More than ever, in today’s changing real estate environment, homebuyers need the guidance of a dedicated buyer’s agent—an agent with the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation whose local expertise can fill the need.
“Earning the Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation not only sets you apart from the rest, but it shows homebuyers that you are committed to their success,” says Jennifer Rzeszewski, vice president and executive director for the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD). “ABR® designees have the education and skills to advocate for their clients throughout the real estate transaction. This year’s inductees join an elite group of buyer’s representatives.”
Because there are no rigidly defined requirements for inclusion in the REBAC Hall of Fame, candidates must have demonstrated in their own way that the skills they have acquired through training and experience are of value to the homebuyers they serve.
This year’s honorees, celebrated last month at NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience in Orlando, Florida, more than meet those criteria.
Providing Guidance and Support
A dominant force in the Austin-Cedar Park, Texas, real estate market for more than 17 years, Gilbert Gonzalez, who works under the banner of Coldwell Banker’s Home Connect 512, is known by his clients as a “straight talker” who quickly wins the confidence of buyers and sellers alike.
As one happy homebuyer noted recently, “Gilbert was attentive, a great person and an expert in his field who did an excellent job for us.”
Knowledgeable in all areas of buying and selling real estate in the greater Austin area, Gonzalez enjoys guiding first-time buyers through the complexities of finding their dream home.
“My goal is to help my buyers find the right property for them,” says Gonzalez. “First-time buyers, especially, need guidance and support—and it’s my pleasure to provide that.”
Over the past decade, Gonzalez has won a number of awards, including Austin’s Platinum Top 50, the Austin REAL Producers’ Top 500, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals’ Top 250 and Homesnap’s Top 15% Award. He is also an Austin Business Journal 2022 Residential Real Estate Awards nominee.
“I am blessed to work with a remarkable network of REALTORS®, lenders, title companies and clients,” says Gonzalez. “Being a 2022 REBAC Hall of Fame inductee is a dreamlike experience, and an honor I will work hard to live up to.”
A native Texan, Gonzalez and his wife, Angie, have four daughters and a son. When he isn’t assisting clients, he enjoys cooking and grilling for family and friends, and trying new foods and local restaurants. He also holds a fourth-degree purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a sport he pursues with nearly the same passion he reserves for his real estate career.
Helping Clients Meet Their Real Estate Goals
An accomplished REALTOR® in St. Louis, Missouri, Janet Judd was the first female police officer in the St. Louis County seat of Clayton before taking up her real estate career, and is a recent graduate of the St. Louis FBI Citizen’s Academy.
But real estate has been her life’s work for 35 years, and she especially enjoys working with buyers.
“I became a buyer’s agent because so many homebuyers need an extra measure of time and guidance, and I want them to have a happy experience,” says Judd, who works under the banner of RE/MAX Results. “My clients know that knowledge is power and that my ABR® designation means that I am specially trained to help them meet their real estate goals.”
No stranger to recognition in her chosen field, Judd has been honored with the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement and Lifetime Distinguished Service Awards. She has also been inducted into the RE/MAX International Hall of Fame and the REALTOR® Political Action Committee Hall of Fame. She was the 2016 Missouri Sales Associate of the Year and has been named a Five Star Real Estate Agent in the category of Best in Client Satisfaction 13 times by St. Louis Magazine.
She has also served as president of the Missouri Association of REALTORS® and the St. Louis Association of REALTORS®, and this year was appointed as a Missouri Real Estate Commissioner, a gubernatorial appointment approved by the Missouri Senate. She is past chair of the St. Louis REALTOR® Association’s Grievance Committee, Risk Management, Education, Professional Standards and Political Action Committee.
Married for 36 years, Judd and her husband, a software engineer, have a daughter who is a trained equestrian and a son who is a CPA. When she isn’t selling real estate, she is likely out for a ride on her Can-Am Spyder roadster or enjoying some play time with her Labrador/hound mix rescue dog, Baily.
Committed to Excellence
A broker with Parks Realty in Smyrna, Tennessee, Robert Morris graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and has been actively involved in real estate sales and training since 1985.
An international speaker, certified instructor and consultant who holds professional designations including Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Certified Real Estate Broker Manager (CRB), Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) and others in addition to ABR®, Morris has taught courses to thousands of real estate professionals across the country, instructing them in business planning and leadership management, professional standards, fair housing, diversity and more.
His goal, he says, is to raise the bar and make a positive difference in the lives of everyone he meets.
“I am blessed to be able to help others and humbled to be inducted into the REBAC Hall of Fame,” says Morris. “I see it as a very great honor and, I hope, as a reflection of my commitment to excellence in the industry that has been my life’s work.”
A certified instructor for the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) and the Women’s Council of REALTORS® (WCI), among others, Morris has led training workshops in the continental United States as well as in Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Puerto Rico and the British West Indies.
Closer to home, he was honored as REALTOR® of the Year in 2000, and in 2021, he received the Tennessee REALTOR®/Educator of the Year Award for the second time. Immediate past president of the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS®, he has served on the board of several Tennessee REALTOR® Associations and this year takes on a two-year term as National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) director from his home state. He has been appointed to the board of directors of the Real Estate Business Institute (REBI) and will serve on NAR’s Professional Development and Housing Opportunities Committees.
But Morris takes his honors in stride.
“My greatest asset is that I’m a human being who laughs and smiles a lot, and I love taking the time to find out what my clients need and working hard to help them get it.”
For more information, please visit https://www.abr.realtor.
