Jacksonville Realtor Cathy Whatley is one of the state judges of this year’s Florida Association of Realtors Scholarship/Essay Contest for high school seniors.
The judges were announced last month and Whatley joins seven others for the state judging.
In addition, FAR announced the district panels which will judge essays, which this year must follow the theme of “How Does a Realtor Professional Benefit the Community?”
The local panels will decide the top three in the district, and they’ll get $5,000, $1,500 and $500, respectively.
The 13 district-winning essays now go on to compete for three state FAR scholarship awards — each worth an additional $5,000.
These state scholarship winners will be announced as part of FAR’s 90th annual Convention and Trade Expo, set for Sept. 13-17 at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Fla.
In addition to Whaley, the state panel includes FAR President Mike Dooley, a Realtor from Hobe Sound; Simone Marstiller, secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation; Dr. Wayne Archer, professor in business administration/real estate studies, University of Florida; Matey Veissi, a member of the Florida Real Estate Commission and a Miami Realtor; Frank Ryll, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce; Kurt Schultheis, real estate reporter for the Orlando Business Journal; and Dr. Sid Rosenberg, professor of real estate at North Florida University.
The District 1 judges are Florida Rep. Bill Proctor; Foy Maloy, publisher and editor of the Fernandina Beach News Leader & Nassau Record; Bill Haley of Brannon, Brown, Haley & Bullock, P.A.; Al Brennan, director and on-air personality with AM-1240 AM and AM-1420 AM radio stations in St. Augustine; Linda King, education advocate and volunteer, Jacksonville; and G. Matthew Wilson, FAR District 1 vice president.