Good Neighbors: Heroes With Heart

FEATURE: REALTOR® Magazine’s 2007 Good Neighbor Awards

Heroes With Heart

Five individuals demonstrate a commitment to service.

BY SARA GEIMER, GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARDS MANAGER

Don’t ever discount the power of one. If you’ve ever thought you alone couldn’t make a difference in solving seemingly insurmountable problems like poverty and homelessness, you may think differently after reading these stories of REALTORS® who changed people’s worlds.

One provides clean water and medical care to villagers in remote northern Haiti; one gives runaway teens a chance; one opens her home to girls who’ve aged out of foster care; one helps troubled veterans reclaim their lives; and one helps homeless families stay together.

All five are winners of REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Award.

Together, the five winners raised millions of dollars for their causes and volunteered nearly 8,000 hours last year — an average of 30 hours a week for each one of them.

You may wonder how they can commit so much time and energy — especially while they juggle their personal lives and real estate careers. When asked, they all say they get back so much more than they give.

Although their passion for helping other people takes them in different directions, the Good Neighbors are united in their belief that one person can make a difference.

We hope you enjoy reading about each of this year's winners and watching their videos. If you're not inspired yet, you will be soon.

Read About the 2007 Good Neighbor Award Winners:

In Memoriam

2002 Good Neighbor Award winner Linda Norton passed away on September 22 after a three-year battle with cancer. Norton, 57, was well-known in Northern Colorado as a passionate advocate for affordable housing. As chair of Funding Partners for Housing Solutions, Norton launched innovative programs to provide affordable housing to thousands of low-income home buyers and renters. In one project, she led a renovation that created 47 apartments for low-income seniors and saved a historic building.

Big Thanks to Our Sponsors and Judges

The Good Neighbor Awards wouldn’t be possible without generous sponsors. Founding sponsor eNeighborhoods Inc., a Dominion Enterprises company and REALTOR Benefits® partner, provides real estate practitioners with marketing tools built around the detailed data it has compiled on every neighborhood in the United States. Lowe’s, a REALTOR Benefits® partner, has been working with customers to maintain and improve their homes for more than 60 years. LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. is a leading provider of real estate transaction services and is on Fortune magazine’s 2006 list of the most admired companies. Phil McGinnis, ccim, McGinnis Commercial Real Estate, Dover, Del., also contributed.

Thanks also to the judges, who spent many hours reviewing in-depth applications and making tough decisions. Pamela Beard, NAR Communications Committee chair; Robert W. Caldwell III, NAR Housing Needs Committee chair; Martin Edwards Jr., CCIM, CIPS, 2002 NAR president; Richard Gaylord, CIPS, CRB, CRS®, GRI, NAR president-elect; Jim John, LandAmerica senior vice president; Frank Sibley, REALTOR® Magazine publisher and NAR senior vice president of communications; Stuart Siegel, Dominion Enterprises vice president and eNeighborhoods founder; and Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice president and CEO.

About the Program

REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards program, now in its eighth year, recognizes REALTORS® who’ve made an extraordinary commitment to community service. The awards received more than 320 nominations in 2007, a record. This is evidence of what we already knew — that REALTORS® across the nation are giving back to their communities.

To help the Good Neighbor winners continue their work, the program awards each of their charitable organizations a $10,000 grant. The winners will be honored on Nov. 14 during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

Are you a Good Neighbor? Learn how to contribute to current and past winners’ organizations and nominate yourself or a colleague for the 2008 awards. The nomination deadline is May 23, 2008.

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