The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors (SBAOR) hosted its 115th Installation & Awards Luncheon on Dec. 2.

I was proud to attend, and be a part of, this wonderful celebration. This is a day not to highlight how many homes agents sell or how much money they make, but to showcase the amazing contributions Realtors and affiliates make to our local community.

It is also an opportunity to thank both the outgoing board of directors, as well as the outgoing president for their service, and to introduce the new president and board of directors.

I would like to write about some of the awards and their recipients;

Realtor Community Service Award: Sheela Hunt, Village Properties.

Sheila is not only a successful and highly-thought-of Realtor, but she has found the time to donate more than 20 years of service to the local Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. She has served on its board of directors, fund development, real estate, and planned giving committees. She has co-chaired numerous events, and personally drives Easter baskets to families in treatment at LA Children’s Hospital.

Sheela also donates her time with the Montecito Union School District, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High schools, and does fundraising for the Teacher’s Fund Supplies Drive.

Community Service Award: Meichelle Arntz.

Meichelle launched Angels Foster Care in 2006, a private nonprofit Foster Family Agency that serves children from birth to age five. Her goal was to reduce the trauma that local babies an toddlers experience in foster care.

She wants to keep these young children in one home, with one loving family, for the entire time that they were in foster care. Stability, love and trauma-informed care remain the cornerstones of the angels model today.

Over the past 16 years, Angels Foster Care has impacted the lives of 297 abused, neglected, and abandoned infants and toddlers in our local foster care system.

Affiliate of the Year: Matt Genovese, Finance of America.

This award is given to an affiliate member of SBAOR that makes a significant contribution to the association and gives service to the membership, usually over a period of years. The recipient must also model ethical business practices and standards, have a good reputation among peers and display a spirit of cooperation.

Matt certainly exemplifies these traits and more. He is always willing to step up and support any and all of our events throughout the year.

Realtor Award of Excellence: Linda Lorenzen, Coldwell Banker and Keith Berry, Coldwell Banker (posthumous award).

This award is given to a member (or in this case, members) who not only excel in the standards and practices and transactions of our profession, but could circumvent their ego, collaborate and share their lifelong experiences, education and the lessons of this profession.

Their life’s work at a the highest level of professionalism and one that we all should strive to achieve.

Both of these esteemed Realtors have served the local philanthropic community with distinction and have served our local association for over five decades. Even though they were ‘competitors’ at the same brokerage, they always strove to help each other and everyone within our organization.

Whenever you would hear either of their names; respect and professionalism are just two of the ideas that would come to mind.  They are both truly class acts in every sense of the word.

Honorary Member for Life:Carol Kruckenberg, Village Properties.

This award recognizes an outstanding member who has provided exceptional service to the association, as well as acknowledges their achievements. The recipient must be an exemplary member for at least 25 years and displays an incredibly strong dedication to our association and local community.

During her 25 years as a member of SBAOR, Carol has been chairperson of several committees, director, secretary, treasurer and president, as well as a director of the California Association of Realtors Board of Directors.

Her talented IT background has paved the way for leading our Budget & Finance, Business & Technology and Statistical Review committees.

Carol’s long-term commitment to professionalism, excellence in real estate profession, unmatched work ethic, and unparalleled leadership is truly a model to be followed.

Howard Gates Award: Gary Goldberg, Coastal Properties.

This award is given to the local Realtor that has played a significant role in bringing about a difficult transaction to a successful closing.

This  particular transaction had so many challenges, but Gary was ultimately able to satisfy both the buyer and the seller in the end. And that is ultimately what we always are supposed to do.

Realtor of the year: Brian Johnson, The Management Association.

This award is given to an association member who has gone above and beyond their normal scope of responsibilities and has served their fellow agents and the association in many capacities for many years. Here are just some of the committees Brian has served on:

Grievance, Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Budget & Finance, Awards, and Government Relations. And by the way, Brian served as the 2021 SBAOR president and is the first commercial Realtor to lead the association.

Congratulations to all of these worthy recipients. As you can see from their accomplishments, these amazing individuals do much more than help their clients buy and sell homes. They care deeply about our community and dedicate countless hours to making Santa Barbara a better place to live and work.