Florida Realtors® Honor Award Winners at Convention:
The Late Chuck Bonfiglio Named 2009 Realtor of the Year

ORLANDO, Fla., August 2009 — The late Charles “Chuck” J. Bonfiglio Sr., who served as 2008 president of the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR), was posthumously recognized by Florida Realtors® as their 2009 Realtor of the Year. The award – one of several – was presented during the state association’s 93rd annual Convention & Trade Expo at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla.

Roberta Bonfiglio and her children accepted the award on behalf of her husband, who passed away on Dec. 19, 2008. Florida Realtors’ 2009 President Cynthia Shelton, who presented the award, said she was “totally blown away by everything Chuck Bonfiglio did last year – how he was able to stand so strong in 2008.”

In accepting the award, Roberta Bonfiglio assured the audience that her husband was in the room. “Can you feel him?” she asked. “He would not miss this, believe me. He would stand here with a tear in his eye, and he would say that this is one of the greatest honors of his life, as was being president of this great association. So from my children and from my heart, let me thank you for Chuck. He loved every moment of it; he loved every one of you; and he would have loved this.”

The state association has presented Realtor of the Year and Associate Realtor of the Year awards for more than 50 years. Winners are honored as the greatest individual lifetime contributors to their local board, community, state association and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

A licensed broker and owner of Century 21 AAA, Bonfiglio was a successful real estate professional for more than 30 years. A member of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAGFL) since 1996 and, prior to that, the former South Broward Board of Realtors, he served in various leadership capacities, from membership on numerous committees to chair RAGFL’s Executive Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, and the Investment Task Force. A firm believer in public policy and government advocacy, he was a longstanding Sterling “R” member for the Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC) and active in his local association’s RPAC.

Bonfiglio served as president of the South Broward Board of Realtors and was honored as Realtor of the Year for his work with that board. He served RAGFL as vice president in 2002, president-elect in 2003 and president in 2004. Among other awards, RAGFL named him Realtor of the Year in 2002 and Humanitarian of the Year in 2006.

Bonfiglio strongly supported the Florida Association of Realtor and volunteered his time and talents to the state association for many years before taking up the reins as FAR president. He served on almost every FAR committee, chairing the Executive Committee, the Legislative Leadership Team and Local Board Treasurers Exchange. He was an FAR director since 1990 and a member of the Honors Society for 16 years. In 1991, Bonfiglio served as FAR District 11 vice president, became the state association’s vice president/secretary in 1994, treasurer in 2005 and president-elect in 2007.

On the national level, he was a director for NAR for 11 years and served on numerous committees, including Public Policy Coordinating, RPAC Trustees and Business Issues. He also was a member of the FAR/NAR Directors Forum and the NAR Strategy Team.

Along with his professional contributions to the real estate industry, Bonfiglio believed in making a difference in his community. He volunteered and worked for many civic organizations, charities and other worthy causes, including his local Boys and Girls Club, Catholic Charities, the Town of Davie’s Joint Economic Steering Committee and Broward County Crime Stoppers. Bonfiglio twice served as president of his local chamber of commerce and was honored as its Businessman of the Year. Another group that benefitted from his generosity was Easter Seals of Broward County: A member of the group for more than 24 years, Bonfiglio raised more than $250,000 to benefit the charity over the past five years and was recognized as its Philanthropist of the Year in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, FAR recognized his community service and honored him as Humanitarian of the Year.

Associate Realtor of the Year
Cynthia Shafer, a member of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, received the 2009 Associate Realtor of the Year Award. She has served her local association on many levels as a member of most committees and as chair of the Professional Development, Community Relations, Affordable Housing, Communications and Leadership committees. She was president of the former Fort Myers Beach Board in 1998 and a member of the Merger Task Force; that same year, the board recognized her as its Realtor of the Year. The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach honored her with its Humanitarian award in 1999 and its Realtor of the Year award in 2000.

On the state level, Shafer has been involved with FAR since 1998, serving on many committees, councils and forums, including District 5 vice president, chair of the Board Leadership Forum and as an FAR director. On the national level, she has been a NAR director and served on the NAR Transportation Work Group, State and Local Fiscal Affairs and Housing Opportunity committees.

Shafer volunteers for many community organizations, particularly ones that benefit children and affordable housing. She has been a child advocate for 36 years, representing abused, abandoned and neglected children in Lee County as a Guardian ad Litem volunteer. Almost three years ago, she and her husband John started their Beds for Kids program; since then, they have delivered about 500 beds, sheets, pillows, blankets and stuffed animals to children in the foster care system. FAR recognized her as Humanitarian of the Year in 1998, and NAR presented her with a Good Neighbor Award in 2002 for her Beds for Kids program.

