Realtors honored for service

Timing is everything. And the timing was excellent for guest speaker Ron Nilson's message of community at the quarterly Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors general membership meeting last Tuesday.

Nilson, who built the successful, Ground Force Manufacturing in Post Falls stressed the importance of giving as a component of success in his address to the crowd. His efforts to aid the homeless by providing a warming center that saves lives in our community is a shining example.

The message was especially relevant since this was our meeting to honor those in our association who give of themselves so we may give back to our community. It is not only people who sell houses that contribute to our association. Understanding that our strength, like the strength of our community, includes people from all walks of life, we expanded our awards to acknowledge the hard working volunteers that make our fundraising events, and our association, successful. Those folks include our affiliate and sponsor members; title companies, insurance companies, home inspectors, landscapers, bankers, even St. Vincent de Paul which sponsored a booth at our annual Chili Cookoff.

At this meeting we awarded nearly 50 "Circle of Excellence" awards to our Realtor members who demonstrated a commitment to the industry through community service, education and sales production.

This year we added awards to better reinforce that it is more than real estate that makes our association strong. Our Rookie Realtor of the year, Joe Rosen of Keller Williams Real Estate, was selected due to his tireless community service through a variety of charitable organizations in addition to his dedication to fairness and honesty in his new real estate business. Joe serves on the Green Team of the North Idaho Building Contractors Association and is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho.

We also recognized, for the first time, a Realtor who primarily practices in commercial sales and leasing. Pat Eberlin of Coldwell Banker Commercial is our 2012 Commercial Realtor of the year. Pat is involved in youth sports as a baseball coach at Coeur d'Alene, past president of the Coeur d'Alene Traders Club and a presenter at the Real Estate Forum. In the first half of his first year on our board of directors, Pat has spearheaded the development of commercial real estate forms. This achievement provides us with a comprehensive purchase and sale agreement specifically for commercial properties which will be implemented statewide next month.

New this year too, is our Affiliate of the year award. This inaugural award was presented to Vince Vargas of Vargas Inspections. Vince has become such a fixture at our association events that it is not unusual for someone to ask, "Where's Vince?" in his absence. Vince was recognized for his contributions and donations to our organization, service on our Community Outreach committee and for his unwavering support of our area military veterans.

Our Humanitarian of the year award was presented to Rick Noordam of Lakeshore Realty. Rick is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a former Parks and Recreation Commissioner, a beekeeper who raises bees so he can donate their honey, is the 2011-2012 chair of the Community Garden and a volunteer for Post Falls Days, Fourth of July celebration, Idaho Veterans, local food banks, Post Falls Education Foundation, shovels snow for disabled and elderly, and has been on several Governor Appointed Advisory boards.

At this meeting we also named our perennial, Realtor of the year. Our ROTY for 2012 is Cindy Sweeney, also of Lakeshore Realty, who is President of our State Certified Residential Specialist chapter. Cindy too, is one of those tireless volunteers who, in addition to her busy real estate practice, always finds time to say, "Yes" when asked to contribute for the greater good of our community and our association.

The icing on the cake and the perfect conclusion to this meeting honoring community service excellence was our check for $3,074 to the fledgling Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County. Presented by our Community Outreach committee chair, Heather Wichman of Pioneer Title, to Ron Nilson and Gwynn Crabtree of the club. This check was the result of a recent fundraiser by that committee and the efforts of many of those recognized above and many we hope to recognize with future awards. Thank you each and every one.

Ask your Realtor about their community involvement. If they're not committed to their community, how committed will they be to you?

Trust an expert... call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.

Kim Cooper is a real estate broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664.