Emmaline “Miss Emmie” Harrison Norman
1873 - 1965
In 1930, Mrs. Emmaline “Miss Emmie” Harrison Norman entered into the real estate business out of her sincere desire to see customers’ receive better service. Her husband, Harry Norman, Sr., was an engineer for the Southern Bell Telephone Company and she was a housewife. They were in the midst of building a new home in the Garden Hills neighborhood of Atlanta when the stock market crashed. Since many of their subcontractors had gone bankrupt, the Norman’s were advised to sell the home to clear up the outstanding liens. Finding no customer service-focused residential representation, Miss Emmie went to Atlanta City Hall and paid $5 for her business license. Mrs. Harry Norman & Associates, Atlanta’s first exclusively residential real estate company was born! She listed and sold the home…and for a profit!
The 1930s were no ordinary times and Emmaline Norman was no ordinary woman. In spite of the harsh reality that many businesses did not survive the Great Depression, Miss Emmie, as she was known, held fast to her vision for the future. She was a successful business woman working in an industry dominated by men. She was not even allowed to become what is now known as the Atlanta Board of REALTORS until her second decade of business. Visionaries see beyond the present moment.
Since the beginning, Miss Emmie’s enthusiasm and determination to provide the best real estate service possible was both inspirational and infectious. Her first group of sales associates, “Miss Emmie’s Girls”, grasped her vision and together they forged an enviable place in Atlanta real estate by providing superior customer service. Her vision continues more than 85 years later.