Realtor Achievement Award
Robert “Bob” Hudgens, a member of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, received the Realtor Achievement Award this year. The award recognizes a Realtor serving as manager, broker of record, or officer of his or her company. He has served on a number of local association committees, including the Budget and Finance Committee, Commercial Forum and has chaired the Strategic Visioning Committee.

On the state level, Hudgens has been a member of numerous committees for FAR, including Strategic Planning, Executive, Professional Standards, Technology Research and Public Policy. He has chaired FAR’s Finance Committee, Local Board/Association President Exchange and Local Board/Association Treasurer Exchange. In 2006, Hudgens served as FAR secretary and as the state association’s treasurer in 2008. On the national level, he has served on many NAR committees and is a current NAR director and member of its State and Local Issues Committee.

Hudgens volunteers to support organizations in his community, including Goodwill, Easter Seals and as a trustee of the local Boys and Girls Club Foundation. He is serving a third term on the Fort Walton Beach Board of Adjustments.

Humanitarian of the Year Award
FAR honored Mike and Betsy Owen, members of the Realtor Association of the Palm Beaches, as co-winners of the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year Award. The duo is described as “a team in the business of making life easier for those less fortunate.”

All over the world, the Owens help people in times of great need: Sometimes it’s by cleaning up after a disaster, or distributing supplies, or by building desperately needed shelter. The couple has participated in numerous Habitat for Humanity build projects in Florida (Boynton Beach, Orlando, Lake Worth) and elsewhere, including New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Khao Lak, Pang Nga Province, Thailand.

For many years, the Owens have raised money to eliminate polio, which comes in three types, polio I, II and III, and is usually transmitted through polluted water and poor sanitation. Type II of the disease has been eradicated, though polio types I and III continue to exist worldwide.

Recently, a huge financial donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation created a Polio Plus Challenge for Rotary International. Through the Polio Plus Challenge, Rotary International, the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Dr. Margaret Chan are working toward a goal of eradicating the disease worldwide by 2012. When these two humanitarians learned about a National Immunization Day project, they booked a flight halfway around the world – at their own expense – to serve on an immunization team in India.

During a three-day intensive effort, the Owens administered an oral polio vaccine to children known as “untouchables” living in the slums of Chandigarh, located in Northern India, near provinces Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not far from the Pakistan border.

The Owens are strong advocates for the Polio Plus Program and the worldwide effort to eradicate polio. They talk to groups about the program and what individuals can do to help, speaking out for continued childhood polio immunization in Florida. The effort to eliminate polio is a cause that is near and dear to the Owens, because they have personal knowledge of the disease’s impact. Betsy Owen is a polio survivor. She and her husband Mike believe that as long as even one child in the world has polio, all children are at risk.

Newcomer Award
Winning FAR’s Newcomer Award for 2009 is Anthony Homer, a member of the Sarasota Association of Realtors. The Newcomer Award recognizes someone who entered the Realtor profession within the past three years, and, during that time, made notable contributions to the local and state associations, as well as to his or her community.

Homer is a charter member of Sarasota Young Realtors, a group formed in 2007 to involve younger Realtors in the organization. He was vice chair for the group in its inaugural year and chairman in 2008. Under his leadership, the group developed an economic summit that brought together panelists from various segments of the real estate industry to discuss the state of the local market. Homer served as the moderator for that panel; the event was so popular it was repeated this year.

While Homer focuses on commercial real estate, he grew up in Hong Kong, which sparked a strong interest in international real estate and partnerships. He served on the local association’s International Steering Council, participated in the International Real Estate Congress and attended most of its monthly international education programs. He also is a member of the Sarasota association’s Commercial Investment Division and serves on its Board of Directors. Homer graduated from the local association’s inaugural Emerging Leaders Program, and will be a member of the association’s Board of Directors in 2010.

Other FAR award winners this year:

• Education – Individual Achievement: Deborah Boza-Valledor, Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.
• Graduate Realtor Institute Scholastic Achievement Award: Richard Land, GRI, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors; and Gabriele Vretta, GRI, Naples Area Board of Realtors.
• Florida Realtor Magazine Best Article Award: “How to Make a Comeback,” Jennifer Gonzalez, Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

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 67 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.