At the beginning of January, RISMedia announced the 2020 Real Estate Newsmakers and, for the third year, the 2020 Hall of Fame Newsmakers. In addition to the Real Estate Newsmakers, RISMedia honors individual Newsmakers in our Hall of Fame, celebrating distinguished icons in the industry for their long-standing service.

Recently, we caught up with the 2020 Hall of Fame Newsmakers, who will be inducted at the annual Real Estate Newsmakers Reception & Dinner, held in May at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Paul Boomsma
President & CEO
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®

“Receiving this distinction from RISMedia is a true honor,” Boomsma says. “Without question, my recognition—and the success of LeadingRE—comes as a natural extension of the outstanding brokers who comprise our community, including those who guide our network as our board of directors. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame with such a renowned group as the 2020 class is especially humbling, and I salute all of the inductees. On a personal note, it is a great pleasure to share this Hall of Fame honor with LeadingRE members and my friends Harold Crye, Dan Elsea, Stuart Elsea and Georgianna Finn.”

Brian Buffini
Chairman & Founder
Buffini & Company

“It’s obviously a great honor to be inducted into RISMedia’s Newsmakers Hall of Fame,” Buffini says. “The real estate industry makes such a difference in the lives of people. I’m happy to be a small cog in the giant wheel of the most exciting business in the world.”

Harold Crye
Principal & CEO
Crye-Leike REALTORS®

“From the very beginning, in 1977, it was always our goal to offer exceptional levels of person-to-person service in the home-buying and -selling process,” Crye says. “For me, this Hall of Fame honor is a tribute that really goes to the 3,200 sales associates and 600-plus staff members that work extremely hard every day to fulfill our goal of delivering an unsurpassed level of service to our customers.”

Marilyn Eiland and Mark Woodroof
Managing Partners
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene

“We are honored to be recognized by such an outstanding media outlet for work on behalf real estate agents,” says Woodroof. “We share this honor with our agents who serve as inspiration to us.”

Stuart Elsea and Dan Elsea
President, Financial Services
President, Brokerage Services
Real Estate One Family of Companies

“It’s a big honor to see our names among this esteemed group of Real Estate Newsmakers,” say Stuart and Dan Elsea. “Our company is in its third generation of family ownership, so we grew up with our father as an active example in what takes to build and lead an excellent workplace and real estate business. We learned the ropes by starting at the bottom of the ladder and working our way up. That’s why we fully appreciate all of the moving pieces within our organization and everything, as well as everyone, it takes to achieve what we do. We are grateful to all of our employees and salespeople as we celebrate this Hall of Fame recognition.”

Georgianna Findlay Finn
Co-Owner & Founder
Coach Real Estate Associates, Inc.

“I am most flattered to be inducted into the RISMedia Hall of Fame, and humbled to be included among all the remarkable professionals who have received this honor in the past and are joining me as members this year,” Finn says. “My half-century career has been an amazing journey of personal growth made rich by the dynamic people I’ve met and have had the honor to work with—and learn from. I am so very grateful for the lifetime of opportunities I have been afforded and for the support I have received from the wonderful and talented people in our professional networks, our Coach Realtors® company and my cherished family.”

Lawrence “Larry” Flick IV
Chairman
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS®

“I am honored to receive this prestigious award as recognition for my leadership role in our industry and our charitable contributions in the Fox & Roach marketplace,” Flick says.

Bob Hale
President & CEO
Houston Association of REALTORS®

“To be recognized by such an outstanding media outlet for work on behalf of our 40,000 members is exceptionally humbling,” Hale says. “Being named to the 2020 RISMedia Newsmakers Hall of Fame, especially along with such amazing other honorees, will be one of the greatest accomplishments of my professional career.”

Dave and Gail Liniger
Co-Founders & Vice Chairs of the Board
RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.

“Gail and I are thrilled by this honor,” Liniger says. “John Featherston and his team at RISMedia have been outstanding industry advocates for many years, so this recognition is very special. We’ve spent over 50 years in the real estate business, and it’s been our passion the whole time. We’ve seen many changes, but we’ve also seen how the fundamentals of success—setting goals, working hard, serving others, never quitting—have stayed as relevant as ever. We’re very grateful for the adventures we’ve had and the friends we’ve made along the way. Because we love what we do, it sometimes feels like we’ve never worked a day in our lives.”

Nick Shivers
President & CEO
The Nick Shivers Team
Keller Williams Portland Central

“Being named a Hall of Fame Newsmaker is an unexpected honor that my team and I are very grateful for,” says Shivers. “I fight for the underdog; I always have. My heart is big for children who live in poverty. I believe God led me on this path, and I just had to have enough trust (and crazy side) to say, ‘Let’s do it!’ Leaders, risk takers and visionaries inspire and spark ideas. That kind of energy is exhilarating to me. I am honored to have this platform to raise awareness for Sell A Home, Save A Child, and look forward to meeting and learning from the other individuals being recognized.”

The 2020 Hall of Fame Newsmakers join 17 other Hall of Fame members:

• Gino Blefari, CEO, HomeServices of America (2019)
• William E. Brown, Founder, Investment Properties; 2017 President, National Association of REALTORS® (2019)
• Carl Carter, Jr., REALTOR®, RE/MAX Elite; Founder, Beverly Carter Foundation (2019)
• Helen Hanna Casey, CEO, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services (2018)
• David Charron, President, MRIS Investors, Inc. (2019)
• Bob Goldberg, CEO, National Association of REALTORS® (2018)
• Todd Hetherington, CEO & Co-Owner, NM Management, Inc., and CENTURY 21 New Millennium (2019)
• Elizabeth Mendenhall, CEO, RE/MAX Boone Realty; 2018 President, National Association of REALTORS® (2018)
• Rei Mesa, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty (2019)
• Teresa Palacios Smith, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion, HSF Affiliates (2018)
• Ron Peltier, Executive Chairman, HomeServices of America (2018)
• Diane M. Ramirez, Chairman & CEO, Halstead (2019)
• Joseph Rand, Chief Creative Officer, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty (2018)
• Mike Ryan, Partner, Rainmakers Group (2019)
• Michael Saunders, Founder & CEO, Michael Saunders & Company (2019)
• Mary Lynn Stone, President & Co-Owner, NM Management, Inc., and CENTURY 21 New Millennium (2019)
• Matt Widdows, CEO & Founder, HomeSmart International (2018)

For more from the 2020 Real Estate Newsmakers, go to RISMedia.com/2020-Newsmakers or RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. For consideration for the 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers, please email nominations to maria@rismedia.com.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.