ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors® recognized Mike McGraw, 2023 Florida Realtors president, as its 2024 Realtor of the Year. The award – one of several – was presented Thursday during the state association’s annual Convention & Trade Expo at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla.
The Realtor audience applauded as McGraw accepted the award from 2024 President Gia Arvin.
When asked his thoughts after receiving the Realtor of the Year award, McGraw said, “It’s truly all about serving the member, helping our Realtor members succeed – and helping buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of homeownership.”
Florida Realtors has presented Realtor of the Year and Associate Realtor of the Year awards for 72 years. Winners are honored as the greatest individual lifetime contributors to their local Realtor board, community, state association and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
Almost immediately after getting his real estate license more than 20 years ago, McGraw became involved at all three levels of the Realtor organization: his local association, the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association, Florida Realtors and the National Association of Realtors®.
His accomplishments over the course of his career are numerous and varied, including leadership positions and awards recognizing his service. McGraw’s list of committees, groups, forums and tasks forces he has served on at the local level goes on, single-spaced, for five pages on his nomination form – all the way back to 2001. Among that long list, he was ORRA’s president in 2011 and was the 2018 president of Stellar MLS.
McGraw’s involvement with Florida Realtors is just as deep – that list spans five-and-a-half pages –and dates back to 2005. Under his leadership as Florida Realtors president, the state association focused on its role as “Your Business Partner” for Realtors and local Realtor associations.
His goals in 2023 included boosting advocacy efforts; increasing and promoting professionalism; protecting Florida’s environment; and raising awareness of Florida Realtors’ charities and showcasing the Realtor heart and all Realtors do in their communities.
Knowing the importance of advocacy, McGraw has long been a strong supporter of RPAC (Realtor Political Action Committee). As president, he worked to raise awareness and funds for RPAC through his “Coffee with Cars” series of district events, where members could invest in their profession while networking, enjoying a cup of coffee and seeing classic cars.
In 2023, McGraw was instrumental in efforts that changed the specialty license plate’s design to also include Florida Realtors and the Realtor “R” logo as a REALTOR® license plate. The purpose of the redesign is to encourage more Realtors to purchase the “Homeownership for All” license plate and help fund affordable housing programs across the state. The new specialty license plate is now available at county tax collector’s offices, by mail or online. For more information, including how to purchase the new specialty license plate, go to https://homeownershipforall.org.
He also has been active in numerous National Association of Realtors® (NAR) committees, including currently serving on its Board of Directors and the 2024 Insurance Committee. In the community, he has supported and volunteered with Apopka Little League baseball, mission trips to Guatemala, the Apopka Rotary Club and the Toastmasters Club.
“What stunned me was when they said the list (of his involvement) goes on for five-and-a-half pages,” McGraw said after the awards luncheon. “I don’t love the titles or do it for the accolades. I just always want to get to work.”
His real estate colleagues and the Realtor profession have benefited from McGraw’s dedication and work ethic for the past 20-plus years.
Associate Realtor of the Year
Florida Realtors honored Missi Howell of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) as Associate Realtor of the Year for 2024. Working in real estate for nearly 40 years, from residential real estate lending to selling, Howell has long supported the real estate industry. She became a Realtor in 2007.
Howell believes in education and has earned 12 designations and certifications, including Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI), Accredited Buyers’ Representative (ABR) and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), to name a few. A member of numerous NEFAR committees over the course of her career, she served as president of NEFAR in 2021, as president of the Jacksonville chapter of the Women’s Counsel of Realtors in 2014 and is a 2011 graduate of NEFAR’s Leadership Academy. She is also a member of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA).
On the state level, Howell has been a member of Florida Realtors Board of Directors for the last seven years. She has served as chair of the state association’s Global Networking Forum and was the 2016 chair of the Global Business Committee. A 2022 graduate of Florida Realtors Leadership Academy, she was a Florida Realtors instructor in 2023.
In 2023, Howell served as a Large Association Director on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Board of Directors. She also was one of 10 Realtors selected for the Florida Realtors/NAR Mentor Program in 2023.
Her involvement in her community spans years and organizations, including over 25 years of continuous volunteer service in Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs) and Band Boosters, K9’s for Warriors in Northeast Florida, the Johns Creek Homeowners Association and JaxCERT, a community response team. She was president of the University of North Florida Parent Association from 2011-2013.
A dedicated Realtor, Howell leads by example and demonstrates her commitment to her profession and her community.
Realtor Achievement Award
Jim Mulvey, a member of the Venice Board of Realtors, was named the winner of Florida Realtors 2024 Realtor Achievement Award, which recognizes a Realtor who serves as manager, broker of record or officer in his or her company. The award acknowledges the winner’s previous three years’ contributions to the community, local, state and national Realtor associations.
