Multiple representatives from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Marketing, Communications & Events (MCE) team were recently recognized by two nationwide organizations for their accomplishments over the past year. Victoria Gillespie, NAR’s chief marketing and communications officer and the senior executive atop its MCE team, was named one of Ragan’s Top Women in Communications for her work leading a unit which “demonstrated itself to be adept at seeing around the corners and telling captivating stories.”
In addition, Gillespie’s public relations and communications group was awarded a spot on Ragan’s 2021 “Communications Teams of the Year” list, while MCE’s own Emily Newman was honored as a finalist for the Washington Women in Public Relations’ 2021 Emerging Leaders Awards.
“One of our core values at NAR is putting members first, and that key theme drives this association’s employees every day,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “But without the vision and proficiency of NAR’s communications team, REALTORS® and U.S. consumers would never recognize the true extent of our efforts to propel real estate and property ownership forward in America.”
In nearly three years leading MCE, Gillespie has overseen NAR’s pivot to a fully virtual events operation, its strategic communications operation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of the most successful consumer advertising campaign in the association’s 113-year history, according to the company. Gillespie was recognized specifically within Ragan’s “Visionary Leadership” category.
As part of its response to the pandemic, NAR’s public relations team conceptualized and created the REALTOR® Resiliency Report—a comprehensive weekly update sent to thousands of professionals under the NAR umbrella to ensure consistent and universal external messaging—while generating extensive major media coverage with “Weekly Flash Surveys” measuring the pulse of REALTORS® in communities across the U.S.
Mantill Williams, Troy Greene, Justin Jones, Patrick Newton, Janelle Brevard, Wes Shaw, Christina Hoffman, Emily Newman and Quintin Simmons make up NAR’s PR group.
“In a year unlike any other, the task in front of NAR’s communications team was more immense and important than it’s ever been,” Goldberg continued. “Our association mobilized immediately in response to the pandemic, and the stories we told on Capitol Hill, through the media and to virtual audiences everywhere helped ensure real estate was able to keep this nation’s economy moving forward.”
Newman, a senior speechwriter at NAR, was also recognized by WWPR as it honors “outstanding young women in the Washington, D.C. metro area who have excelled in public relations and related fields.”
For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.
