WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National
Association of Realtors® has honored 10
Realtors®, members of the National Association of
Realtors®, as finalists for its 2019 Good Neighbor
Awards. This award honors Realtors® who have made a
positive impact on their communities through extraordinary
volunteer service.
This year marks the 20th year the Good Neighbor
Awards program has recognized Realtor® volunteers.
During that time, $1.3 million in
grants has been awarded to more than 200 nonprofits led by
Realtors®. Their impact has been felt in 40 states, 15
countries and in Puerto Rico,
contributing hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable
fundraising and incalculable hours of volunteer time.
The Realtors® being honored have donated their time,
money and passion to enrich the lives of the people in their
communities.
"We are honored to have this group of extraordinary people
representing the Good Neighbor Awards as we celebrate the 20-year
milestone," says NAR President John
Smaby, Edina, Minnesota.
"They inspire us and epitomize 'who we are' as Realtors."
On October 2, five winners will be
named from among the 10 finalists. Winners will receive a
$10,000 grant and national media
exposure for their efforts, including a feature in the
November/December issue of REALTOR® Magazine. The
winners will also receive travel expenses to the 2019
REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco, where they will accept an award
in front of thousands of their peers. On October 2, the remaining five finalists will also
be named honorable mentions and receive a $2,500 grant in recognition of their work.
"The Good Neighbor finalists inspire and motivate action for the
greater good," said Tracey Fellows,
acting CEO of realtor.com, the primary sponsor of the Good Neighbor
Awards. "Realtor.com is proud to shine a spotlight on these
Realtors®, who truly bring the value of community
home."
The public is invited to vote for their favorites of the 10
finalists. The top three vote getters will win bonus grants of
$2,500, $1,250 and $1,250,
respectively, for their nonprofit organizations. Last year's
Web Choice Favorite voting program, which is sponsored and funded
by realtor.com®, generated a record of more than 165,000
votes. Cast your vote at realtor.com/goodneighbor/ between August 28 and September 28.
"The Good Neighbor Awards reflect the values we share with the
Realtor® family," said Fellows. "This year's finalists
represent the industry at its best – making meaningful connections
that count for people, families and communities."
THE 10 GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARDS FINALISTS ARE:
Sabrina Cohen
The
Sabrina Cohen Foundation
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Miami Beach, Fla.
Fourteen years after Cohen suffered a spinal cord injury, she
founded a nonprofit dedicated to funding adaptive fitness and
recreational activities for people with disabilities. She created
Miami Beach's first inclusive
playground, runs monthly Adaptive Beach Days and spearheads a
$10 million capital campaign to build
a state-of-the-art adaptive recreation center.
Rosemary
Dutter
Dutter House Inc.
Century 21 Affiliated, Beloit,
Wis.
To honor her beloved grandson who died at age 12, Dutter gives
parents of severely disabled children a break from their daily
challenges, transforming a local house into a safe, cheery and
kid-friendly place. While she lovingly cares for these children
each evening, their parents have time to run errands, spend quality
time with their other children or simply take time for
themselves.
Bruce Johnson, ABR®, CRS,
GREEN
SickKids Foundation/Children's Miracle Network
RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach Inc., Wasaga
Beach, Ontario, Canada
In memory of his daughter, Alyssa, who died in 1998 at 20 days old,
Johnson has traveled more than 37,000 miles across North and
South America on his motorcycle.
Johnson has raised more than $600,000
for Children's Miracle Network, which benefits the SickKids
hospital in Toronto where his
daughter was treated, and a network of children's hospitals.
Nora
Partlow
Neighborhood Health
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Alexandria, Va.
Partlow began supporting the neighborhood medical clinic when she
noticed patients waiting in her coffee shop. As the daughter of
immigrants, she understood the great need for affordable
healthcare. Her greatest contribution is her ability to connect
donors, patients and volunteers. In 21 years, she has raised
$550,000 and recruited hundreds of
supporters.
Kristy
Payne
Fostering Sweet Dreams Foundation
Keller Williams, Edmond, Okla.
