National Association of Realtors® Honors 2022 Good Neighbor Awards Finalists

WASHINGTON (September 1, 2022) – The National Association of Realtors® has selected 10 Realtors® as finalists for its 2022 Good Neighbor Awards, which honor NAR members who make an extraordinary difference in their communities through volunteer work. This is the 23rd year the Good Neighbor Awards program has recognized Realtor® volunteers who donate time, money and passion to enrich the lives of people in their communities.

"This year's Good Neighbor finalists have gone above and beyond to help build stronger communities and improve the lives of people across this country," said NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith, a Realtor® from Plano, Texas, and a broker associate at Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate in Dallas. "Their determination and selfless commitment embody everything that we strive for as Realtors® and as compassionate members of our community. I'm proud of this group for devoting hundreds of hours of their personal time to these important causes."

Five winners will receive a $10,000 grant and national media exposure for their charity, including a feature in the fall issue of REALTOR® Magazine. The winners will also be honored in November during NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience, in Orlando, Florida. Five honorable mentions will receive $2,500 grants.

Beginning today, the public can vote for their favorite of the 10 Good Neighbor finalists. The top three vote-getters will be recognized as Web Choice Favorites, with the winner taking home $2,500, and the second and third place finishers each receiving $1,250, funded by Realtor.com®. Cast your vote at realtor.com/goodneighbor between September 1 and October 3. Both the winners, as determined by judges, and the Web Choice Favorites will be announced on October 6.

The 10 NAR Good Neighbor Awards finalists are as follows:

Jennifer Barnes, Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road, Brookhaven, Georgia

In 2020, Jennifer Barnes thought she would feed people for just a few weeks until the COVID-19-induced shutdowns ended. That experience opened her eyes to an underlying vulnerability in her affluent Atlanta-area neighborhood that extended well beyond food. The nonprofit she founded, Solidarity Sandy Springs, inspires more than 2,600 volunteers to provide wide-ranging community services for thousands of families, including free eye exams and glasses, flu vaccines, job fairs, back-to-school backpacks, and more. Barnes has also distributed nearly one million pounds of food to about 46,000 shoppers. nar.realtor/gna/jennifer-barnes

Dennis Curtin, Legacy Investments, Kansas City, Missouri

Dennis Curtin founded Mimi's Pantry to offer a more positive food pantry experience to people in need. The state-of-the-art, 6,000-square-foot facility welcomes shoppers to browse the aisles and choose their food, just as they would in a grocery store. The nonprofit invested in commercial refrigeration equipment and offers fresh meat, produce and milk. It also has a play area and library for kids and is building a greenhouse, an orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes this fall. In three years, it has served 50,000 individuals. nar.realtor/gna/dennis-curtin

Jim Edmonds, Emerald Isle Properties, Kilauea, Hawaii

As the Hawaiian island of Kauai may at any time have only a handful of homes for sale under $1 million, Permanently Affordable Living (PAL) Kaua'i founder Jim Edmonds partners with nonprofits to build and convert affordable housing for service and farm workers within walking distance to their workplaces. Edmonds navigates the complex challenges of poor infrastructure and resource scarcity through innovative, cost-saving solutions like solar energy, edible landscaping, shared electric vehicles, and shared bicycles. nar.realtor/gna/jim-edmonds

Heather Griesser LaPierre, RE/MAX Preferred Newtown Square, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

To address food insecurity in her neighborhood and around the world, Heather Griesser LaPierre founded Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia. She rallies hundreds of volunteers each month to pack nutritious, ready-to-make pasta- and rice-based meals, involving local entities like churches, scout troops and police officers. In 2021, she decided to double production to 350,000 meals a month in order to ensure children who depended on school lunches were fed. This effort was even more impressive considering COVID-19 restrictions had forced her to manage with a fraction of the normal volunteer force. nar.realtor/gna/heather-griesser-lapierre

