Five Iconic Leaders Inducted Into RISMedia’s Prestigious Newsmakers Hall of Fame During Annual Awards Gala

Above, five industry leaders including (second from left) Emmett Laffey, Marki Lemons Ryhal, Richard Haggerty, Mike Hickman and (not pictured) Steve Morris, were inducted into RISMedia’s Newsmakers Hall of Fame during its 2026 Annual Awards Gala at the CEO & Leadership Exchange in Washington, D.C. Left, RISMedia’s Maria Patterson and far right, John Featherston. Photo by AJ Canaria.

During an evening of time-honored recognitions, RISMedia celebrated its 2026 Class of Real Estate Newsmakers along with the induction of five new members to its Real Estate Newsmakers Hall of Fame Thursday at its Annual Awards Gala, held during the company’s 38th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange at the Fairmont Georgetown hotel in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

The annual recognition of RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers Hall of Fame bestows special recognition upon long-standing industry icons who have made a lasting, positive impact on the real estate industry through their innovation, leadership and service.

The annual Real Estate Newsmakers program honors the industry’s most dynamic individuals for their previous year’s accomplishments and contributions to their companies, colleagues and clients, and to the larger cause of expanding and protecting homeownership. Nominated by RISMedia’s readers and editors, the more than 300 individuals in the 2026 class, along with this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, were announced Feb. 3.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are:

Richard Haggerty, CEO, OneKey® MLS, LLC
Mike Hickman, CEO Seven Gables Real Estate
Emmett Laffey, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty
Marki Lemons Ryhal, Global Keynote Speaker, Real Estate AI Industry Expert, Author, ReMarkiTable LLC
Steve Morris, Founder & Chairman, EXIT Realty Corp. International

During their acceptance of the honors, Hall of Famers praised their teams for their companies’ success and paid tribute to the event and past honorees.

“I have to tell you why this induction is so meaningful to me, (and it’s) John Featherston, Jay Featherston and the team they have built. They are just special, special people. But real quickly, I could not do this without my team. We have to surround ourselves with talent, because that is how we succeed, by surrounding ourselves with people who are smarter than we are. That’s always been my mantra. I want people who are going to elevate all of the team, as that is how we collectively succeed. So kudos to John and his team, but also a special shout out to my team, because they are exceptional. While I don’t think I’m deserving of this award, I am truly honored, and I thank all of you—and I thank the RISMedia team for this very, from my perspective, undeserved but important honor. Thank you so much.”

-Richard Haggerty, CEO, OneKey® MLS

“While a Hall of Fame induction can sound like something you receive when your journey’s over, I’m sorry to disappoint a lot of you, but that’s not the case. I’m still very curious. I’m still learning. I’m still challenging the status quo like there’s no tomorrow. And most of all, I intend on winning every single game I play. To RISMedia—John, your team, thank you for this extraordinary honor—to my family that I’m so blessed to have, my Seven Gables family, my mentors, my colleagues, competitors who became friends over the course of years, which I love because we now share information. And everyone who shared this journey with me, your fingerprints are all over this award.”

-Mike Hickman, CEO, Seven Gables Real Estate

“I’m very humbled to be in front of you all. I started in 1986, and very rarely do I look back on my life, and how long I’ve been in the industry, but I’m reflecting now because it’s a beautiful award—and I thank John and RISMedia. It’s been an amazing journey, and I’ve got to think how lucky I’ve been in the industry. Even though it’s been 41 years, I feel like there’s so much more to do, especially when you see all these people presenting here these last few days and all the tech that’s happening. I love to see you all and to tell our war stories from back when I was an independent back in the ’90s. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I greatly appreciate it.”

-Emmett Laffey, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty

“Tonight, I want you to make a decision about what will happen next. Sixty-six percent of our industry is female, and this year the median age of a Realtor® is 57. The moment when a woman who has performed at her highest level for your organization suddenly says, ‘I don’t feel like myself,’ it’s not simply a woman’s issue. It is a real estate business issue, because when your top producers struggle to remember, organize, follow up, communicate and execute at the level they once did, your bottom line is feeling it. I came into real estate for a very simple reason: I wanted to feel like a stay-at-home mom and earn an above-average income. Real estate has given me far more than that, so I’m going to ask you plainly, What are we going to do? What are we going to build, fund, teach and implement so women carrying the institutional knowledge and the production inside of your companies can remain healthy enough, supported enough and technologically equipped enough to keep producing for you.”

-Marki Lemons Ryhal, Global Keynote Speaker, Real Estate AI Expert, Author, ReMarkiTable

“To receive a gratification like this, I’ve spent my whole career doing whatever is necessary to bring out the most and the best in the real estate agents so they would win awards and trophies and things for their accomplishments—and so seldom has it ever been a situation where I got an award myself. And so I’m extremely pleased with that, and couldn’t be happier with that. This credit is something special that I will hold in high esteem for the rest of my entire life. Knowing and understanding the difficulties and the challenges that everybody in the audience has running real estate brokerages, but it’s something that I absolutely love. This was all based on an idea whose time had come, and we’re not finished by any shade of the imagination. This award is the crowning achievement—and I especially thank everybody involved with regard to this. It’s so gratifying and enchanting to win this.”

-Steve Morris, Founder & Chairman, EXIT Realty Corp. International

RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston hailed the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees as “shining examples” of resilience and integrity as they navigate an historic year in real estate.

“Through ongoing challenges and historic changes in our industry in 2026, from economic uncertainty to rising interest rates, from the private listings debate to massive consolidation, our Newsmakers served as shining examples of what it takes to succeed, come what may,” said RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston. “Our 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers demonstrated the dedication, ingenuity and integrity it takes to serve their companies, clients and communities at the highest level. They stand out as true professionals we all can look up to, and I extend my sincere congratulations to each and every one of them.”

Honoring the 2026 class of 300-plus Newsmakers

RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston also celebrated the 2026 class of Newsmakers for their work and contributions to the industry.

“The work you’ve done this past year to keep your businesses growing, serve your agents and clients and continue to advance the larger cause of homeownership, especially amid a year with ongoing economic uncertainty, evolving industry policies and massive consolidation, is something to be incredibly proud of,” he said. “Your continued accomplishments and contributions to our industry and homeownership across this nation do not go unnoticed.”

RISMedia’s 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers are showcased in an online directory on RISMedia.com, and within the Spring issue of Real Estate magazine, in the following categories: Influencers, Trailblazers, Futurists, Achievers, Crusaders and Luminaries.

There’s still time to nominate a 2027 Newsmaker – the deadline is Oct. 21. Click here to nominate!

RISMedia’s 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers showcase is sponsored by:

Title Sponsor

REMAX

Diamond Sponsor

Realty ONE Group International

Master Sponsors

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Inside Real Estate
Cinch Home Services
Cotality
Fiji
MoxiWorks
rechat.
Zillow