“This opioid epidemic has been tearing apart the fabric of many communities across the country and as a REALTOR®, community is everything to us.”
– Paul Wyman, Kokomo
2019 Indiana Association of REALTORS® Good Neighbor Award Honoree
Community is everything to us… that’s exactly why we brought the Good Neighbor Award to Indiana, to tell the REALTOR® story of volunteerism and advocacy.
MEET PAUL WYMAN AND TURNING POINT
Our first award honoree, Kokomo’s Paul Wyman, is helping people fight addiction and bringing mental health care to Howard County. Paul began his efforts in September 2017 when he gathered more than 100 community members together for a summit on the opioid crisis. Out of that summit grew the nonprofit Turning Point, a no barrier point of entry for people suffering from addiction and mental health issues. Paul and the Turning Point team are saving lives. Overdose deaths in Howard County decreased by 25 percent last year when compared to 2017. And other Indiana counties are using them as a model. But as Paul says, there’s much more work to be done. That’s why the $5,000 one-time grant from award sponsor, Old National Bank – Mortgage, means so much. And you can bet on the fact that Paul will be leading the charge.
SUMMARY OF NOMINATIONS
Nominations were due the Monday after Thanksgiving. Indiana REALTORS® are clearly doing meaningful work across the state. Here’s a quick summary of round #1:
- 34 complete nominations received
- 29 different nominees represented
- 16 incomplete nominations received – some were incredibly close to being complete
- 15 different local REALTOR® associations represented
CRITERIA & SELECTION PROCESS
Members of the IAR Recognition Committee judged the 29 nominees according to the following criteria:
- Nominees must be members in good standing of the National Association of REALTORS®, the Indiana Association of REALTORS®, and have primary membership with a local Indiana board or association of REALTORS®.
- Nominees must be active practitioners as certified by their Managing Broker.
- Nominees will be judged on level of personal contribution, especially volunteer (unpaid) hours, though contributions of money and other resources will be considered as well.
- Some portion of the nominee’s work must have taken place within the 12 months prior to the nomination deadline, which is the Monday immediately following Thanksgiving Day.
- This award is intended to recognize individuals, not associations or companies. If an individual within your association or company can be singled out as instrumental to the success of a group effort, he or she is eligible. If the achievements of two people (such as a married couple or co-founders of an organization) cannot be separated, they can enter as a pair and their entry will be considered as one.
NAR GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD
IAR will nominate Paul Wyman for the National Association of REALTORS® Good Neighbor Award. Nominations are now open through May 10. Anyone can try for the NAR award. In fact, we encourage our members to do so. There’s also the NAR Volunteering Works Award to consider. Nominations are due this February 28.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Nominations for round #2 of the IAR Good Neighbor Award are due the Monday after Thanksgiving, or by Midnight ET on December 2, 2019. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged because only you know your story.