By YPN Chair Steve Kotan
As Chair of OREA’s YPN Committee I get to meet some of our professions brightest and most enthusiastic REALTORS® as well as board Executive Officers and staff. One of my favourite parts about being Chair is the YPN Leadership Awards. The quality of the applications that have come across my desk each year demonstrates to me that thanks to all the talent we have in the real estate profession and organized real estate, our future is strong and in very good hands.
This year five exceptional real estate leaders captured the judges’ attention. These individuals have raised the bar in the profession by volunteering in the REALTOR® Community, supporting causes that are close to their hearts, and continuously challenging themselves professionally. Each of them has succeeded in real estate by blazing their own trail early in their career, and not looking back.
They are:
- David Kurt – Sudbury Real Estate Board
- Lisa Patel – Toronto Real Estate Board
- Branden Kameka – Mississauga Real Estate Board
- Brian Santos – Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board
- Jeff Bauer – Huron Perth Association of REALTORS®
In the coming months you’ll have a chance to hear their unique success stories and paths to leadership in a series of feature interviews.
Thinking forward, I would like to encourage more Realtors to apply for a YPN Leadership Award.
Please stay tuned to your inbox and OREA’s social media channels for videos by this year’s winners, as well as details about how to apply for the 2018 Awards.
Now in its third year, the OREA YPN Leadership Award program is designed to recognize and encourage the next generation of real estate leaders. Winners are selected based on the three equally weighted criteria of: volunteering for organized real estate; giving back to the community; and investing in professional development.
The current Chair of the Ontario Real Estate Association’s YPN Committee, Steve Kotan has worked for over 25 years as a licensed REALTOR® in North Bay. Steve is the incoming OREA Director for Northern Ontario, Past President of the North Bay Real Estate Board and a current Committee member with the Canadian Real Estate Association. He is the recipient of Royal LePage’s Director’s Platinum Award and Lifetime Award of Excellence and the Royal LePage Shelter Foundations 2015 Individual of the Year.
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