Mulvey has been actively involved in his local board since he joined in 2014, serving on numerous committees. He was president in 2023, and currently chairs the RPAC Committee, serves as a Stellar MLS director and on the Stellar MLS Finance Committee, as well as a member of the Data Services Committee. Mulvey is the Venice Board of Realtors’ mediator and ombudsman, successfully handling mediation cases. He was named his local board’s Realtor of the Year in 2020 and received its President’s Award in 2022.
At the state level, Mulvey is Florida Realtors 2024 District 13 vice president and has been a member of the state association’s Board of Directors for the past four years. He has served on many committees for Florida Realtors and is a current member of its Strategic Planning Committee, the Legislative Think Tank and Legislative and Regulatory Business Issues Breakout Group.
A Golden R major investor in the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) and a President’s Circle member, Mulvey believes in investing in his profession and supporting advocacy efforts.
He has served the National Association of Realtors (NAR) as a member of its Business Issues Policy Committee and on the NAR Delegate Body.
Mulvey volunteers his time and talents to several organizations in his local community. He supports Autism Advocacy, Girls Clubs, Children’s Miracle Network, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice, Ronald McDonald House, Toys for Tots and United Way, to name just a few.
Commercial Realtor Achievement Award
Florida Realtors honored Karen Johnson, a member of the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® as the recipient of the 2024 Commercial Realtor Achievement Award. This award honors a Realtor’s lifetime of contributions to commercial activities at the local, state and national levels.
In nominating Johnson, her local association described her as “a consummate leader and a key proponent of bridging the divide between commercial and residential real estate through education, board involvement, committee service and networking.” In fact, she does multi-million dollars in annual sales in both commercial and residential real estate, which is a rare balance in the industry.
A longtime Realtor with 26 years in the profession, she is a past president (2021) of Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors and Beaches MLS. She also has been a member of the Realtors Commercial Alliance since 2010, serving as president of RCA in 2017. Her local association named her its Commercial Realtor of the Year in 2017, and she graduated from its Leadership Academy in 2014, to name just a few of her local Realtor activities.
At the state level, Johnson became involved in Florida Realtors in the early stages of her real estate career, serving on numerous committees and attending state association conventions and other events since the early 2000s. Her involvement includes serving as Florida Realtors District 11 vice president in 2022 and as chair of the Strategic Thinking Committee that same year. And in 2023, she was a member of Florida Realtors Global Business Committee, Investment/Treasury Management Committee and its Board of Directors.
Investing in her profession and contributing to Realtor advocacy efforts is important to Johnson. She is a Platinum Major Investor in RPAC (Realtor Political Action Committee) and a member of the RPAC Hall of Fame and President’s Circle. She has served on the National Association of Realtors Commercial Committee, is the 2024 vice chair of the NAR Reserves Investment Advisory Board and has been appointed to NAR’s Board of Directors since 2018.
She believes in giving back and supporting her local community as well. Johnson is a consistent volunteer and contributor to her local association’s, “Pay It Forward Foundation,” the Broward County Charitable Foundation, Rebuilding Together Broward, Habitat for Humanity Broward County, the Sheridan House and the Stranahan House.
Johnson also often acts as a mentor for her colleagues and shares her passion for the Realtor profession, helping others work toward their personal goals for success.
Newcomer of the Year Award
Winning Florida Realtors Newcomer Award for 2024 was Nicole Porro, a member of the Naples Area Board of Realtors (NABOR). The Newcomer Award recognizes someone who entered the Realtor profession within the past three years, and, during that time, made notable contributions to the local and state associations, as well as to his or her community.
Since she joined NABOR in 2021, Porro has sought out involvement and growth within her local association.She has invested in her profession through the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC). Porro has served on her local board’s Magazine Committee, Global Business Committee and Young Professionals Network (YPN) Committee, acting as one of YPN’s Education Ambassadors for NABOR. She also was instrumental in organizing several Global Business Committee events, including a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration and Festival of Countries.
She earned her Certified International Property Specialists or “CIPS” designation last year and is working on her Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI) designation.
A graduate of NABOR’s Leadership Academy in 2022, Porro completed a community service project for a local charity, Project HELP, as part of her leadership training. Project HELP is a nonprofit staffed by professional counselors and advocates who work with those affected by sexual violence, sudden death and other crimes to offer counseling, empowerment and healing for their recovery.
Porro received NABOR’s Realtor Rising Star Award in 2023.
Humanitarian of the Year
Proving that Realtors make a difference, Chrissy Hartley, a member of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR), was named the 2024 Humanitarian of the Year by Florida Realtors.
Born and raised between two of the nation’s largest military bases, Hartley has always had a strong love for her country and a passion for helping our nation’s veterans.
She has long supported Building Homes for Heroes, including chairing the Building Homes for Heroes Task Force for the past two years. The organization builds or modifies homes, and gifts them, mortgage-free, to injured veterans, first responders and their families, while providing support services to enable them to build better and brighter lives.
