Meet GCAAR’s 2020 Annual Award Winners

<xx< Education Professional advancement As a member, you receive discounted rates for various continuing education and professional designation courses that can help further your real estate career. Due to the pandemic, GCAAR is live-streaming its continuing education courses this fall on many topics.You can look forward to upcoming classes that meet your required and elective credit needs, including the ins and outs of using Zoom and the Military Relocation Professional certification program.The MRP certification is one of several certification courses GCAAR offers members, in addition to other online continuing education opportunities to help you advance your career in specific areas. And, as we know many members are at home more than usual, we are also offering a series of professional development webinars and virtual events and classes known as Profession Sessions, in addition to a new webinar series on the Congratulations to GCAAR’s 2020 Annual Award winners! history of racism in real estate, part of our anti-racism educational initiative. Events GCAAR is proud to announce the winners of three of our annual individual awards. GCAAR hosts a number of annual events and members-only events—virtually, for the time being, including our annual board installation this December. And over the summer, we held our largest yearly event, REALTOR your colleagues, offering 48 CE classes and 12 professional development webinars — so you definitely won’t want to miss next year’s event! Congratulations, and thank you for everything you do for GCAAR and for our real estate community!

Involvement opportunities

Members have many opportunities to get more deeply involved in GCAAR and support other professionals in their community, primarily through volunteering on committees and participating in town halls and broker/manager forums. GCAAR has committees on community service, grievances, professional standards, property management, Montgomery County public policy and political campaigns and affairs, as well as a Young Professionals Network that sponsors quarterly events. REALTOR® of the Year: Koki Adasi Koki Adasi is a senior vice president, team leader and listing specialist at Compass Real Estate, and a licensed REALTOR® in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Since beginning his real estate career in 2006, Koki has been committed to building his business by prioritizing service over sales. As the third of five children born to Nigerian immigrants, Koki began cultivating his commitment to service at an early age. “My family and I used to volunteer for the ‘Christmas in April’ program, where we would help rehab the houses of low-income homeowners,“ he says. “Those experiences showed me the power of community service, the power of homeownership, and the necessity of helping those in need.“ To Koki, his team’s success comes down to its comprehensive approach to client care. “Our goal is to make sure we take care of everything you need throughout the entire process,“ he says. “You need your utilities switched over to your new home? Check. You need a recommendation for a great moving company? Check.“ Koki served as the 2019 president of the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®. He is currently an active member of the National Association of REALTORS®, serving as the co-chair of the Meetings and Conference Committee as well as serving as a member of the Risk Management Committee, Commitment to Excellent Committee, YPN Advisory Committee and the Diversity Committee. Koki is also a past recipient of Realtor Magazine’s “30 under 30.“ Koki remains committed to volunteerism and philanthropy today, through his ongoing relationships with local organizations such as Horton’s Kids, Student-Athletes Organized to Understand Leadership (SOUL), Kindred and Cornerstone Montgomery. Koki also had the honor of being named the Greater Capital Area YMCA “Philanthropist of the Year” in 2011. As a former Division I basketball player, Koki still enjoys playing basketball, traveling and spending time with his wife Jess and their children.

The GCAAR REALTOR® of the Year honor is awarded to one GCAAR primary member who provides continuous, dedicated service to enhance the quality of their profession and their REALTOR® associations.

Rookie of the Year: Cassidy Burns

Cassidy Burns, a REALTOR® with Trent & Co. at Compass Real Estate, believes real estate is a tool for long-term planning. When working with clients, whether they are a first-time homebuyer, developer, or a long-term buy and hold investor, his mission is to help them prepare for the future. Cassidy has been working as a REALTOR® since 2016, when he joined Compass. Prior to that, he studied exercise science and nutrition at Bridgewater College and worked as a personal trainer after moving to the district “on a whim“ to experience life in a big city for the first time. One of Cassidy’s own personal training clients, Trent & Co. lead Trent Heminger, inspired him to pursue his real estate license. Cassidy really caught “the real estate bug“ after deciding to broker his own deal to buy his first house in Bethesda, Maryland in 2016.

As a member, you receive discounted rates for various continuing education and professional designation courses that can help further your real estate career. Due to the pandemic, GCAAR is live-streaming its continuing education courses this fall on many topics.You can look forward to upcoming classes that meet your required and elective credit needs, including the ins and outs of using Zoom and the Military Relocation Professional certification program.The MRP certification is one of several certification courses GCAAR offers members, in addition to

And, as we know many members are at home more than usual, we are also offering a series of professional development webinars and virtual events and classes known as Profession Sessions, in addition to a new webinar series on the

