Good Neighbor Award Winners
Whether they are helping a family achieve the dream of home ownership or volunteering time to those who need a helping hand, REALTORS® share a common goal of building and strengthening communities.

This year’s winners have had a global impact – from founding a rural orphanage and outreach programs for children in Zimbabwe, to helping women overcome alcohol and drug addictions, to fighting hunger in the U.S. and abroad, to funding a local hospital and supporting soldiers overseas.

The 2010 Good Neighbor Awards winners are:

▪ Keri Kidd Cannon and Pam Kidd, Fridrich & Clark Realty, LLC, Nashville, Tenn., for Children of Zimbabwe Fund-Village Hope
▪ Cathie McGregor Critchlow, The Franklin Group Morgan, LLC, Morgan, Utah, for The Women’s Retreat House
▪ James T. Elcock, Elcock Properties, St. Charles, Mo., for Kids Against Hunger
▪ Dave Philp, Coldwell Banker Burnet, Chaska, Minn.; for Ridgeview Foundation/Ridgeview Medical Center
▪ Wendy & John Rocca, Century 21 Commonwealth, Watertown, Mass., for Operation American Soldier.

“This year’s Good Neighbor Award winners are extraordinary examples of how REALTORS® value service and a commitment to bettering communities,” said NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® President Vicki L. Cox Golder. “Despite a troubling economy and an uncertain market, these REALTORS® are volunteering their time and putting others before themselves. I am proud to honor these professionals.”

The Good Neighbor Awards have been awarded annually since 2000 and are presented by NAR’s REALTOR® Magazine. Winners receive a $10,000 grant for their charity and a $2,000 Lowe’s gift card, and are profiled in the November-December issue of REALTOR® Magazine. The recipients will be presented with their crystal trophies on Saturday, Nov. 6, at the 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans; 20,000 REALTORS® and guests are expected to attend the conference.

As a mother and daughter team Pam Kidd and Keri Kidd Cannon have been helping people in Zimbabwe since 1999, traveling to Africa more than 20 times. They founded Village Hope, a rural orphanage that cares for homeless children and also founded outreach programs for children and adults in the capital city of Harare. Through their various programs Kidd and Cannon feed 900 rural school children per day as well as hundreds of people from surrounding villages. Their agricultural programs provide seed corn and farm animals as well as teach farming techniques to local families. Recently, Kidd and Cannon launched a dental clinic and are training locals to provide basic dental care.

Cathie McGregor Critchlow is president and co-founder of The Women’s Retreat House, a live-in spiritual 12-step retreat home that houses up to 20 women at a time for up to four months while they overcome addiction. Critchlow manages the all-volunteer staff and works hands-on with the residents to help them beat their addictions and assesses their needs for parenting classes, job training, medical attention, and domestic violence counseling. More than 300 women have been served since The Women’s Retreat House opened its doors in 2008.

James T. Elcock founded Kids Against Hunger, Metro St. Charles/St. Louis satellite to provide nutritionally rich food to fight hunger in the U.S. and abroad. This year Elcock has distributed 550,000 meals — locally through the St. Louis Food Bank, for disaster relief in the U.S. and Haiti, and internationally to countries suffering from chronic hunger including Nicaragua and Uganda. Elcock has involved more than 3,000 volunteers in food packaging events, which are organized to assemble the unique rice-based recipe that costs 23 cents per serving.

For more than 25 years, Dave Philp supported the Ridgeview Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Ridgeview Medical Center, a nonprofit regional health care network in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. Philp has raised more than $3 million through annual golf tournaments and other events. The money raised has been critical to building a state-of-the-art birthing center, neonatal care unit, a hospice home, a heart center, and a scholarship fund to address the shortage of health care workers.

After hearing that some of the soldiers weren’t receiving mail from home,
Wendy & John Rocca founded Operation American Soldier in 2003 while their daughter was deployed in Iraq. OAS sends “cheer” packages and letters of support to soldiers who otherwise would receive nothing at mail call. More than 30,000 pounds have been sent overseas, filled with snacks, beverages, books, magazines and other items. Each box also contains a letter asking if the soldier knows of anyone else who is not receiving support from home who would appreciate a package. The Roccas have spent more than $15,000 of their own money on postage and goods.

Honorable Mentions
In addition to the winners, five REALTORS® have been recognized as Good Neighbor Award honorable mentions; they will each receive $2,500 grants and a $1,000 Lowe’s gift card. They are James Arnhold, Source Realty, LLC, Virginia Beach, Va., for EQUI-KIDS Therapeutic Riding Program; Janice Mueller, RE/MAX Creative Realty, Lexington, Ky., for Makenna Foundation; Joseph D. Perry, RE/MAX-Gold, Clovis, Calif., for Boys2Men Girls2Women; Thomas Joseph Rempson, T.R. Lawing Realty Inc., Charlotte, N.C., for Realtors Care Day; and Kim Turley, Prudential California Realty, Yucaipa, Calif., for The Blessing Center.

“The Good Neighbor Awards is an opportunity for NAR to honor those REALTORS® who are leaders in their community, dedicating time and energy to helping those in need," said REALTOR® Magazine’s publisher Frank Sibley. “These winners should know they have played a critical role in the lives of others and are a remarkable inspiration.”

REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by Lowe’s and HouseLogic. Nominees were judged on their personal contribution of time, as well as financial and material contributions to their cause. To be eligible, nominees had to be NAR members in good standing. More information about the Good Neighbor Awards winners is available at www.realtor.org/realtormag.

Lowe’s has worked with customers to maintain and improve their homes since 1946. Lowe’s is proud to support the Good Neighbor Awards. Lowe’s is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, SkillsUSA/SkillsCanada, and The Nature Conservancy, in addition to numerous nonprofit organizations and programs that help communities in North America. In 2009, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $30 million to support community and education projects in North America. Lowe’s also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe’s Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer initiative. Lowe’s, a proud partner in NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program, brings REALTORS® exclusive benefits to help build relationships with their customers, generate referrals and expand their client base. The benefits program is featured on www.LowesRealtorBenefits.com.

HouseLogic, is a free source of information and tools from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® that can help home owners make smart and timely decisions about their home. With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways to get involved in and enrich their community, HouseLogic can help home owners increase and protect the value of their home by helping them make confident decisions.

-- NAR