A Ponte Vedra Beach real estate investor — and a former tennis champion — is a finalists for a prestigious award from the National Association of Realtors.
MaliVai O. Washington of Washington Properties, LLC is one of 10 individuals up for the Good Neighbor Award, a contest sponsored by NAR’s Realtor magazine.
There will be five winners who will receive travel expenses to the Realtors Conference & Expo in Las Vegas in November and a $10,000 grant for their charity. The other five honorable mentions will each receive a $2,500 grant.
“It’s a terrific honor,” said Washington, a top tennis player who retired to Ponte Vedra and still plays in occasional senior events and exhibitions. ‘We’ve worked hard to help the community.”
FAR’s announcement cited his work:
“In 1994, Washington founded the The MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation, which promotes academic achievement and positive life skills to disadvantaged children through the game of tennis. In eight years, 254 first- through sixth-grade students have gone through the intense 5-day-a-week after-school program. The free program provides three hours daily of academic tutoring, community service work and character development, using tennis as a reward. The foundation also has touched thousands of kids through free tennis clinics.”
The other finalists are from Asheville, N.C., Grayton Beach, Fla., Joliet, Ill., Nashville,Tenn., San Diego, Calif., Fort Gratiot Township, Mich., Whittier, Calif. and two from Portland, Ore.
Realtor Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by eNeighborhoods Inc., which has supported the program since its inception. Co-sponsors are Lowe’s and LandAmerica. A contribution was also made by Phil McGinnis, CCIM, McGinnis Commercial Real Estate, Dover, Del.
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 members in good standing of NAR.
More information about the Good Neighbor Awards finalists is available at www.realtor.org/realtormag.