Planning for College? Florida Realtors® Offers a Total of $28,000 in Scholarship Awards

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida high school seniors: Are you filling out college applications and poring over potential scholarship programs? Then make plans to enter the Florida Realtors®' 2010-2011 Scholarship Essay Contest for High School Seniors for a chance to win up to $6,000 in scholarship funding.

Entering the contest is easy. Students write a typed, double-spaced essay – 500 words or less – on the topic, "How Does a Realtor Professional Benefit the Community?" This topic allows students the freedom to write about the wide range of Realtor professionals who work in a variety of fields, including residential brokerage, commercial brokerage, industrial and office brokerage, farm and land brokerage, real estate appraising, property management, land development and real estate counseling, to name just a few of the general specialties. Or essays may address such points as the benefits of homeownership to society, or to families on a personal level, or how the selling of commercial real estate encourages economic growth.

"Realtors in Florida know that investing in our children is a great way to build a better future," says 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia "Patti" Fitzgerald, broker-manager with Illustrated Properties in Stuart. "Through our successful scholarship essay contest, now in its 11th year, Florida Realtors helps deserving young people go to college and achieve their dreams. We feel privileged to give these students a financial boost that starts them on their path to success – our scholarship essay contest is just one way that Realtors give back to their communities."

Florida Realtors' scholarship essay contest benefits students from across the state, with first-place winners honored in each of the association's 13 districts in the state. Students turning in the top district-winning essays will each receive a $1,000 scholarship award. The 13 district-winning essays will go on to compete to win three $5,000 Florida Realtors scholarships on the statewide level, for a total of $28,000 in scholarship awards. All essays, along with an official Essay Cover Form, must be postmarked before or on Feb. 9, 2011, and mailed to the Florida Realtors, 7025 Augusta National Drive, P.O. Box 725025, Orlando, FL 32872-5025.

Check with the high school guidance office to obtain an application kit and essay cover form for Florida Realtors' 2010-2011 Scholarship Essay Contest for High School Seniors. Or go to Florida Realtors' Media Center website, (http://media.floridarealtors.org) to download the scholarship/essay contest application kit, official cover form and list of District Vice Presidents.

Florida Realtors' statewide scholarship essay contest is open only to high school seniors who reside in the state of Florida and plan on continuing their education at a college, university, technical school or other institution of higher learning. The college or institution of higher learning does not have to be located within the state of Florida. Children whose parents are licensed real estate practitioners are not eligible for contest entry; nor are children whose parents are employed by any local Realtor board/association or by the Florida Realtors.

Just think: Write 500 words or less and win up to $6,000 – scholarship money that could cover the cost of tuition at a local community college or pay for a lot of the tuition costs at a Florida state university.

Florida Realtors®, formerly known as the Florida Association of Realtors®, serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 115,000 members in 65 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

SOURCE Florida Realtors