2004 Annual Report: Awards and Recognition

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
2004 Annual Report: Awards and Recognition

Celebrating Homeownership Opportunities for Minorities
The HOPE Awards (Home Ownership Participation for Everyone) recognize organizations and individuals who are making outstanding contributions to increasing minority homeownership. The HOPE awards are given every other year; they’ll be given next in 2005. A distinguished panel of judges determines award winners based upon their impact on the community served. Award winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and a trophy at a gala celebration in Washington, D.C. Recipients also participate in a HOPE Awards symposium and news conference, where they can discuss their projects and answer questions from journalists and housing experts. In 2003, the most recent year in which the awards were held, HOPE Awards were given to the following recipients:

Brokerage Award: Emily Moerdomo Fu, RE/MAX Greater Atlanta International
Education Award: Deborah Howard, Pratt Area Community Council, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Finance Award: Rev. Elmira Vincent, Mission of Peace Housing Counseling Agency, Flint, Mich.
Project of the Year: Christopher Kui, Suffolk Homes by Asian Americans for Equality, New York, N.Y.
Public Policy Award: Shanna Smith, National Fair Housing Alliance, Washington, D.C.
HOPE Leadership Award: Rev. James Dickerson, Manna Inc., Washington, D.C.

Creating Local Housing Opportunities
Through its Housing Opportunity Program (HOP), NAR is working to create more affordable housing opportunities throughout the country. HOP’s mission: to position REALTORS® as leaders in identifying, developing, advocating, and promoting business opportunities, programs, products, and resources that expand housing availability and ensure housing opportunities in both the rental and homeownership sectors of the market.

To achieve the mission, HOP participated in and initiated in activities at both the national and local levels.
Nationally, HOP commissioned its annual Pulse Survey in May of 1,000 adults in 25 large media markets, which showed a public desire for local officials to do more to promote housing opportunities, as well as a public willingness to build more affordable housing. The survey results appeared on the front page of USA Today and also were highlighted in publications and on Web sites of national housing organizations.
HOP also participated in efforts to increase minority homeownership, such as by joining in the White House Initiative on Minority Homeownership, an alliance of public- and private-sector organizations, whose goal is to increase minority homeownership, and Freddie Mac's Dispel the Myths program. In the latter, Freddie Mac partnered with REALTORS® and counseling agencies to dispel myths minorities may hold about homeownership and educate minority individuals so that they may realize the goal of homeownership.
Housing Opportunity Advisory Board members and staff raised HOP’s visibility by participating in and speaking at several events throughout the year, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Housing Conference, HUD's Affordable Housing Roundtable, the National Emerging Markets Symposium, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.’s "Changing Minds; Building Communities,” and several state and local association housing opportunity programs.
In 2004, HOP and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. joined forces to create local partnerships between REALTORS® and counseling agencies, resulting in more educated and qualified homebuyers.
HOP partnered with the National Building Museum to conduct events in the 10 cities where the museum's affordable housing exhibit will travel between 2005 and 2007. These events will provide an opportunity for local REALTORS® to gather city, state, and federal officials, as well as to begin a meaningful conversation on promoting housing opportunities in those cities.
In 2004, to promote housing opportunities on a city-by-city basis, HOP launched the Ambassadors for Cities program. This NAR and U.S. Conference of Mayors joint effort is intended to increase the number of affordable housing units in the rental and ownership segments of specific communities. Ambassadors’ events were held in four cities, including Memphis, Tenn.; Ft. Collins, Colo.; Washington, D.C.; and Winter Park, Fla. The events resulted in tangible new housing opportunity initiatives, including resource guides for potential homeowners, a downpayment assistance fund, and a REALTOR® certificate educational program. HOP hopes to engage eight to 10 local REALTOR® associations in the Ambassadors program in 2005.

It’s the collective power of local REALTORS®, city officials, and housing organizations that’s most effective in finding solutions to local affordable housing concerns. In 2004, the number of local and state REALTOR® housing opportunity initiatives rose from 150 to 200. HOP will continue to assist local boards and associations in developing programs.

REALTORS® Making a Hometown Difference
REALTOR® Magazine’s annual Good Neighbors Awards program recognizes REALTORS® who’ve made an extraordinary commitment to improving the quality of life in their community through volunteering. In 2004, the awards were sponsored by eNeighborhoods Inc., the founding sponsor; Fannie Mae; and Pulte Homes Inc. Winners received $7,500 grants for their charitable organizations and were sent, expenses paid, to the 2004 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., to be honored during the General Session.

The 2004 winners are:
Thomas Bush, Coldwell Banker Triad, REALTORS®, Commercial Division, Winston-Salem, N.C. Bush has been a strong advocate for child abuse prevention since 1979 when he helped bring the first of nine Stop Child Abuse Now centers to North Carolina. Today, the centers provide prevention and treatment programs to 10,000 people each year.
Robin Croft, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Warwick, R.I. Croft founded The John T. Croft Recovery House, in memory of her father, to provide transitional housing for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. The house, which she bought, renovated, and furnished with her own money, has served 125 women since 2003.
Ned C. Li, H & I Real Estate, Rockville, Md.In 1982, Li founded the Chinese Culture & Community Service Center and has built it into a major culture, education, recreation, and community service organization with more than 2,000 members. Its 350 volunteers sponsor meals for the homeless and health clinics for the uninsured.
Thomas Maloney, Liberty Pierre Joseph Realty Inc., Pittsfield, Mass. As chair of the Disaster Action Team for the American Red Cross, Berkshire County Chapter, Maloney arranges emergency shelter, clothing, and basic necessities for victims of fires and natural disasters. He has personally responded to hundreds of calls, most in the middle of the night.
Diane Mintz, Marvin Gardens Real Estate, Berkeley, Calif. As a tutor in poverty-stricken Richmond, Calif., Mintz learned how few children ever ventured outside of their downtrodden neighborhood. In 2000, she founded Youth Enrichment Strategies, which has sent 1,000 low-income kids to sleepover camp, exposing them to new experiences and a world of possibilities.

In addition, five honorable mentions each earned $1,500 for their community causes. The 2004 honorable mentions are:
Linda Asbee, Century 21 Sparow-Shoreline, Long Beach, Calif., for For the Child
Melissa Deputy, Prudential New Jersey Properties, Flemington, N.J., for Hunterdon County Foster and Adoptive Families
Leslie Edwards, CRS®, ABR®, GRI, RE/MAX Advantage, Fayetteville, Ga., for Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity
Robert Kevane, The Kevane Co. Inc., La Mesa, Calif., for Boys & Girls Club of East County, St. Augustine High School, and San Diego Blood Bank
Sandra Martin, RE/MAX Executives Inc., Atlanta, for The Lifekeeper Foundation

To learn more about the 2004 winners, how to nominate someone for the 2005 awards (the deadline is May 27, 2005), and how you can make a difference in your community, visit REALTOR® Magazine Online’s Good Neighbor Tool Kit.