Marla Martin, Communications Manager, or Jeff Zipper, Vice President of Communications 407/438-1400, ext. 2326 or 2314

Florida Association of Realtors® Announces
District Scholarship Winners

ORLANDO, Fla., May 2007 – The Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) has awarded 39 college scholarships to Florida senior high school students as part of its 2006-2007 Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors. Thirteen seniors from public and private high schools in each of the state’s 13 districts have received first-place $5,000 scholarships, 13 students taking second-place honors received $1,500 scholarship awards; and 13 third-place essayists have won $500 each.

The scholarship program helps Florida’s most talented high school students achieve their goals in college, and all seniors are eligible except for immediate family members of a Realtor, of a person with a real estate license or of a Realtor association's staff. The top winning essays from FAR’s 13 districts across Florida now compete to win one of three $5,000 state-level FAR scholarships. Scholarships from FAR this year total $106,000.

First place winners of FAR’s $5,000 scholarship

District 1 - Sarah Christine Glover of Jacksonville, Episcopal High School
District 2 - Kevin Lee of Melbourne, Satellite High School
District 3 - Sydney Elney of Lake Worth, Trinity Christian Academy
District 4 - Eduardo Diaz of Miami, Coral Gables Senior High
District 5 - Christopher Huffman of Cape Coral, Cape Coral High School
District 6 - Emily Wilson of Seffner, Armwood High School
District 7 - Natalie Lynn Spear of Grand Island, Mt. Dora High School
District 8 - Jesse Whitfield of Apalachicola, Apalachicola High School;
District 9 - Jodie Watford of Niceville, Niceville Senior High School;
District 10 - J. Hudson Smith of Lake Wales, Lake Wales High School
District 11 - Qabiyl Johnson of Coconut Creek, Monarch High School
District 12 - Haylee Linduff of Altamonte Springs, Circle Christian School
District 13 - Kellie M. Hauer of Englewood, Lemon Bay High School

Second place winners of FAR’s $1,500 scholarship

District 1 - Sarah Stephens of Lake City, Columbia High School
District 2 - Samantha Hamilton of Melbourne, Rockledge Senior High School
District 3 - Andrew Kener of Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Garden High
District 4 - Laura L. Scott of Virginia Gardens,Miami Springs Senior High
District 5 - Danielle Lauren Connelly of Marco Island, Lely High School
District 6 - Lauren Sample of Tampa, H.B. Plant High School
District 7 - Aleyse Horn of Brooksville, Central High School
District 8 - Sheena Millender of Carrabelle, Carrabelle High School
District 9 - Sean M. Clancy of Cantonment, Tate High School
District 10 - Grace Blankenship of Winter Haven, Winter Haven High School
District 11 - Nick Stearns of Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas Aquinas High School
District 12 - Stephen Icordi of Altamonte Springs, Circle Christian School
District 13 - Kelsey B. Clark of Sarasota, Pine View High School

Third place winners of FAR’s $500 scholarship

District 1 - Donald James Sheldon Jr., of Jacksonville, Paxon School for Advanced Studies
District 2 - Adam W.S. Lowery of Daytona Beach, Mainland High School
District 3 - Kirsten Ellyse Floderus of Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie West Centennial High School
District 4 - Bret Voith of Coral Gables, Gulliver Preparatory High School
District 5 - Joshua Terepka of Cape Coral, Cape Coral High School
District 6 - Nicole Alexandria Sarrine of Tampa, Hillsborough High School
District 7 - Walter Douglas Connors III of Inverness, Citrus High School
District 8 - Chelsea Doherty of Tallahassee, Leon High School
District 9 - Matthew Zimmerman of Crestview, Crestview High School
District 10 - Andrea Lora Grossman of Lakeland, George Jenkins High School
District 11 - Katerina E. Roman of Pembroke Pines, American Heritage High School
District 12 - Nikki Stutz of Orlando, Edgewater High School
District 13 - Bor An Lin of Venice, Venice High School

“Our successful scholarship program is just one example of how the Florida Association of Realtors looks to the future,” says 2007 FAR President Nancy Riley. “Tomorrow's Florida depends on the youth of today realizing their dreams of a higher education and we are proud to have a part in making that dream come true.”

A number of community leaders, media representatives, educators, business executives and Realtors from across the state volunteered their time and expertise to serve as judges for the district-level essay competition. The first-place district-winning essays — written on the topic, “How Does a Realtor Professional Benefit the Community?” — will be reviewed by a state panel of judges, who will select the top three state winners. State scholarship winners may be announced either prior to, or as part of, FAR's 2007 Convention & Trade Expo held Aug. 22-26, at the Buena Vista Palace in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 150,000 members in 68 boards/associations.

© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®