As a foster parent, Payne learned about the needs of families who
may suddenly be asked to care for a child who is removed from a
relative's home. She provides necessities like beds and car seats
to help bridge the gap for families working to collect all the
resources required for placement. Since 2016, Payne has helped
2,000 children across 31 Oklahoma
counties.
Mark
Solomon
Veterans Community Project
Keller Williams, Kansas City, Mo.
and Longmont, Colo.
Solomon co-founded a nonprofit to eliminate veteran homelessness
through a "tiny house" development. The neighborhood includes an
outreach center where any veteran can access medical and mental
health referrals, employment assistance, and addiction counseling
and treatment. With the Kansas
City location nearly complete, Solomon is helping to expand
the cause nationwide.
Bahar Soomekh
Angel City Sports
Nourmand & Associates, Beverly Hills,
Calif.
Soomekh and her husband founded a nonprofit to help people with
physical disabilities stay active, renew their spirits and connect
with a supportive community. Inspired by her son, Ezra, who uses a
leg prosthesis, Soomekh runs athletic clinics and competitions for
adults and children with disabilities. The 2019 Angel City Games
drew 1,500 spectators to cheer on 430 athletes.
Kimberly
Strub
Schurig Center For Brain Injury
Recovery
Coldwell Banker, Mill Valley, Calif.
Strub leads a nonprofit that improves the lives of people with
brain injuries and their families through therapy, support groups
and social and recreational activities. In a decade, she has raised
$1 million, tripled both the annual
budget and the number of people served, and helped set up a
concussion protocol for children in the Marin County schools network.
Dale Taylor, ABR®,
GRI
South Suburban PADS
RE/MAX 10, New Lenox, Ill.
For 19 years, Taylor has spent nearly every Monday night with the
35 homeless men who gather at the shelter site he manages just
south of Chicago. From serving
food and mopping floors to making decisions as a board member and
raising nearly $3 million, Taylor
calls his volunteerism a "divine calling."
Paul Wyman, ABR®
Turning Point
The Wyman Group, Kokomo, Ind.
When he saw his community struggling with opioid addiction, Wyman
called a county-wide summit to find solutions. This summit led
Wyman to found a nonprofit that connects people affected by
addiction with the services required for recovery. Instead of red
tape, people now find a central resource to access help. Turning
Point helped 1,400 clients during the last year.
The National Association of
Realtors®' Good Neighbor Awards is
supported by primary sponsor realtor.com® and Wells
Fargo Home Mortgage. Nominees were judged on their personal
contribution of time as well as financial and material
contributions to benefit their cause.
Realtor.com®, The Home of Home Search, offers the most
MLS-listed for-sale listings among national real estate portals,
and access to information, tools and professional expertise that
help people move confidently through every step of their home
journey. Through its Opcity platform, realtor.com® uses data
science and machine learning to connect consumers with a real
estate professional based on their specific buying and selling
needs. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate 20
years ago, and today is a trusted resource for home buyers, sellers
and dreamers by making all things home simple, efficient and
enjoyable. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS,
NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual
license from the National Association of REALTORS®. For
more information, visit realtor.com®.
Wells Fargo Home Lending is one of the nation's
leading originators and the leading servicer of residential
mortgages, offering home loans to consumers through the country's
largest network of mortgage locations and bank branches, online,
and via phone. With more than 4,400 Home Mortgage
Consultants across the country, expanded digital capabilities, and
products and programs for today's market, Wells Fargo is committed
to meeting Realtor® expectations and homebuyer
needs. Focused on paving a path to stability and financial
success for underserved communities, Wells Fargo is a proud
sponsor of both the Good Neighbor Awards and Volunteering
Works, both of which recognize the extraordinary
contributions made by Realtors® in the communities
where we, together, live and serve.
The National Association of
Realtors® is America's
largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members
involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real
estate
industries.
Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org.
This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom under the
"About NAR" tab.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtor-good-neighbor-award-finalists-honored-for-impactful-volunteer-work-300908607.html
SOURCE National Association of Realtors