A Note From The SBAOR President: 2022 SBAOR installation & awards luncheon

By Bob Walsmith, Jr.

President of the Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS®

2022 SBAOR Installation & Awards Luncheon

On Friday December 2, the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors (SBAOR) hosted their 115th Installation & Awards Luncheon.

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 that 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 very successful and highly thought of REALTOR®, but she has found the time to donate more than twenty years of service to the local Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. She has served on their 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 the LA Children’s Hospital. Sheela also donates her time with the Montecito Union School District, Santa Barbara Junior High School, Santa Barbara High School and fundraising for the Teacher’s Fund Supplies Drive.

Community Service Award - Meichelle Arntz. Meichelle launched Angels Foster Care in 2006, a private non-profit Foster Family Agency that serves children from birth to age five. Her goal was to reduce the trauma that local babies and 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 sixteen 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 the 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 much 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) that not only excel in the standards and practices and transactions of our profession, but could circumvent their ego, collaborate and share their life long experiences, education and the lessons of this profession. Their life’s work is at 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 also served our local association for over five decades. Even though they were ‘competitors’ at the same brokerage, they always strived 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 be thought of. 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 our association, Carol has been chairperson of several committees, director, Secretary, Treasurer and President of the SBAOR 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 that Brian has served on; Grievance, Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Budget & Finance, Awards, and Government Relations. Oh and by the way, Brian served as the 2021 SBAOR President and is also 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. – Bob Walsmith Jr.