Over the past several years, RISMedia has honored many industry icons for their important contributions to the real estate industry during its annual Power Broker Dinner. This past Friday, RISMedia and its award sponsors inducted six more executive leaders into its elite group of honorees during the 20th anniversary of the Power Broker event held at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront during the National Association of REALTORS® Conference & Expo. The four awards were: RISMedia’s Tech Titan Award, sponsored by Homes.com. RISMedia’s National Homeownership Award, sponsored by RISMedia; RISMedia’s Real Estate Leadership Award, sponsored by Buffini & Company; and the ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ Award, sponsored by RE/MAX, LLC.
RISMedia’s Tech Titan Award, sponsored by Homes.com
RISMedia’s Tech Titan award, presented this year by Homes.com President David Mele, was given to Michael Pappas, president& CEO of Florida’s The Keyes Company. Accepting the award for Pappas was his daughter, Christina Pappas,district sales manager for the firm. The Tech Titan Award is presented to brokerage leaders who have demonstrated an exceptional ability to adapt and integrate new and innovative tools and services within their organization to improve and enhance the overall consumer experience.
“We are honored to sponsor this year’s Tech Titan award,” said Mele. “Founded in 1926, The Keyes Company has grown over the years to where it stands today with 2,300 associates in 35 offices, ranking 39th in closed transactions in RISMedia’s 2015 Power Broker Survey, making it clear that they are a powerhouse in the South Florida market.”
Accepting the award for Pappas was his daughter, Christina Pappas, district sales manager for the firm. “I am honored to accept this award on behalf of my father,” said Pappas. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to be among a room full of incredible industry frontrunners.”
RISMedia’s National Homeownership Award, sponsored by RISMedia
Presented this year by RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston, the National Homeownership Award is bestowed upon a member of the real estate community who continuously demonstrates extraordinary contributions toward increasing homeownership and building better communities. In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Power Broker Dinner, this year’s award recipients were Jim Sherry, president of James F. Sherry & Associates, Inc., and David Charron, president and CEO of one of the nation’s largest MLSs, the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS). Sherry and Charon were instrumental in founding the concept for the Power Broker Dinner with Featherston and RISMedia Executive Vice President Darryl MacPherson.
“If it wasn’t for the innovative, thoughtful, out-of-the-box thinking that took place 20 years ago, this event would never have occurred,” said Featherston, who noted that the importance of bringing leading brokers together at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo was the motivation behind the creation of the Power Broker Dinner.
“At the time, there was no formal process in place that recognized those who work day-in and day-out to keep the industry ticking,” said Sherry, “and that’s what has really made this concept work.”
“Jim is my great mentor,” added Charron, “and we have worked closely together over the years. It’s a great honor to receive this year’s National Homeownership Award, and I congratulate John and Darryl on this huge success.”
RISMedia’s Real Estate Leadership Award sponsored by Buffini & Company
Presented this year by Brian Buffini, chairman and founder of Buffini & Company, and Dermot Buffini, Buffini & Company CEO, the Real Estate Leadership Award is designed to honor an industry visionary who embraces innovation and exercises resilience to blaze new paths to success for real estate professionals and consumers alike. The winners of the 2015 Real Estate Leadership Award were Todd Hetherington and Mary Lynn Stone, CEO and president respectively of the metropolitan D.C. area’s, Century 21 New Millennium, named the 2014 No. 1 CENTURY 21 firm in the world for annual production for the third year in row.
“There are so many great people in this industry, and we’re fortunate to work with many of them,” said Dermot Buffini. “Todd and Mary Lynn are fabulous leaders who not only lead by example, they also lead with passion and are focused on helping their agents succeed.”
Taking the stage to accept this year’s Real Estate leadership Award, Hetherington paused to pay thanks to Featherston, MacPherson and the entire RISMedia team. “We are incredibly humbled and very grateful to be standing before you receiving such an honor. Tomorrow, we’re bringing back an award to the people who earned it – to every employee and sales professional that represents us on a daily basis and works belly-to-belly with today’s buyers and sellers.”
RISMedia’s ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ Award, sponsored by RE/MAX
The ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ Award was created to recognize those individuals whose efforts, works, deeds and character exemplify superior achievements in and for the real estate industry, yet whose efforts often go unnoticed. In a surprise presentation, this year’s ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ award was presented by RE/MAX President Geoff Lewis, to RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston. The presentation of the award was accompanied by a special industry tribute video to Featherston, who is celebrating both the 20th anniversary of the Power Broker Reception & Dinner and the 35th anniversary of RISMedia.
“I’m delighted to be able to present this year’s ‘On the Shoulder of Giants’ award that recognizes leaders who labor for the industry without thinking of themselves,” said Lewis. “This is even more true tonight because tonight’s recipient doesn’t even know he or she is receiving it.”
In true Featherston fashion, the RISMedia founder was quick to acknowledge the team behind his efforts. “Thank you to all of the tremendous friends, brothers and sisters I have in this industry,” said Featherston. “This is quite an honor and I couldn’t have done it without any of you.”
The 20th Annual Power Broker Reception & Dinner recognized those brokers showcased in RISMedia’s 2015 Power Broker Report & Survey. The invitation-only event, was sponsored by many industry-leading companies, including Platinum Sponsors Quicken Loans and Xome. Xome also sponsored the evening’s keynote speaker, actor, economist, lawyer and author, Ben Stein.
2015 Power Broker Event Sponsors Platinum Level
Quicken Loans®
Xome
Master Level
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Buffini & Company
Century 21® Real Estate
ERA Real Estate
Homes.com
National Association of REALTORS®
realtor.com®
RE/MAX, LLC
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Host Level
American Home Shield
DocuSign
HSA Home Warranty
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
Pillar To Post Home Inspectors
Realtors Property Resource®
Zillow
Event Level
David Knox Productions Inc.
Delta Media Group
Listingbook
Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies
MRE– Win Local®
Matterport
RealtyTrac
Stay tuned for more coverage of RISMedia’s 19th annual Power Broker Forum, Reception & Dinner in the coming days. Visit the Power Broker Event photo album on our Facebook page.