“Once I purchased this house and realized the benefits of owning real estate, I started educating GCAAR hosts a number of annual events and members-only events—virtually, for the time being, including our annual board installation this December. And over the summer, we held our largest yearly event, REALTOR® Fest, via Zoom. This year’s event attracted almost 1,000 of myself on real-estate investing,“ he says. “This helped my sales career tremendously, as I am now able to help educate my clients on the benefits of investing.“ For most individuals, Cassidy says, their home is the biggest and best asset in their portfolio, Members have many opportunities to get more deeply involved in GCAAR and support other professionals in their community, primarily through volunteering on committees and participating in town halls and broker/manager forums. GCAAR has committees on community and he wants to make sure they are making the best decision possible. With his knowledge of service, grievances, professional standards, property management, Montgomery County public policy and political campaigns and affairs, as well as a Young Professionals Network that sponsors quarterly events. the DMV market, Cassidy uses these same strategies to grow his own portfolio and help others build wealth through real estate. Today, he owns and operates 45 housing units, and has 17 more under contract as rentals. Cassidy also serves as a GCAAR Young Professionals Network committee member, volunteers with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and practices Stand Up Muay Thai. His rottweiler Nox is his favorite exercise buddy, and you can find them running and hiking together through Rock Creek Park.

The GCAAR Rookie of the Year honor is awarded to one GCAAR primary member who provides continuous, dedicated service to enhance the quality of their profession and their REALTOR® associations. To qualify as a ‘rookie,’ applicants must have been licensed for the first time between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2019.

Good Neighbor Award winner: Sheena Saydam Sheena Saydam is the recipient of GCAAR’s first-ever Good Neighbor Award, due to her remarkable contributions to local charities and organizations that benefit her community and beyond. Sheena and her husband, Han, have been practicing real estate in the District of Columbia metro region for just over a decade and have sold over 700 homes. Their team has made significant investments in a non-profit called Generosity Global—through which they helped build Maryland’s first shower truck for the homeless and helped drill clean water wells in sub-Saharan Africa. Sheena is the organization’s current board chair, supporting their mission to find legacy partners who can help the organization replicate Generosity Shower’s success in other cities and bring clean water to one million people in sub-Saharan Africa. As for her team’s efforts in Cameroon and Kenya, they’ve funded and fundraised over $100K to bring clean drinking water to more than 20,000 people during the last 4 years. They recently helped raise over $20K to bring water and food to one of Kenya’s poorest communities as part of a COVID-relief effort. The team’s additional COVID-relief contributions have included helping Generosity Global purchase and deliver meals to over 200 local families, donating $1K to help educate Kenyan children on pregnancy prevention, and creating a $5K emergency fund for past clients now facing financial hardship. Apart from her work with Generosity Global, Sheena serves on the board of directors for The Tree House of Montgomery County, which helps abused and neglected children. Sheena has also served as board chair for the IT education nonprofit Urban Ed in Southeast DC. Sheena was named the DC Metropolitan Area’s “99 Agents You Want on Your Side“ by Washingtonian Magazine in 2015 and 2016, and a Keller Williams Capital Properties “Top Producer“ six years in a row from 2015 to 2020. In 2015, she was recognized as the number-one highest producer at Keller Williams for the DC Metro Region.

The GCAAR Good Neighbor Award is awarded to one GCAAR primary, emeritus or affiliate member who has made a significant difference as a volunteer for a charity/ charities benefiting Montgomery County and/or the Washington, DC community.

THE HISTORY & POWER OF REAL ESTATE

GCAAR-DCAR webinar series focuses on the history of race in real estate

The history of American real estate includes many instances of racism, from race-based legislative barriers around homeownership to housing discrimination. GCAAR aims to help members understand that history and stay vigilant against repeating it. As part of that effort, GCAAR has partnered with the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® to host a webinar series, “The History & Power of Real Estate,“ that’s full of information and resources.

The series kicked off on Aug. 20 with a webinar on Race & Real Estate, Context & History. GCAAR Secretary Harrison Beacher and fellow REALTOR® Nicole Canole discussed the book, “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America“ by Richard Rothstein. Upcoming webinars will focus on other aspects of racism in real estate, including racial covenants in neighborhoods within the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, Maryland. GCAAR is committed to sharing information about the history of race in the real estate industry. We are inspired to see the national conversations around racism and racial inequity that have taken center-stage and led to widespread activism this year. In response to nationwide days of action around Juneteenth, 2020 GCAAR President Danai Mattison Sky said she hopes they continue to inspire transformation and racial justice in American society. “I truly hope that what we see playing out around us continues to open our eyes to the problems, to the solutions and to how we can promote and make change together,“ she says. “May we all make leading with compassion and empathy a priority.“ On GCAAR’s website, gcaar.com/hpre, visitors can review the Aug. 20 webinar, as well as future webinars, and learn more about preventing racial discrimination and furthering anti-racism in society.

“I truly hope that what we see playing out around us continues to open our eyes to the problems, to the solutions and to how we can promote and make change together. May we all make leading with compassion and empathy a priority.”

–2020 GCAAR President Danai Mattison Sky