Meet Shane Jorgenson

Most people who live through a plane crash find it very difficult to even bear the thought of ever again climbing into a titanium tube only to hurtle through the skies at 500 miles per hour, at 35,000 feet above the earth.

Then, there are those hardy souls who feel that getting back on the horse is the best way to approach life. That group includes Shane Jorgenson.

“My grandfather was a 747 captain for Northwest Airlines and he had his own private little airplane, a 6-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza,” Jorgenson recalls. While many families take road trips, Grandpa and Shane decided to take a sky trip during one of his visits.

This was young Jorgenson’s second time on an aircraft and he looked forward to that feeling of “ultimate freedom” that flying gave him the first time around. “I can still vividly remember circling the house that overcast morning and then heading back to the airport for a normal landing,” he continues. “Well, it was anything but normal. Although the instruments indicated that the landing gear was down and in the locked position, it was only seconds before making contact with the pavement that we realized the gear wasn’t down and intact at all,” he continues.

“We struck the runway hard, the airplane wildly pitching up and down with every rotation of the propeller.” Jorgenson’s grandfather remained calm throughout the excruciatingly frightening experience, turning off the motor and guiding the plane onto a grassy area. As smoke began to bellow from the engine, and with warning lights and bells blaring, the senior Mr. Jorgensen calmly looked at his grandson and said “Well, it’s time to get out.”

“I’ll never forget that moment,” Shane says, “I thought my grandfather was superman. From then on I was hooked on flying!”

Back to the beginning

Jorgenson was born in Bellevue Washington but the family moved to Virginia when he was 2-years old and he grew up in Fairfax. Interestingly, one of his best friends, his cousin Kasey, was born in the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor, five months after Shane was born. “We have been following in each other’s footsteps ever since,” he says, chuckling.

The road to real estate is paved with clouds
Jorgenson’s parents were both involved in the real estate industry as he was growing up so it’s only natural he would be attracted to it as well. But he wasn’t – well, not originally.

After high school he moved to Daytona Beach, Florida to follow his passion, aviation. “I studied at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where I earned my degree in aeronautics and a minor in business administration,” he explains. “Growing up my parents use to say ‘Oh, Shane, you’ll change your mind 100 times about what you want to do for a living when you grow up. But I never wavered from wanting to be a pilot.”

Jorgenson’s father made a deal with him when he was a child that for every six books he read his dad would buy him a one-hour flight lesson. So, from the age of 7 until 15, Jorgenson took flight lessons. By the age of 21 he was a pilot of for Delta Airlines and at 26 he started with JetBlue. Today he flies the Airbus 320 as a first officer, and will soon be captain.

Family, persistency and consistency

While Jorgenson’s superman-like grandfather instilled in him a love of flying, it was his father that showed him that it’s consistency and persistency that yield success, no matter what it is you aim to undertake.

It just so happens that these two qualities are required if one is to be successful assisting real estate consumers in the sale and purchase of homes. It was also his dad who encouraged him to get his real estate license.

So he moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth Area in 2007, obtained his license and now has two careers that he loves. “I can’t say working in real estate became a second passion; it became my ultimate high in life,” he says. “Sure, flying airplanes at the speed of sound is fun, but helping others nail a deal? Well, it’s nothing short of awesome!”

The road to Jacksonville was paved by Lauren

Shane and his cousin Kasey moved to Austin where Kasey opened The Jorgenson Group with Keller Williams. A year later, just as Shane was about to sit for his broker’s license, he met Lauren, or, as he calls her, “the woman of my dreams.”

Not about to let a little ol’ thing like geography keep him from her, he packed up and moved to her town, Jacksonville, Florida and opened a Jorgenson Realty group there.

“I can tell you the most satisfying thing in life is being able to help someone, whether it’s to learn how to fly or to buy a house,” Jorgensen says.
Jorgenson’s private side

When he’s not negotiating a real estate deal for his clients or steering a 45-ton piece of metal through the skies, Jorgenson takes to the waters off Jacksonville in his boat, fishing for wahoo, mahi-mahi and bottom fish.

Football season typically finds him in front of the tube, cheering on his Seahawks. He even has Seahawks jerseys for his dogs!

For all the air travel he does, Jorgensen still loves to visit new places, especially if they are far removed from the beaten path.

So, what gets Jorgenson’s feet on the floor every morning? His bucket list. “Ever since Kasey and I were little kids we have reserved Bora Bora as a bucket list item and that is definitely still near the top of the list,” he explains.

“But when I open my eyes in the morning I think about the top of my bucket list – helping as many folks as I can realize the dream of homeownership. I wonder who I will meet today; who will I help on their road to a new life? After all, that’s what buying or selling a house is: a road to a new life.”