NVAR AWARDS

NVAR GOOD NEIGHBOR – GABRIEL DEUKMAJI, REALTOR®, KW METRO CENTER

Gabriel Deukmaji was inspired to act during the early period of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Wanting to assist struggling local restaurants while supporting the tireless efforts of the frontline heroes in the local community, he mobilized the power of his peers to create the Front Yards 2 Front Lines (FY2FL) campaign. Under Deukmaji’s leadership, his brokerage was able to fund two negative pressure rooms, which are about $15,000 to setup and vital to continue the fight against COVID-19.

NVAR REALTOR® OF THE YEAR – CHRISTINE RICHARDSON, REALTOR®, WEICHERT, REALTORS®

Christine Richardson, immediate past president of NVAR, has represented NVAR at the local, state and national levels. During her NVAR presidency in 2019, one of her main objectives was to improve the professionalism of the industry in a fun and exciting way. She energized some of the most enthusiastic members to engage in peer-to-peer communication and become active in the community. This year, she was appointed to serve as chair of the NVAR Centennial Task Force, setting the future course of the association for the next 100 years.

NVAR AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR – HELEN KRAUSE, MARKETING DIRECTOR, NEW WORLD TITLE & ESCROW

Helen Krause has been a member of NVAR for 13 years. She has served on NVAR’s Young Professionals Network, Real Estate Finance & Settlement Forum and the Realtor®- Builder Forum, for which she serves as 2020 Chair. She is a frequent attendee and instructor at NVAR events, classes and volunteer opportunities and is highly engaged with the association and community.



NVAR LEADERSHIP AWARD – MICHELLE DOHERTY, REALTOR®, RLAH

Michelle Doherty is the 2020 chair of the NV/ RPAC Campaign and Convention Committees and past chair of the Young Professionals Network Advisory Group. She was also one of Realtor® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Honorees for 2019 and is serving at the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) on the YPN Advisory Board and Member Policy & Board Jurisdiction Committee.

VIRGINIA REALTORS® AWARDS

VIRGINIA REALTOR® OF THE YEAR – CANDICE BOWER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/MANAGING BROKER, MCENEARNEY ASSOCIATES

Candice Bower has worked in the real estate industry in Maine, Massachusetts, and Virginia for 37 years.

For decades, Bower has been actively involved in the Realtor® association at the local, state and national levels. Bower has served as the Federal Political Coordinator (FPC) to Senator Mark Warner since 2018 and has served on NAR committees since 2008. She was 2008 chair of the Dulles Area Association of Realtors® and their 2006 Realtor® of the Year. In 2006, Bower graduated from the Virginia Realtors® Leadership Academy and served on their Board of Directors from 2009-2015 and again in 2018. Bower has served as president of the Women’s Council of Realtors® Northern Virginia Chapter and chairman of the Virginia State Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Chapter in 2016. In 2018, she was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to a four-year term on the Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB). She was recently appointed as chairman to the VREB Education Committee.

THE ANN SWEARINGEN PROPERTY MANAGER OF THE YEAR –
NICHOLAS LAGOS, ASSOCIATE BROKER, CENTURY 21 NEW MILLENNIUM

Nicholas Lagos, NVAR 2020 President, has owned and operated a large property management company since 1998. He has been a managing broker since 1993 and a broker/owner of a Century 21 Franchise from 1998 to 2018 for sales. He then merged the company with a larger firm as he became more actively involved in association leadership. In addition to running a successful property management company for over 20 years, Lagos has displayed incredible leadership at the local, state and national levels. His leadership is matched by his commitment to volunteerism, including his work with Habitat for Humanity.

THE VIRGINIA REALTORS® GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD –
SARAH MOORMAN, REALTOR®, SAMSON PROPERTIES

For the past two years, Sarah Moorman has been volunteering her time with Generosity Feeds, an initiative of the Replenish Community Foundation, working to feed hungry children in every county across America so that all children may have the opportunity to thrive. In 2019, she led a volunteer event attended by nearly 400 people. Under Moorman’s leadership, the group created 20,000 meals, which were distributed directly to children living with food insecurity in the Fairfax County Public School System.

THE VIRGINIA REALTORS® GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD –
LINDA WOLF, REALTOR®, KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

Through working with military families as a Realtor®, Linda Wolf saw an unfulfilled need to help families with critically ill children.

She has dedicated countless hours and fundraising efforts to The Walter Reed Society and secured the first In-Bore System for the children’s radiology unit. This system, at a cost of $50,000 per installation, helps children cope with the experience of the MRI process by allowing them to watch a movie during the scan. She gained congressional support for the project, resulting in an honorary committee of six U.S. Senators. She is working to gain approval for the system to be installed in 100 military hospitals around the country, as well as several other projects.

NAR AWARDS

GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD FINALIST – LINDA WOLF, REALTOR®, KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

In addition to her VAR Good Neighbor Award achievement, Linda was recognized as a finalist for NAR’s Good Neighbor Award and received honorable mention – resulting in a $2,500 grant for her charity.

30 UNDER 30 – CASEY SUTHERLAND, PRINCIPLE BROKER, ROSEMONT REAL ESTATE

Casey Sutherland began his real estate career in 2013 working alongside his mother as the Sutherland Partners team. Quickly developing a taste for leadership, Sutherland served on his office advisory board and as house captain for Rebuilding Together Alexandria – an organization that renovates houses in local neighborhoods for residents in need. In December 2019, Casey formed his own independent brokerage, Rosemont Real Estate LLC. In addition to completing NVAR’s Leadership Institute, Sutherland has served on NVAR’s Small Broker Advisory Group and Young Professionals Network Advisory Group.




Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital content manager & senior editor and staff liaison to the NVAR Awards & Recognitions Advisory Group.