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

Palm Beach County Realtors® Honored
As 2009 Humanitarians of the Year

ORLANDO, Fla., August 2009 — Florida Realtors® have named Mike and Betsy Owen, members of the Realtor® Association of the Palm Beaches, as their 2009 Realtor Humanitarians of the Year. The award was presented during the state association’s recent 93rd annual Convention & Trade Expo at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla.

The couple has been described as “a team in the business of making life easier for those less fortunate.”

All over the world, the Owens help people in times of great need: Sometimes it’s by cleaning up after a disaster, or distributing supplies, or by building desperately needed shelter. The couple has participated in numerous Habitat for Humanity build projects in Florida (Boynton Beach, Orlando, Lake Worth) and elsewhere, including New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Khao Lak, Pang Nga Province, Thailand.

For many years, the Owens have raised money to eliminate polio, which comes in three types – polio I, II and III – and is usually transmitted through polluted water and poor sanitation. Type II of the disease has been eradicated, though polio types I and III continue to exist worldwide.

Recently, a huge financial donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation created a Polio Plus Challenge for Rotary International. Through the Polio Plus Challenge, Rotary International, the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Dr. Margaret Chan are working toward a goal of eradicating the disease worldwide by 2012. When these two humanitarians learned about a National Immunization Day project, they booked a flight halfway around the world – at their own expense – to serve on an immunization team in India.

During a three-day intensive effort, the Owens administered an oral polio vaccine to children known as “untouchables” living in the slums of Chandigarh, located in Northern India, near provinces Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not far from the Pakistan border.

The Owens are strong advocates for the Polio Plus Program and the worldwide effort to eradicate polio. They talk to groups about the program and what individuals can do to help, speaking out for continued childhood polio immunization in Florida. The effort to eliminate polio is a cause that is near and dear to the Owens, because they have personal knowledge of the disease’s impact. Betsy Owen is a polio survivor. She and her husband Mike believe that as long as even one child in the world has polio, all children are at risk.

The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 115,000 members in 67 boards/associations. Its Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.