Realtor Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of Realtors, is seeking nominations for its seventh annual Good Neighbor Awards. The program recognizes Realtors whose extraordinary commitment to volunteer work has helped make their community a better place to live.
In November, five winners will be announced in Realtor Magazine and will be recognized at the 2006 Realtors Conference & Expo in New Orleans. Each winner will receive travel expenses to the convention, national media exposure for their community cause, and a $10,000 grant-up from $7,500 last year. In addition to the winners, five honorable mentions will each receive a $2,500 grant. Last year’s program drew more than 300 entries.
NAR President Thomas M. Stevens said the Good Neighbor Awards brings attention to volunteer work that Realtors all over the country are quietly doing to help others.
“These people typically don’t seek the spotlight-but they deserve to be recognized. I’m proud that the Good Neighbor Awards gives NAR the opportunity to honor some of the many Realtors who volunteer in and help build their communities,” he said.
Last year’s winners — who contributed a combined total of nearly 6,000 hours to their causes — drew a standing ovation at the annual conference’s general session, a meeting of more than 6,000 Realtors.
The 2005 winners were David C. Forward, Weichert, Realtors, Medford, N.J., who founded the International Children’s Aid Foundation; Howard G. Freeman, Freeman Realty Inc., Gainesville, Fla., who founded STOP! Children’s Cancer; Greg Garrett, greg garrett realty.com, Newport News, Va., who founded Orphan Helpers; Carole E. Sharp, Coldwell Banker Neuhaus Real Estate, Staunton, Ill., who runs the Staunton Food Pantry; and Ouida Spencer, Re/Max Executives Inc., Atlanta, a volunteer with the United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia.
“We hope the magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards will inspire Realtors everywhere-a family of more than one million professionals-to give a little more or a lot more to help improve the quality of life in their communities,” said Realtor Magazine Editorial Director Pamela Geurds Kabati. “This award program is fundamentally about calling attention to how one person can make a difference in the lives of others.”
Good Neighbor Award winners say their charities benefit from much more than the grant money.
“When I received the Good Neighbor Award, it immediately brought attention to both of the projects I was working on,” said Craig Conant, Warrensburg, Mo., a 2001 Good Neighbor Award winner. “The publicity let people know about the needs of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and brought a great deal of attention to the Children’s Memorial Park. We received other donations and new volunteers from the publicity.”
Realtor Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by eNeighborhoods Inc., Fannie Mae, and LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. Additional support came from Phillip McGinnis, McGinnis Commercial Real Estate, Dover, Del.
“As founding sponsor of the Good Neighbor Awards, I get energized by what Realtors are accomplishing at the grassroots level to help their communities,” says Stu Siegel, CEO of eNeighborhoods Inc., who also personally contributes to the program through his family’s charitable foundation. “What I find most incredible about Good Neighbor recipients is the amount of personal time they devote to their projects, and how they unanimously feel that they would be less successful without integrating community service into their day-to-day businesses. These people are truly role models for all Realtors.”
Good Neighbor Awards entries must be received by Friday, May 26. For more details and a nomination form, call 800-874-6500, go to www. Realtor.org/realtormag and click the Good Neighbor button, or see the March 2006 issue of Realtor Magazine.