Tamara "Tami" Hicks, Century 21 Signature Real Estate, Ames, Iowa

As a Realtor®, Tami Hicks would see sellers throw out perfectly good furniture that they didn't need because they didn't know what to do with it. Hicks gathered a few friends and co-founded Overflow Thrift Store, a nonprofit that recycles and resells home furnishings and clothing. Now boasting two locations, the thrift stores' proceeds are distributed monthly to 10 nonprofit organizations. It also partners with eight additional community agencies to provide clients with free shopping vouchers for furniture and housewares. Since 2014, Overflow Thrift Store has resold more than 1 million items, recycled 325 tons of clothing that otherwise may have gone into landfills and donated $512,000 to nonprofit organizations. nar.realtor/gna/tami-hicks

Lisa Hoeve, Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt, Holland, Michigan

As a foster parent herself, Lisa Hoeve understands the stressful circumstances that arise when a child is placed in a new home, often with strangers, on short notice and carrying none of their own belongings. Hoeve created Hope Pkgs to ease the transition for the children and to support the foster parents striving to ensure these children are as comfortable as possible. She works through child service agencies in Michigan to provide "First Night Bags" with gender- and age-appropriate new pajamas, socks, underwear, blankets, toiletries and stuffed animals. Since 2015, she has served more than 4,200 children. nar.realtor/gna/lisa-hoeve

Debbie McCabe, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS®, and the Trident Group, Devon, Pennsylvania

Most of us don't know what it feels like to sleep on the streets in the winter, but Debbie McCabe does. Each year, she leads a team of people who voluntarily sleep in cardboard boxes to raise money to help youth experiencing homelessness. For more than 10 years, McCabe has been a volunteer leader for the 76-bed Covenant House Pennsylvania. The transitional housing and services it provides build a bridge to hope for young people overcoming homelessness and who have been a victim of human trafficking. McCabe helped the facility safely keep its doors open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the height of the pandemic. nar.realtor/gna/debbie-mccabe

Debbie Miller, Webpro Realty, Lakeland, Florida

Debbie Miller had been a devoted volunteer for KidsPACK for many years, helping provide weekend food to kids who might not otherwise have had enough to eat. When COVID-19 hit and demand spiked, the organization found that vendors could no longer supply the bulk food it needed. As inventory dwindled, Miller took to social media, starting a Facebook page and convincing hundreds of new people to donate Chef Boyardee provisions using Amazon. The organization was able to support 140 new children from this effort alone. Today, it feeds 3,000 kids from 80 area schools on weekends. nar.realtor/gna/debbie-miller

Kathy Opperman, Long & Foster Collegeville, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Kathy Opperman knows a little support can make all the difference when managing grief or loss. She founded Pillars of Light and Love, which offers a multitude of programs and support groups including grief support, help with anxiety, healthy coping skills training, anti-bullying and self-confidence building, and several youth empowerment programs. They have offered over 800 free workshops and support groups. Their mission is to build confidence, self-esteem and resilience so adults and youth can overcome the stresses of life. nar.realtor/gna/kathy-opperman

MaliVai Washington, Diamond Life Real Estate, Jacksonville Beach, Florida

For 26 years, MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation founder Mal Washington has been breaking the cycle of poverty through a vibrant after-school mentoring program. Originally rooted in his beloved sport of tennis, MWYF now serves 500 kids annually through a comprehensive youth development program of academic tutoring, leadership skills, financial training and fitness. He is proud of the 100% high school graduation rate within the program as the surrounding neighborhood's dropout rate is 20%. nar.realtor/gna/malivai-washington

NAR's Good Neighbor Awards is supported by primary sponsor Realtor.com® as well as the Center for REALTOR® Development.

"The Good Neighbor Award finalists are a remarkable group of individuals," said Realtor.com® CMO Mickey Neuberger. "Their work shows that volunteers are truly improving our communities and making them a better place, and Realtor.com is so pleased to be able to recognize them for their efforts."

Nominees were judged on their personal contribution of time as well as financial and material contributions to benefit their cause.

Realtor.com® is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for empowered growth, offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit Realtor.com®.

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The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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