Dermody Earns Distinguished Service Award

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Greater Boston Association of REALTORS(R)

Jul 03, 2013, 11:13 ET

BOSTON, July 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bill Dermody, a real estate broker, office manager, and Senior Vice President of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Needham, was presented with the Andrew F. Hickey Distinguished Service Award at the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® (GBAR) Annual Awards Brunch held on June 18 at The Museum of Science in Boston.

Established in 2006, the Andrew F. Hickey Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to one local REALTOR® for his or her lengthy and dedicated service to GBAR and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB). Recipients must hold membership in GBAR for a minimum of 15 years and are recognized as prominent and effective leaders within the REALTOR® association, real estate industry and their local community.

Dermody, a REALTOR® since 1995, has been actively volunteering with GBREB for the past 15 years. He assumed his first leadership role in 1998 as president of one of the local councils of the Residential Association of REALTORS® -- the predecessor to GBAR.

Known for being detail-oriented, well-informed on industry issues, and having an appreciation for organizational policy and procedure, Dermody has excelled at being an industry advocate most notably because of is optimism, open-mindedness, and forward-thinking.

Throughout nearly two decades of involvement with the organization, he has devoted much of his time, talent and expertise to advancing important public policy issues for the real estate industry, as well as helping to foster relationships between REALTORS® and local civic leaders and government officials. He has served on the GBREB Government Affairs Committee for multiple terms and participated in numerous meetings on behalf of the real estate industry on Beacon Hill, at Boston City Hall and before the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In addition, he has been a voice for Greater Boston REALTORS® on the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) Government Affairs Committee helping to set the annual public policy agenda for the REALTOR® association, and has participated on MAR's Quality of Life PAG which focused on smart growth issues.

A proponent of increased professionalism for real estate practitioners, Dermody championed legislation to raise the pre-licensing requirements for real estate agents and brokers, as well as elevate the amount of CE instruction needed to renew a real estate license. He has also played a role in advancing new educational initiatives for REALTORS®, including development of the REALTOR® Online Education Center that was created as part of a collaboration between local REALTOR® associations and MAR a few years ago.

Of no less significance, Dermody was tapped to spearhead efforts to re-write the GBAR Bylaws, serving as chairman of a PAG that was challenged with the task over a two-year period that concluded in 2010. Additionally, he has served as a regional vice president to MAR, provided a voice for Greater Boston REALTORS® on the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors each of the past two years, and currently serves as chairman of the GBREB Finance Committee and immediate past president of GBAR.

"It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award. I am proud to be a REALTOR® member and to volunteer for an organization that advocates so strongly for the educational and professional development and advancement of its members," said Dermody.

The Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® is a private trade association with more than 6,000 REALTOR® members who specialize in residential real estate in Eastern Massachusetts. GBAR is the largest of five divisions of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB), and a local chapter of the Massachusetts and National Associations of REALTORS® (NAR). REALTOR® is a federally-registered trademark reserved exclusively for members of NAR.

www.gbar.org

SOURCE Greater Boston Association of REALTORS(R)