The Florida Association of Realtors has honored several local Realtor boards/associations with Board Achievement Awards for 2005.
Each year, FAR presents a Board Achievement Award to one Board/Association in each size category: small (1-499 members), medium (500-999 members), large (1,000-2,499 members) and mega (2,500+ members). The criteria for the award includes how well the group meets the needs of local members, how involved the group is with the state and national Realtor organizations, and how much the group supports the community.
Small: Key West
The Key West Association of Realtors captured this year’s award. Among other accomplishments, the association participated in the local “Relay for Life” effort for the American Cancer Society, winning first-place in its category and raising more than $17,000 for the agency.
Members also participated in a number of fundraisers for the association’s scholarship fund – a total of eight scholarships totaling $10,000 were awarded to high school seniors this year. Key West Realtors also raised more than $8,000 for the “Just for Kids” program for needy children at Christmas time and were involved with “Sponsor a Marine for the Holidays” to send care packages to Marines serving in Iraq. The association sponsored a number of education courses to benefit its members, including a popular series of “Brown Bag Luncheon” sessions on topics of interest to local Realtors.
Medium: Venice
The Venice Area Board of Realtors won for medium-size organizations for 2005. To help a neighboring Realtor association, the board sponsored a clean-up day in the aftermath of the 2004 hurricanes that hit the state last year, helping storm victims with their clean-up efforts. The organization also spearheaded a coalition of nonprofit groups that work together to solve workforce housing problems in the area. In addition, members also raised $21,000 for local student scholarships; donated food baskets and toiletries for needy families during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays; collected Back to School items for needy children; and worked with the county’s “Brush Up” program to help paint houses for those in the community in need of home repair. The board also offered education classes and membership meetings, such as a new Brokers’ Forum and monthly Dale Carnegie programs featuring various topics of interest to members.
Large: Space Coast
Winning for a large board was the Space Coast Association of Realtors, which became a significant partner with its local Economic Development Commission this year, intent on working with other community leaders to identify and recruit new industry to the area. The organization also offered a well-received Broker Liaison Program, which facilitates increased interaction between the association and its broker members. Through funding and volunteers, the Space Coast association is a major sponsor of the countywide “United We Paint” program; this year, volunteers were able to paint and repair more than 40 homes of needy individuals or families in just one day. The association also organized and provided volunteers to the Salvation Army for its supervised visitation program, which allows children who have been removed by the courts to visit with their parents under outside supervision.
Mega: Palm Beaches
In the mega-size category, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches received FAR’s Board Achievement Award for 2005. Among other activities this year, the association sponsored an Employer Assisted Housing Training (EAH) program with support from FAR and Fannie Mae. EAH programs are designed to help employers and Realtors partner to develop benefits that can help workers in the area purchase homes. Members also worked through their Realtor Education Alliance to support the successful passage of a countywide one-half-cent sales tax increase last November that will raise money for the construction and improvement of county schools. In addition, the Palm Beaches association donated $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity for the construction of two local homes, and supported Junior Achievement, the local Mentor Center for at-risk youth, and the American Red Cross. The group developed a successful member outreach program through which the director of marketing/public relations meets members via office visits, presentations at company sales meetings and other functions to encourage participation and involvement in the association.