Texas REALTORS and Associations Honored at the Texas Association of Realtors Annual Winter Meeting

"A Texas REALTOR is held to the highest of standards service not only from the association, but from their peers and colleagues and thus being honored at the Winter Meeting award ceremony is a testament to those who go above and beyond the call of service," said Kaki Lybbert, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. "Their jobs are not exclusive to connecting people with their dream homes, but to provide a lasting impact in the lives of all Texans."

The award for 2017 Texas Realtor of the Year, the Texas Association of Realtors' most prestigious award, was presented to Dan Hatfield of Farmers National Company in Comfort, Texas. This title is bestowed annually to a member who has made outstanding contributions to the industry through involvement in his or her national, state and local Realtor organizations during their career.

The Tom D. Morton Association Executive of the Year award was presented to Ed Moore, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Tyler Association of REALTORS. Awarded only to Realtor association leaders with a long track record of service to their local association and a high level respect among industry peers, the Tom D. Morton award was bestowed to Moore for his extensive Realtor association leadership at the local, state and national levels.

The Texas Realtor Hero Award, which recognizes a Realtor who has demonstrated outstanding community service related to promoting and advancing homeownership, was awarded to Angela Williams of Gann Medford Real Estate in Lufkin. Williams is a longtime advocate for expanding homeownership affordability for the local community. As a strong proponent of financial literacy, Williams is an active member of Junior Achievement; teaching young people about personal finance and home ownership.

Mary Miner of the Williamson County Association of Realtors was named the 2017 Educator of the Year. Miner is instructor for the Graduate REALTOR Institute and teaches the Accredited Buyer Representative Designation Course, the NAR Green designation courses, and the Texas Association of REALTORS® Professional Standards course.

Heather Konopka-Chaves received the 2017 William C. Jennings Award for the outstanding commercial real estate transaction of the year. Konopka-Chaves was honored for her work with the Community Enrichment Center, a nonprofit organization in North Richland Hills whose mission is breaking the cycle of poverty and family violence. The 50 condominium units would provide safe housing to homeless families in Tarrant County while they stabilized their lives and improved their education and job skills

The 2017 Texas Real Estate Awards also honored local Realtor associations that have launched innovative programs and educational courses over the last year that keep Texas Realtors up to date with the latest legal, business marketing and industry trends. The Austin Board of Realtors, Houston Association of Realtors and MetroTex Association of Realtors were each recognized as part of the Texas Association of Realtors' 2017 Education Awards category.

The Governmental Affairs team at the Texas Association of Realtors also honored upstanding members and local associations at the Winter Meeting. The San Antonio Board of Realtors received the Governmental Affairs Outstanding Achievement Award. The Strike Force Awards honored nine Realtor members throughout the state for their dedication to grassroots political advocacy and for supporting local issues campaigns to protect private-property rights:

• Liz Braden, San Antonio Board of Realtors
• Bobbi Hannon, Kingsville Area Association of Realtors
• Mel Harris, Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors
• Tena Kirkham, Bee County Board of Realtors
• JR Martinez, Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors
• Scott Morgan, Nolan County Association of Realtors
• Toni Gill, Nolan County Association of Realtors
• Kendra Norwood, MetroTex Association of Realtors
• Barbara Russell, Greater Denton-Wise County Association of Realtors

Finally, Mel Harris of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors received Grassroots Advocate of the Year, a brand new award to the program granted to a Strike Force Award winner.

About the Texas Association of REALTORS®
With more than 114,000 members, the Texas Association of REALTORS® is a professional membership organization that represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We advocate on behalf of Texas REALTORS® and private-property owners to keep homeownership affordable, protect private-property rights, and promote public policies that benefit homeowners. Visit TexasRealEstate.com to learn more.

CONTACT: Hunter Dodson
Pierpont Communications
512-448-4950
[email protected]

SOURCE Texas Association of Realtors

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