REALTORS® have a long-standing tradition of aiding those in need, and many volunteer their time and energy to improving the lives of others in communities throughout the world. The National Association of REALTORS® recognizes those REALTORS® who demonstrate exceptional service through REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards, which is currently accepting applications.
Five winners will be announced in the November/December issue of REALTOR® Magazine. Each winner will be recognized at the 2014 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans and will receive a $10,000 grant for his or her charity. Winners will also receive travel expenses to the conference and national and local media exposure for their cause. In addition to the winners, five honorable mentions will each receive a $2,500 grant.
“This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Good Neighbor Awards,” says NAR President Steve Brown, broker/owner of Irongate, Inc. REALTORS® in Dayton, Ohio. “I am proud to witness the impact that the Good Neighbor Award winners have made around the world since 2000. This program reminds us that REALTORS® have a true passion for building strong communities.”
Last year’s Good Neighbor Award winners contributed a combined total of more than 8,000 hours to their causes and drew a standing ovation from thousands of REALTORS® and guests during the conference’s general session in San Francisco. The 2013 winners were Kenneth W. Davis from Welcome Home Realty, Boca Raton, Fla., for The Rotary Club of Boca Raton, Tomorrow’s Promise Community School, Cat Island Orphanage and Palm Beach State College Rotaract Club; Bernice Helman from Coldwell Banker Troy Helman REALTORS®, Terre Haute, Ind., for United Way of the Wabash Valley; Tina McDonough from RE/MAX Select, Renton, Wash., for Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Joel Pratt from J.L. Pratt REALTORS®, Canton, Mass., for MatchingDonors.com; and Kristina Rhodes from F.C. Tucker Emge REALTORS®, Newburgh, Ind., for Make-A-Wish.
Previous Good Neighbor Award winners say their charities benefited from the media exposure that resulted from winning the Good Neighbor Award, as well as the $10,000 grant. “The Good Neighbor Award was so much more than I ever imagined,” says 2013 Good Neighbor Award winner Kristina Rhodes, who won for being a local trailblazer with Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
“It will make an impact on me and Make-A-Wish for years to come. The media campaign that goes along with the Good Neighbor Awards would never have been possible for us to afford. Instead of being limited to only fund raising goals, we can now expand our focus to what we thought were goals that would only be viable in two to four years,” she says.
The Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by primary sponsor Liberty Mutual Insurance and REALTOR.com®. Nominees will be judged on their personal impact on the community through volunteer work. To be eligible, nominees must be NAR members in good standing.
Good Neighbor Award entries must be received by Friday, May 16, 2014. For more details and a nomination form, call 800/874-6500 or visit www.REALTOR.org/gna.
