February 12, 2015 — Austin

Celebrating a year of accomplishments, the Texas REALTORS® recognized outstanding members and local REALTOR® associations February 9 during its annual Texas REALTORS® Winter Meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Austin.

“This event commemorates three years of continual housing market growth in Texas and the second-best year ever for Texas real estate,” said Scott Kesner, chairman of the Texas REALTORS®. “These awards honor the Texas REALTORS® and local association programs that are true champions for Texas real estate, helping to ensure Texas remains the best place in the country to own a home.”

The award for 2014 Texas REALTOR® of the Year, the Texas REALTORS®’ most prestigious award, was presented to Bill Jones of Accent Real Estate Services in Temple. This title is bestowed annually to a member who has made outstanding contributions to the industry through involvement in their national, state and local REALTOR® organizations during their career.

The Tom D. Morton Association Executive of the Year award was presented to Cade Fowler of the Lubbock Association of REALTORS®. Over the last nine years as Lubbock’s association executive, Fowler has played a pivotal role in the region’s Texas REALTOR® Leadership Program and has been involved at all levels of the REALTOR® organization.

Mike Boyd of Boyd Commercial in Houston received the 2014 William C. Jennings Award for the outstanding commercial real estate transaction of the year. Boyd was honored for a large-scale, complex deal involving multiple transactions and parties that took more than two years to complete.

In addition, Texas REALTORS® gave special recognition to continuing education instructors and programs. This year, J. Renè Ward of Austin and Leigh York of Fort Worth were named Educators of the Year. Both individuals are Graduate REALTOR® Institute instructors who teach Ethics, Legal Update and Broker Responsibility Courses required by the Texas Real Estate Commission.

The Texas REALTOR® Hero Award, which recognizes a Texas REALTOR® who has done exemplary work to advance and promote affordable housing, was awarded to Matt Hilton of Hilton Realty Advisors – Step Up Realty. Hilton regularly assists veterans with their homebuying and selling challenges, actively serves in his local community and has assisted disaster relief efforts in Texas and nearby states.

The MetroTex Association of REALTORS®, Greater Denton Wise County Association of REALTORS® and Houston Association of REALTORS® were also honored with Education Program of the Year awards for local association programs that keep Texas REALTORS® up to date with the latest trends and increase professionalism in the real estate industry.

Finally, an unprecedented 39 Texas REALTORS® were inducted into Omega Tau Rho, the honorable fraternity for the National Association of REALTORS®. Omega Tau Rho recognizes REALTORS® who have made outstanding contributions to the U.S. real estate industry throughout their career.