I would love to find a mentor to help me find my way and so far the general consensus on finding mentorship is by attending local REI meetings. 

I'm not sure if you're looking for a mentor, but do you think you would like to be considered to be a apprentice to a real estate investor?

I recommend finding a mentor who can be a sounding board.

My next step will be to start attending REIA meetings and I'm hoping to find a mentor.  

Anyway, all I initially wanted was access to their "training".I rather take my business to a local RE meeting, hopefully find someone to mentor me and try my luck there.

so here's the story. my team and i are new (real new) to all of this. we are looking for mentors that we can learn from. when my sister first approached me with this idea i thought she was drinking again. but no. she is looking ahead and knows we must work together to be successful. three of us work full time, one inherited cash. credit for two of us is good, the other two-not so much. we heard about hard money lender and it sounds appealing because i didn't want to take out my 401k because if this deals go sour, i  will be in trouble. yes i will have my retirement (govern.civil service ). also, there are three adults crammed into a 2 bedroom 1 bath house and i want to buy a house. i am a veteran and never used my va loan benefit. question now is, should i buy a house with VA, wait a bit, use the equity to buy a rental?

Hello, my name is Steven Emfinger I live Winder, GA and am looking for a mentor.

Find a few mentors and pick there Brains.

Do I need a mentor?  

Also, networking with people near you can help you find a mentor that maybe can help you out start in your real estate goals.