With Building Homes for Heroes, Hartley and others have worked with local builders to help local wounded veterans receive mortgage-free homes. She not only leads each meeting as the chair, but makes calls, secures sponsors, runs errands, receives payments, manages spreadsheets and creates auction and gift baskets all in the name of helping injured veterans.
With Hartley’s determination and assistance, since 2014, ECAR has raised more than $125,000 for Building Homes for Heroes.
A dedicated wife, mother, friend, Realtor and philanthropist, with a strong work ethic, Hartley believes: “To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart,” attributed to Thomas Watson, Sr., chairman and CEO of IBM.
Spirit of Advocacy Award
Diana Galavis, a member of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), was recognized as the 2024 winner of the Spirit of Advocacy Award.
This award honors a member of Florida Realtors who has demonstrated excellence in advocacy within the governmental or political arena at all levels – the local Realtor board, state association, national association and community – over their lifetime. Monetary donations are not a consideration for the award.
Galavis puts her background in political science and passion for political issues to good use. She served as the 2023 president of NEFAR and is very active in her local association. As chair of NEFAR’s Legislative Committee in 2015, she logged numerous hours attending City Council meetings with local representatives to discuss key issues impacting her community– and she continues to seek ways to support and partner on local projects and issues. For 10 years, she’s been involved in candidate screenings for local, state and federal offices. And, as a leading voice for supporting RPAC (the Realtor Political Action Committee), as NEFAR president last year, she helped guide her RPAC Chair and Vice Chair through a record-breaking 40th annual RPAC auction, raising over $147,000 in one night
At the state level, Galavis has served Florida Realtors as a key contact for various legislators since 2015. She is a Golden R investor and member of the RPAC Hall of Fame. She’s served on Florida Realtors Public Policy Committee, Legislative and Regulatory Business Issues Subcommittee and the Legislative and Political Forum, among many others, and is a 2013 graduate of Florida Realtors Leadership Academy.
Early in her Realtor career, she saw one area where she could make a difference: bridging the gap between young professionals and Realtor advocacy efforts. While serving on Young Professionals Network (YPN) Committees at the state and local levels, Galavis made sure that at all activities, the importance of being involved with advocacy and investing in the through RPAC was emphasized.
Nationally, Galavis is a 2017 graduate of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Leadership Academy and serves as NAR’s federal political coordinator for Congressman John Rutherford, who seeks her input on flood insurance and housing policy issues. She currently serves on the NAR State and Local Issues Mobilization Committee, as well as the Consumer Advocacy Outreach Advisory Board, where she will be vice-chair in 2025.
Galavis is a dedicated advocate for private property rights, a strong voice for Realtor engagement and investment, and represents the real estate profession at its best.
Education Volunteer of the Year
The Education Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes members who volunteered their time and energy to advance professional development for Realtors. This year’s Education Volunteer of the Year winner is Susan Markowitz-Lewis, from Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors.
A Realtor since 1984, Markowitz-Lewis was recognized as Realtor of the Year in 2010 by what was then the South Broward Board of Realtors. She has served as vice chair of the South Broward Regional Board for her local association, the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors, and has been a member of her local Professional Standards Committee for over 28 years.
Giving back to the community is also very important to her. Markowitz-Lewis serves on the Community Outreach Committee at her local association and on the Unsafe Structures Advisory Board for the City of Hallandale Beach. She is also a board member for the Golden Isles Safe Neighborhood District and is a member of the Wings Society for Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies of Broward County.
Markowitz-Lewis is passionate about professional standards and helping fellow Realtors learn more about professionalism and ethics in the real estate industry.
Educator of the Year
This year’s Florida Realtors Educator of the Year is Christel Silver, a member of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors. She also serves as a member of the South Palm Beach Regional Board. Silver is so motivated to educate her colleagues, she sometimes offers classes for free – and she also has written and developed education courses for her local board.
Born and raised in Germany, her career as a real estate professional spans over 38 years. Silver specializes in international real estate through her brokerage firm, Silver International Realty in Delray Beach and Destin.
She serves as the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Ambassador to Germany and was the 2023 chair for its Global Alliances Advisory Board. She also is a member of Florida Realtors’ and NAR’s Board of Directors.
Silver is a Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) and NAR certified instructor for Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), At Home With Diversity (AHWD) and Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) classes. As a Florida Realtors instructor, she is approved to teach Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI) courses.
She is dedicated to lifelong learning and sharing her enthusiasm for education with her Realtor colleagues.
Florida Realtor magazine awards
Best Article: Rick Woods, Greater Tampa Realtors, for the article, “Testimonials That Hit Home,” June 2023, FloridaRealtor magazine
Honorable Mention: Todd Beyer, Miami Association of Realtors, for the article, “Targeting Top-Tier Talent,” March 2024, Florida Realtor magazine
© 2024 Florida Realtors®
