Seeking Good Neighbors for Community Service Awards

The Good Neighbor Awards recognize the ongoing efforts of individual REALTORS^® who are making exceptional contributions to improve the quality of life in their communities. Among the activities that qualify for consideration are involvement in affordable housing issues, improving the quality of education in an area, supporting initiatives aimed at a community's youth, and work on any other community-based programs.

Five winners will be selected. Winners will receive a $10,000 grant in the name of their community project, and earn the right to use the Good Neighbor Awards logo on their Web site and promotional materials. Winners and guests also will receive travel expenses to attend REALTORS^® Conference & Expo, where they will receive their awards.

"We created these awards to reward REALTORS^® for contributing to their communities, something so many of them do without any recognition," said REALTOR^® Magazine Editor Stacey Moncrieff. "By spotlighting these exceptional Good Neighbors, we hope to show the world at large the positive difference REALTORS^® make and to inspire REALTORS^® around the country to give back in to their communities."

About the contest

Five winners receive:

A $10,000 grant in the name of their community project

Coverage in REALTOR^® Magazine, Realtor Magazine Online and their local media

Travel expenses to attend the REALTORS^® Conference & Expo.

A prestigious crystal award presented at a public event at the NAR convention

Use of the Good Neighbors Awards logo on their Web site and promotional materials.

Eligibility Criteria
1. Nominees must be members of NAR in good standing.

2. Nominees should have contributed to a program that improves the livability of a local community. Those activities aren't limited to real estate or housing issues, and may include such things as crime prevention, youth mentoring, and homelessness prevention.

3. Nominees should have made a significant contribution of personal time, but contributions of money, materials, or other resources will be considered by the judges as well.

4. Nominees will be judged on level of personal contribution, impact of personal contribution, broadness of impact, and the project's suitability as a role model for other REALTORS^®.

5. The award is intended to recognize individual contributions, not association- or company-wide efforts. However, if an individual within your company can be singled out as instrumental to the success of a group effort, he or she is eligible. If the achievements of two people (such as a married couple or co-founders of an organization) absolutely cannot be separated, they can enter as a pair and their entry will be considered as one.

6. Some portion of the nominee's community work must have taken place during the time frame specified on the application form, but judges will also consider ongoing efforts outside that time frame that demonstrate a depth of commitment.

7. Nominees should be able to document the results of their individual involvement though published reports and/or testimonials from the organization they served or the people they helped.

8. Nominations must be accompanied by a completed entry form to be considered (REALTORS^® may nominate themselves or may be nominated by another NAR member, a state or local association, or the community organization they served). You must submit an original and four copies of the entire entry package.


Good Neighbor Awards Program Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Nominees must be members in good standing of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®.

REALTORS^® may nominate themselves or may be nominated by another NAR member, a state or local association, or the community organization they served.

To enter, complete and submit the official entry form include attachments and four duplicate copies of the entire entry package. To have information and an entry form faxed to you, call NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® at 800/874-6500.

Mail entries to:
GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARDS
REALTOR^® Magazine
430 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611-4087

Entries must be received by May 21, 2010, and 5:00 p.m. C.S.T. We must have five copies of your entry package (original and four duplicate copies). All entries shall become the property of NAR and will not be returned.

Ten finalists will be selected by a panel of REALTOR^® Magazine staff. The finalists' nomination materials will be sent to a panel of judges for scoring. Judges will award points to finalists' entries based on level of personal contribution, impact of personal contribution, and the project's suitability as a role model for other REALTORS^®. The five winners will be those who've been awarded the most points. The judges' decisions are final.

Nominees' entry information will not be given to anyone outside of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® and the judges; judges will receive only the information necessary to evaluate the candidate.

A $10,000 grant will be awarded to the community organization named on the entry form by each of the five winners. Grants can be divided among more than one organization only if the winner has documented those organizations on the entry form.

The staffs at REALTOR^® Magazine and the program sponsors will not take phone calls or release any information regarding the judges' identities, judging process, or status of the entries.

Finalists must sign an affidavit of eligibility and be willing to be interviewed, photographed, filmed, and featured in REALTOR® Magazine and REALTOR® Magazine Online.

Good Neighbor judges and their families and staff of the NAR, program sponsors, and their families are ineligible to participate.

REALTOR® Magazine, REALTOR® Magazine Online, program sponsors and the judges aren't responsible for late, stolen, or misdirected entries. Winners will be notified by telephone and mail.