Winners of 2006 Good Neighbor Awards Announced

REALTOR® Magazine, the official publication of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, has announced the five recipients of its seventh annual Good Neighbor Awards.

The 2006 winners of REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards are:

• Ernest “Chuck” Ayala, Ayala Real Estate, San Francisco, who founded Centro Latino de San Francisco, a community center that serves 2,000 low-income seniors.
• Rob Cronin, Coldwell Banker, Conklin & Co., Hailey, Idaho, who is the driving force for the American Cancer Society’s Camp Rainbow Gold and has raised more than $1.4 million.
• Sharon Friend, Las Vegas Realty, Las Vegas, who as president of The Children’s Service Guild helps children in the family court system with emergency needs not covered by government funding.
• Lolita Junk, Diversified Real Estate Services/GMAC, Galesburg, Ill., who founded Knox County Teen Court, which has helped 1,500 nonviolent juvenile offenders.
• David Sonenberg, The Sonenberg Co., Roswell, Ga., who for 23 years has been president of North Fulton Community Charities, which provides emergency assistance to more than 11,000 people a year.

Each of the five winners will receive a $10,000 grant for their community project, a crystal trophy, and the right to use the Good Neighbor Awards logo on their Web site and promotional materials. The recipients and a guest also will be sent, expenses paid, to the 2006 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans in November, where they will receive their awards in front of an audience of 6,000.

In addition to the winners, five Good Neighbor honorable mentions will receive $2,500 grants. They are Jack Conway, Jack Conway & Co., Norwell, Mass., MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless; Lovie McGee, Love Realty, Albuquerque, N.M., African American Cultural Association; Jill Rich, Realty Executives Southern Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., The Sudanese Promise Fund; Singletary “Tary” H. Snyder, Texas Lone Star Realty, Dripping Springs, Texas, Mission Presbytery; and Williemae Stanberry, Stanberry Realty, Pensacola, Fla., A Will & Way Inc.

The Good Neighbor Awards honors the ongoing volunteer efforts of REALTORS® who are making exceptional contributions to improve the quality of life in their communities. Winners were selected based on the depth and impact of their volunteer contribution, the broadness of that impact, and their demonstrated leadership and initiative. More than 300 nominations--an all-time high--were considered this year.

REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by eNeighborhoods Inc. — which has supported the program since its inception in 2000 — as well as Fannie Mae and LandAmerica. A contribution was also made by Phil McGinnis, McGinnis Commercial Real Estate, Dover, Del.