For Immediate Release:
December 9, 2008
REALTORS® RECOGNIZED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
The New Jersey
Association of REALTORS® presents Good
Neighbor Awards
(Atlantic City, NJ) -
The New Jersey Association of REALTORS®
(NJAR®) presented three members with NJAR®
Good Neighbor Awards during an awards
session at the Triple Play REALTOR®
Convention and Trade Expo in Atlantic City
today. The awards recognize individuals who
have made extraordinary commitments to
community service programs throughout the
state.
"Every day, REALTORS® volunteer their time
and energy to help strengthen their
communities," said 2008 NJAR® President Drew
Fishman, CRS. "The NJAR® Good Neighbor award
is a great way to showcase the truly
outstanding things that REALTORS® in New
Jersey are doing to have positive impact on
the towns where they live and work. NJAR® is
proud to recognize the efforts of our award
recipients by providing three wonderful
charities with generous donations."
The 2008 winners are as follows:
FIRST PLACE
Daniel McKee
Award: $2,500 for the Asbury Park
Little League
A sales associate at Jersey Shore Real
Estate Associates in Neptune City, McKee has
been an active volunteer for the Asbury Park
Little League since 2002. As president of
the League, McKee has helped raise more than
$225,000 in funding to rebuild the local
baseball field that was in desperate need of
repair. His goal is to enrich the lives of
children, many who are underprivileged,
living in Asbury Park through the game of
baseball. He has spent countless hours and
thousands of dollars of his own money to
improve his town's Little League program.
McKee had to work closely with the City
Council and with the Asbury Park Board of
Education to ensure that this program was
successfully completed. During his tenure
with the League, the number of teams has
increased from four in 2003 to eleven in
2008. His belief is that the Little League
program teaches children of every
socio-economic background the values needed
to compete in life.
While still working on the second phase
of the field renovation project, McKee set
out to find a way to send Asbury Park Little
Leaguers to a one week summer camp in the
mountains of Pennsylvania. With the help of
his local Little League, he was able to
raise enough money to send 21 kids to camp
in 2008. Additionally, there will be
sufficient funding to be able to send two
Senior League players to baseball camp at
the Detroit Tiger's spring training facility
in Lakeland, Florida this winter. McKee is a
member of the Monmouth County Association of
REALTORS®.
SECOND PLACE
Elizabeth Harper
Award: $1,500 for Operation Holiday
A sales associate with Weichert,
REALTORS® in Morris Plains, Harper has
volunteered with Operation Holiday for 14
years. A partnership between the Woman's
Club of Morristown and the Daily Record,
Operation Holiday is a community service
project that provides gifts to Morris County
residents in need during the holiday season.
As a volunteer, Harper works with more than
20 social service organizations to get
clients' wish lists and coordinates efforts
to have them fulfilled by local businesses,
schools, and individuals. Last year
Operation Holiday aided 600 cases and raised
over $125,000 through donations. Harper also
does the bulk of the holiday gift shopping
for the program and arranges for the
delivery of presents. Additionally, in an
effort to elicit donations, she coordinates
with editors at the Daily Record to compile
stories of the people served by the
organization. From September through the end
of the holiday season, Harper spends the
majority of her time serving her neighbors
in need. Harper is a member of the North
Central Jersey Association of REALTORS®.
THIRD PLACE
Lawrence Vecchio
Award: $1,000 for 180 Turning Lives
Around, Inc.
The founder and president of Better Homes
Realty and VRI Realty, Inc. in Hazlet,
Vecchio has served his community by
providing transitional housing to families
who are homeless as a result of fleeing a
domestic violence situation. He spent
countless hours helping to collect employee
donations to purchase a condominium. After
the purchase of the home was completed,
Vecchio also arranged for contributions to
be used to purchase furnishings and pay for
maintenance fees and utility costs. On a
continuing basis, he arranges for clients of
180 Turning Lives of Around, Inc. to use,
free of charge, the housing unit. Because of
Vecchio's efforts, a number of families in
need have been able to reestablish
themselves after enduring emotional,
physical, and financial devastation brought
on by domestic violence. Vecchio is a member
of the Monmouth County Association of
REALTORS®.
Profiles of the winners will be featured on
www.njar.com/awards/gn. Photos of the
winners will also be made available to
download.
The New Jersey Association of
REALTORS®, with approximately 53,000
REALTOR® and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® members, is
one of the largest trade organizations in
the state. NJAR®'s membership is comprised
of real estate professionals who subscribe
to a strict Code of Ethics and are members
of the national and local REALTOR®
organizations. As the leading advocate for
the real estate industry and private
property rights in New Jersey, NJAR® is
committed to protecting the dream of
homeownership. For more information, please
visit
www.njar.com.
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