All nominees are expected to attend the ceremony where the award winner will be announced. REALTOR® of the Year nominees are expected to attend the Annual Installation Banquet for recognition purposes among peers and leadership. These ceremonies take place at the Maryland REALTORS® Annual Installation and Awards Gala.Winners will be announced for the following awards: President's Award, Shining Star, CARE (Community Action and REALTOR® Excellence) Award, REALTOR® of the Year (ROTY) and Community Service.
DEADLINE: Contact your local association.
The REALTOR® of the Year (ROTY) Award—One ROTY application is required to be submitted by each local Board/Association to be entered in the Maryland REALTORS® competition. The winner of the state award will travel to National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Annual Convention for consideration in the national award. This award is submitted directly to your local board/association for consideration.
DOWNLOAD 2025 APPLICATION
Deadline: July 15, 2025 by 5pm
The Maryland REALTORS® Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Award celebrates the incredible work of our REALTOR® community to drive improved culture within the workplace as well as in the communities we serve. This award is designed to recognize those who have made significant steps towards creating a more diverse and inclusive community through the implementation of initiatives and/or programs reflective of Maryland REALTORS®.
Eligibility:
Individual or organization must be a member of Maryland REALTORS®. This application may be submitted on behalf of an individual, a real estate firm, or local board/associations and/or their staff may be nominated or may nominate themselves.
All applicants must satisfy TWO of the following criteria:
The Maryland REALTORS® Good Neighbor Award (formerly known as the Community Service Award)—honors individual REALTOR® members who give unselfishly of their time to assist the communities in which they live. Individuals can submit an application directly to Maryland REALTORS® and there is no limit to the number of entries submitted by local Board/Associations or firms for this award. All nominees submitted to local Board/Associations must be submitted to Maryland REALTORS®.
This award is given to local board/associations recognizing achievements in community service and charitable actions. The award is designed to raise the profile of the REALTOR® organization by focusing on boards or associations that have demonstrated an extraordinary record through direct local board/association community service involvement. In 2015, the Award was renamed “William J Neary Jr Community Action and REALTOR Excellence Award” to honor the champion of this award, former Maryland REALTORS® President William “Bill” J. Neary Jr.
The award will be divided between a large board/association and a small board/association with the large board/association being identified as 1001 members or more on October 31, 2024. Charitable contributions and events executed from June 1, 2024 through July 8, 2025.
Each local board/association may submit one or a compilation of associations/boards community service projects for consideration. The submission should include a narrative up to 750 words describing the community service activities and a video. The video may not be more than 4 minutes in length and must be submitted as a YouTube or Dropbox link. All other formats will be returned to the submitting board or association and not considered for review. See Narrative Guide for full submission requirements.
Ad Hoc Committee may annually bestow the Life Achievement Award, which recognizes extraordinary contributions to the real estate profession and to the REALTOR organization. The intention is that recipients will be universally acknowledged among Maryland REALTORS® members as exemplary practitioners in the real estate and business communities. Conferring this award is not mandatory.
The current Maryland REALTORS® President and a previous year’s recipient appoint the Ad Hoc Committee, which is chaired by a previous year’s recipient and includes 3 additional past recipients who are still active in the industry, and the current year’s Maryland REALTORS® Officers. 9 committee members in total (4 past recipients and 5 Officers).
The award is promoted to local Association/Boards AE's and local Presidents to solicit nominees. The Chairs of the Committee will appear before at the June Presidential Council and Board of Directors meetings to promote the award and request submission for nominees.
Criteria:
The President’s Award is presented to a REALTOR® member with a minimum of five (5) years in the profession, who provides continuous, dedicated service to the industry to enhance the quality of the profession. Nominations for this award will come from Maryland REALTORS® committee chairs, leadership and staff and are open to those members who participate at the State committee level.
A call of nominations will be distributed in early June to local associations/boards and the Maryland REALTORS® officers, directors, committee chairs, vice chairs and staff. Nominations are due mid-July. This award will be presented at the Annual Installation and Awards Celebration.
The Shining Star Award will be presented to a new committee volunteer who demonstrates outstanding commitment and enthusiastic support to Maryland REALTORS® programs. Nominations for this award will come from Maryland REALTORS® Committee chairs, leadership, and Staff.
A call of nominations will be distributed in early June to local associations/boards and the Maryland REALTORS®officers, directors, committee chairs, vice chairs and staff. Nominations are due mid-July. This award will be presented at the Annual Installation and Awards Celebration.
A REALTOR® who has held membership in the state Association for a cumulative period of fifty (50) years is eligible for REALTOR® Emeritus status.
Upon approval of an application for REALTOR® Emeritus by the Board of Directors of the Maryland REALTORS®, no further payment of dues to the state Association is necessary by the local association/board of which the REALTOR®Emeritus is a member.
This dues waiver does not take effect until the dues year immediately following the Board of Directors' approval. A completed application is necessary to begin the approval process for state REALTOR® Emeritus status, which must be completed by the candidate's local association/board. Documentation substantiating the candidate's fifty (50) years of membership must be attached to the application.
Certification forms are due to the state association no later than one week prior to the winter meeting of the Maryland REALTORS® Board of Directors.
This award was established by the Maryland REALTORS® Executive Committee in 2007 to pay tribute to David E. Maclin, a graduate of the Maryland REALTORS® Leadership Academy. Criteria: A current Leadership Academy class participant who best embodies, "Cherish the Moment", the inscription David chose to reflect his 2006 presidency with the Prince George's County Association of REALTORS®. Each participant is to provide a brief statement as to why they were selected.
Awarding: Current Academy participants are instructed to complete a form which asks for a nominee's name and a brief explanation of why they chose the nominee, based on someone who embodies "Cherish the Moment". The award is presented during the Leadership Academy's graduation ceremony at the conclusion of the program each spring.
This scholarship was original created by Adam Cockey Jr. at the time of his presidency. Adam named the award after his first broker, W.(Bill) H.C. Wilson. The scholarship covers the Leadership Academy tuition costs for the recipient.
Criteria: The candidate should demonstrate: integrity, commitment to the real estate profession, professional demeanor, willingness to give time to the local, state and national associations, community Involvement, a high regard for the NAR Code of Ethics, a belief in continued learning; and a desire to lead.
All tuition must be paid by participants prior to the beginning of the program so the scholarship is offered as a "reimbursement" at the successful conclusion of the program. The scholarship recipient is kept confidential and awarded at the Leadership Academy graduation ceremony.