Realtors® honored in Harrisburg

Tribute was paid to three Pennsylvania Realtors® during a special gathering last night in Harrisburg during the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® (PAR) Fall Business Meetings.

William H. Lublin of Philadelphia was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual who has significantly contributed to the Realtor® organization. Jerry Speer of Pittsburgh was named the Realtor® of the Year, which acknowledges meritorious contributions to the advancement of the profession and to the real estate community. And Ron Croushore of Pittsburgh was presented the Realtor® Active in Politics Award, which distinguishes exemplary legislative volunteerism on behalf of the association.

Lublin is a strong advocate for professional education. He started BuzzBuilderz LLC to facilitate the entrance of individuals and business into the social media arena. He founded the Social Media Marketing Institute and the Certified Social Media Marketing designation (CSM) to encourage the ethical and effective use of social media. In 2010, he was selected by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) to re-write its e-Pro certification, the only technology certification recognized by NAR. This course was recognized for its ground breaking methods with the Real Estate Educator’s Association (REEA) award for best educational program in 2011. In 2012, he was presented the Century 21 Company Technology Award.

In his local association, the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors® (GPAR), Lublin served as president in 1996. He received the Realtor® of the Year Award and the Boyd T. Barnard Award from the local association and was inducted into its Hall of Fame. At the state level, Lublin has served on PAR’s Board of Directors, as well as chair of the Professional Standards Committee. Nationally, Lublin has chaired the NAR Risk Management License Law Forum, the Joint Workgroup on Pocket Listings, the Multi-Listing System (MLS) Issues and Policy Committee and the MLS Trends and Emerging Technology Advisory Board.

Lublin has been recognized by Inman News as one of “Real Estate’s Most Influential Online” for three years running, Swaenpoel’s 100 Most Interesting and Influential in Real Estate and other social media lists.

“Leave every job better than you found it,” Lublin advised the crowd while accepting his award last night.

Speer is past president of both the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® and the Realtors® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (RAMP). He was previously awarded PAR’s Realtor® Active in Politics Award and the Distinguished Service Award. He was named the Realtor® of the Year by his local association in 1992.

Currently, he is the chair of PAR’s Legislative Committee. In addition, he serves on the Strategic Planning, Keystone Analytics®, and the Commercial, Industrial and Investment committees. He is a member of PAR’s Board of Directors and the Public Policy and Political Advocacy Coordinating Committee. At the National Association of Realtors®, he is a member of the board of directors.

“The greatest award is recognition from one’s peers,” Speers said, adding that he was “humbled” by the award.

Croushore currently serves as the association’s president and has been instrumental in creating a real estate caucus with members of the state Senate and House. He has chaired the Realtors® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and the Strategic Planning Committee. He served as the state association’s treasurer and first vice president.

He is the first-ever Realtor® to be appointed, by the Pennsylvania Legislature, onto the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) Board of Directors.

At the National Association of Realtors®, he is a member of the board of directors and serves on several committees. Croushore has been president of the West Penn Multi-List, Inc., past president of the Realtors® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (RAMP), and was previously named RAMP’s Realtor® of the Year.

In 2011, Croushore was the first recipient of RISMedia’s Real Estate Leadership Award, an award given to a member of the national real estate community who pursues innovation and exercises resilience. That same year, his national real estate franchisor network of 65,000 members named him Broker of the Year.

“Politics is a team effort,” he said. “It isn’t a one year job, politics are a lifetime.”