in our community and give back in time, product and donations; specifically CHBA Lethbridge (now known as BILD Lethbridge) and Rotary Downtown of Lethbridge. Kirby has been a part of the Lethbridge College Advisory Committee to help with program criteria for the Interior Design program and I have recently joined the Lethbridge Chamber. We have helped support Youth One, The Boys and Girls Club, Clayton Allen Wine Auction for Lethbridge College, University Chinook Hospital Christmas Tree Festival, Val Matteotti Golf Tournament, Royal Gala, Black Tie Rotary, Woods Homes, Girl Gang, University Alumni, Ronald McDonald, Customer Insight Awards, Pack the Pantry for the Food Bank, the Snow Ball Effect, and the SAAG Art Auction.
Sometimes selling homes is not my biggest passion - I love designing them and decorating them and making them my own. Seven years ago our family built a home in Whitefish, Montana and my sister and I did it all. It was entered in the New Home Building Awards for the Flathead Valley and our home won five out of six overall awards....it was a very proud moment for us!
In 2018 we entered our latest home design that Kirby and I created, called “The Fairview” (which is named after our family farm) into the local home building awards and it won Best Kitchen and Best Overall Design (for that square footage) in Lethbridge. This was a big night for me because I also took home the “Best New Sales Person” award that the local home builders give out to an in-house sales consultant; an award that Kirby had won many years before me.