Company: CRRA

December 16, 2016

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than 400 Realtors® gathered Friday at the Crowne Plaza Charlotte Executive Park for the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association/Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CarolinaMLS) 2016 Holiday Awards Luncheon & Annual Meeting.  Members paid tribute to outstanding real estate industry leaders and association volunteers.  

Industry awards 

Maren Brisson-Kuester, Realtor®/broker with Cottingham Chalk Hayes, Realtors®, was named the 2016 Realtor® of the Year. The award is the highest honor given by the association to a Realtor® member who has made outstanding contributions to the community above and beyond the activities within the real estate profession.  

Brisson-Kuester, who has served two terms as president of both the Association and CarolinaMLS, has been a Broker/Realtor® since 2003 and top producer since 2006.  Brisson-Kuester is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. Brisson-Kuester has served as a volunteer of not only the local and state associations, but is also active in the Charlotte community, where she served as chair of Yasmine’s Bid for Hope, Steppin’ Out, Forest Hill Preschool Parent Advisory Committee, Charlotte Preparatory PTA, Classroom Central, Operation Christmas Child, Jacob’s Ladder Job Center, Levine Children’s Hospital and Charlotte Family Housing.  Brisson-Kuester was also named to the Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 under 40 2016 class.

Her service to the association has also included: Association Board of Directors (2014 - present); CarolinaMLS Board of Directors (2011 - present); NCAR Board of Directors, Region 8 (2006 - present); Executive Committee (2014 - present); N.C. Real Estate Commission task force on new exams (2011); MLS Search Task Force (2013), Young Professionals Network (2013 - present); Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition Board of Governors (2008 - 2009); Leadership Development Program (now Leadership Academy, 2005 graduate); and the Housing Opportunity Foundation Board of Directors (2014 - present).  Maren is married to husband F. Shaw Kuester III, and has two sons, Reed, 10 and Dillon, 6.

Kevin Ratliff, a Realtor®/broker with Pridemore Properties, was named the 2016 Vane Mingle Rookie of the Year.  The award is presented to a new Realtor® who excels in his or her new profession.  To be considered as a rookie nominee, the individual must have been a member for at least 12 months and must have closed at least 10 transactions within their first 12 months.  

Ratliff joined the association in the fall of 2015 and closed 19 sales during his first 12 months as a Realtor® member, while also making time to volunteer extensively in the community. Ratliff participated in the Housing Opportunity Foundation’s 2016 Realtors® Care Day event and is also extensively involved with Claire’s Army, a not-for-profit organization he created with wife Emily.  Claire’s Army is dedicated to providing assistance to Charlotte families with children who have been diagnosed with cancer. Since its inception in 2014, Claire’s Army has provided over $75,000 in assistance to families battling childhood cancer by offsetting living, travel, grocery and medical expenses. The organization has also delivered over 2,400 meals to families whose children are currently fighting cancer.  Meals are provided to these families four nights a week, year round. Ratliff is also a supporter of the Isabella Santos Foundation, which provides funding for Neuroblastoma research.  Ratliff, a native of Charlotte, N.C., is graciously supported by wife, Emily and their two children, Sydney and Walker.

The President’s 2016 Committee Chair of the Year Award was bestowed upon Tiffany Johannes, Realtor®/broker-in-charge with Charlotte Home Experts.  Johannes, an active Association and Housing Opportunity Foundation volunteer since 2009, served as the chair of the Housing Opportunity Foundation for the past two years. Her volunteerism also includes extensive service with the Junior League of Charlotte. 

As a part of the Holiday Awards Luncheon and Annual Meeting, members annually bring a new, unwrapped toy to the event.  This year association members gave away more than 500 toys to the Ronald McDonald House.

For more information, visit www.CarolinaHome.com. For interviews, please contact Kim Walker.

The Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association is a trade association that provides its more than 9,000 Realtor® members with the resources and services they need to conduct ethical, professional, successful and profitable businesses. The association is dedicated to being the region's primary resource for residential real estate information. The association operates the Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc. (CarolinaMLS), which has more than 10,500 Subscribers and is the private cooperative Realtors® use for access to tens of thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, the Piedmont area of North Carolina and South Carolina, and beyond.

Original Publish Date: 12/16/2016