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Broward County Realtor® Named 2005 Realtor of Year; FAR Honors Award Winners at Convention

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 2, 2005 -- Tom Salomone, the 2003 president of the Florida Association of Realtors® and a member of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, has been named FAR's 2005 Realtor of the Year.

The award and others were presented by President Frank Kowalski during FAR's 89th annual Convention & Trade Expo Aug. 24-28, at the Buena Vista Palace in Lake Buena Vista. More than 2,500 Realtors from across Florida attended the convention.

Upon accepting the award, Salomone said, "I believe this is the second greatest honor one can receive. The greatest honor is being president of FAR because you have the privilege of meeting and working with Realtors across Florida. I look at this award and it's not about the hours, it's about people. Please continue to work with passion and continue to do the right things that you know in your heart are right for the citizens of Florida."

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

From 1980 through 1994, Salomone served on or chaired every committee for the North Broward Association of Realtors and was named its Realtor of the Year in 1992. That association later merged with the Greater Fort Lauderdale organization, and he has continued to serve or chair virtually every committee with that local association. Salomone served as president of FAR in 2003, spearheading efforts that successfully defeated legislation that would have imposed a transfer tax on every real estate transaction in Florida.

On the state level, Salomone also has held the positions of treasurer, president-elect and District 11 vice president, served on 25 committees, chaired 14 committees and vice-chaired five committees. Since 2000, he has served as a director for NAR and on numerous committees, including as the current chairman of NAR's Large Board Subforum.

Salomone's contributions to his community include volunteering with civic, business, charitable, church and youth organizations. He has coached a total of 47 youth sports teams in local city leagues. He also has supported his local chamber of commerce, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, the Heart Association, the Coral Springs Cancer Fund Drive and Coral Springs Muscular Dystrophy Fund Drive. In addition, Salomone spent eight years as a district supervisor for the local water control district.

Mary McCall, a member and past president of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, received the 2005 Associate Realtor of the Year Award. Here's a partial list of the many community groups she has helped, serving as a director and officer of the Forest Hills Pony Baseball League, Habitat for Humanity, Children's Miracle Network, the Tampa Carrollwood Rotary Club, the University of South Florida Alumni Association, the PTA and her local church. She also has been a caregiver to the elderly. McCall served as president of the Florida Chapter of Certified Residential Specialists in 2003. A Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC) Sterling "R" Club member, she has chaired and served on numerous committees for both the local, national and state Realtor associations, including as the 2004 chairman of FAR's Communications Committee and as District 6 Vice President in 2002.

Receiving the Realtor Achievement Award for this year is Summer Greene, a member of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. This award reflects the previous three years' contributions to the community, local, state and national Realtor associations. Consider just some of her community achievements: Since 2001, Greene has served as the director for the Reliance Housing Corporation, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing in the U.S. and Virgin Islands. She is an active supporter of Homeless to Homebuyer, which educates low-income families on how to qualify for city and county grants to purchase homes, and of Habitat for Humanity Hospice. She has chaired and served on dozens of committees for both the local, national and state associations, including as FAR's 2005 Strategic Visioning Committee Chair and as District 11 Vice President in 2001. An RPAC Sterling R member, Greene also teaches Graduate Realtor Institute courses.

Additionally, FAR honored Laurie Neiman of the Pinellas Suncoast Association of Realtors as the 2005 Humanitarian of the Year. Neiman spends many hours each week volunteering with Pinellas Village, which providesto motivated single parent families the opportunity to achieve economic and emotional self-sufficiency through on-site and community based resources, and safe affordable housing. The common goal for residents is to be able to care for themselves and their families without any government assistance within five years. More than 200 graduates from Pinellas Village have earned higher education degrees ranging from associate's to master's degrees; nearly 100 graduates have obtained training certificates in health, technology and other fields; and 58 graduates have become homeowners. Neiman's efforts focused on helping Pinellas Village better direct its community relations and fundraising efforts to increase financial support and volunteer involvement. Her innovative strategies brought more money to the program and helped more than 100 families transition from welfare to independence.

Winning FAR's Newcomer Award for 2005 is Lester Clinton Weimer, a member of the New Smyrna Beach Association of Realtors. This year marks only the second time that FAR has given this award, which recognizes an outstanding individual who has entered the Realtor profession within the past three years or less, and has made notable contributions to the local and state associations, as well as to his or her community. Weimer supports the New Smyrna Beach Association on three committees, serves as a mentor for new practitioners and as sales trainer for his office. He also belongs to the local chamber of commerce and the Finactics of New Smyrna Beach, which advocates for environmental issues.

Other FAR award winners this year include:

Board Achievement Awards: Small Board, Key West Association of Realtors; Medium Board, Venice Area Board of Realtors; Large Board, Space Coast Association of Realtors; and Mega Board, Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.

Education -- Overall Program Achievement: Small Board, Marathon & Lower Keys Association of Realtors; Medium Board, Venice Area Board of Realtors; Large Board, Space Coast Association of Realtors; and Mega Board, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.

Education -- Single Program Achievement: Medium Board, West Volusia Association of Realtors, for its "Leadership Development Program"; Large Board, Manatee Association of Realtors, for its "Realtor Jeopardy"; and, Mega Board, Realtor Association of Greater Miami & the Beach, for its "8th International Real Estate Congress."

Graduate Realtor Institute Scholastic Achievement Award: Dennis Rauschl, GRI, Manatee Association of Realtors.

Florida Realtor Magazine Editorial Excellence Awards: "How to Have a Long, Successful Career," Gwen Appelquist, Pensacola Association of Realtors; and "How to Turn an Idea into an Invention," Jean Smith Newell, Melbourne Area Association of Realtors; and, Best Article, "How to Thrive in Commercial Real Estate," Roger Broderick, Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors.

Residential Environmental ENVY Award: Lakewood Ranch, located on 7,000 acres in Sarasota and Manatee counties. As the 2005 winner of the residential Environmental Award, Lakewood Ranch now has the distinction of being the only development to win FAR's ENVY awards in both the commercial and now residential categories. It won the commercial ENVY award in 1999.

Judges praised Lakewood Ranch for preserving natural elements, including providing generous greenways, a 451-acre wetland preserve, a 110-acre nature preserve and 400 acres of man-made lakes. Developers also have restored a 2,000-acre conservation easement, which will be maintained in perpetuity. In addition, judges noted that Lakewood Ranch has received "green building" certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition, which recognizes the development's effort to build homes that are more cost-effective to own and maintain and are friendlier to the environment. It is the largest master-planned community in Florida to earn this designation.

The Florida Association of Realtors, the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation for more than 130,000 members in 68 local boards/associations.