MOUNT VERNON — There was an air of optimism at Wednesday night’s Knox County Board of Realtors Christmas banquet, with many agents convinced that the housing market is on the rebound.
“We have weathered the storm of the housing decline,” outgoing President Richard Perrin said. “I’m hearing positive things from the financial sector, and we go hand-in-hand with them.”
Perrin’s last act as the board’s president was to oversee election of officers for 2013. Martha Edelblute is the new president, Sibley Poland was elected as vice president, and Nathan Paff will continue as secretary-treasurer.
Edelblute, a broker and Realtor with Real Estate Pro’s, was honored with the Award of Distinction as the top-performing individual with $2.5 million in sales.
The Sam Miller team was presented with the Team Excellence Award for surpassing $7.5 million in sales. Miller’s staff includes Joe Conkle, Carol Miller, Poland and Judy Zolman.
A Team Achievement Award was received by the Bob Harrod team, which includes Allison Kaiser and Bryan Treen.
Six Realtors were recognized for passing the $1 million or 25-sales threshold for the year. They are Bill Blanchard, Chris Briscoe, Martha Denman, Debra Fowler, Shannon Hundley and Bob Phillips.
The board also awarded its Crystal Mile Award for the first time. The award was created to provide peer recognition of individuals who have had outstanding careers in real estate. The inaugural recipient is the late Mary Lee Kirk, a past president of the board who worked with distinction in the field for 34 years before her sudden death in March. Patricia Mickley accepted the award in her honor.
Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chris Menapace and several members of his staff were on hand and most appreciative of an $1,100 cash donation from the Realtors, along with more than 50 toys, for the 2012 Toys for Tots campaign.
Menapace said that the local campaign’s goal is to provide two toys each to more than 1,500 area children. Donations are lagging behind last year’s, and residents are encouraged to drop off new, unwrapped toys at the MVFD.
The banquet, held at the Mount Vernon Country Club, was attended by about 75 people.
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