For 22 years, the Good Neighbor Awards has recognized REALTORS® who make an extraordinary impact on their communities through volunteer work. The five individuals named as this year’s National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Good Neighbor Award winners serve as an example of how REALTORS® make their communities a better place to live, work and raise a family.
“Once again, we have a remarkable class of winners from across the nation,” said NAR President Charlie Oppler, a REALTOR® in a statement. “As these REALTORS® demonstrate every day, one individual can make a tremendous, positive impact on a community by volunteering. I am so proud to honor this year’s Good Neighbor Award winners for making a difference in so many lives.”
Each of the five winners—selected by a multistage, criteria-based judging process—will receive a $10,000 grant for their charity and will be featured in the Fall 2021 issue of REALTOR® magazine. They will also be presented with crystal trophies on Saturday, Nov. 13, during the 2021 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego.
The 2021 Good Neighbor Award winners are as follows:
Bob Bell, Mile Hi Property, Denver, Colorado
Every Friday before dawn, Bell and hundreds of volunteers meet to pack and deliver weekend meals to 10,000 at-risk schoolchildren across 72 Denver-area schools. In nine years, Bell has turned Food for Thought into a powerhouse, with 497,205 backpacks of food—the equivalent of nearly 4 million meals—delivered to date.
Sydney Ealy, Brooks & Davis Real Estate, Houston, Texas
Ealy founded TWST4Girls in 2014. The nonprofit organization works to help at-risk teen girls boost their self-esteem, discover potential career paths, learn valuable life skills and hold regular, one-on-one meetings with adult mentors.
Brent Gieseke, Exit Realty Professionals, Kansas City, Montana
Gieseke wears many hats as a volunteer serving the needs of refugee families through the nonprofit Agape Pamoja. Since 2018, he’s helped acquire and renovate 24 homes, which he calls “Blessing Houses,” throughout Kansas City. He also leads a leadership training group that helps teens learn job and life skills.
Kibe Lucas, KW The Kibe Lucas Team, Wasilla, Alaska
For 20 years, Lucas has been a passionate board member for The Children’s Place, a nonprofit that offers hope to children and families impacted by child abuse. Lucas used his real estate experience to secure land for a state-of-the-art headquarters, for which he also raised half a million dollars and recruited countless supporters which to date have helped 4,000 children in his community.
Christina Sauger, Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc., Clearwater, Florida
Sauger founded The Harbor Dish, a nonprofit that provides healthy meals and emotional support to anyone in her community, regardless of their ability to pay. The mobile program facilitates large-scale community dinners which are held on a pay-what-you-can model, while also delivering hot meals to senior and homebound residents, foster children, domestic violence survivors and others in need.
In addition to the winners, five REALTORS® have been recognized as Good Neighbor Award honorable mentions and will each receive $2,500 grants:
– Dawn M. Adams, The Palmetto Real Estate Company, Aiken, South Carolina, for Abolish Slavery Coalition
– Sharon Chambers-Gordon, Windermere Professional Partners, Tacoma, Washington, for Raising Girls
– Chris Cockerham, F.C. Tucker/Bloomington REALTOR®, Bloomington, Indinana, for New Hope for Families
– Denny and Linda Ellsworth-Moore, Coldwell Banker Hubbell BriarWood-Delta, Lansing, Michigan, for Child and Family Charities
– Raymond Siddell, Keller Williams Legacy Group, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for Together We Achieve
Finally, the public was invited to vote for their favorite of the 10 finalists. The following REALTORS® have been crowned as this year’s Web Choice Favorites:
– Brent Gieseke, who will receive an additional $2,500 bonus donation for Agape Pamoja
– Raymond Siddell, who will receive an additional $1,250 for Together We Achieve
– Denny Moore & Linda Ellsworth-Moore, who will receive an additional $1,250 for Child and Family Charities
“The Good Neighbor Awards reflects our shared commitment to purposeful work and giving back to our communities,” said sponsor realtor.com® CMO Mickey Neuberger in a statement. “It’s an honor to recognize these REALTORS® for their outstanding efforts, who represent the spirit of generosity and goodwill that is at the heart of the real estate community.”
Nominees were judged on their personal contribution of time as well as financial and material contributions to benefit their cause. To be eligible, nominees must be NAR members in good standing. The Good Neighbor Awards have been granted annually since 2000. Nearly $1.4 million in grants have been awarded to 220 REALTOR®-led charities.
For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor/good-neighbor-awards.
