COMMUNITY HERO AWARD
HERO: A person who selflessly utilizes their time and talents to improve the lives of others.
The Cortland County Board of Realtors® Community Hero Award honors a person who recognizes their responsibility to their community and possesses a selfless dedication to the betterment of others and the betterment of our community.
The nominee must exemplify the spirit of community service and contribute to the community through volunteer service to one or a variety of organizations. They must serve as role models, inspire others to volunteer, and strive to make the Cortland area a better community. They must receive no financial compensation for their volunteer activities. Nominee must be a non-Realtor and a local resident.
- Nominations may be made by a community member or Realtor.
- Each person may nominate one individual.
- Complete and sign the nomination form. You may attach photos, newspaper articles, etc., however, nominator must describe in their own words why they feel this person is a Hero.
- The CCBR Community Outreach Committee will review the nominations and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors before the Awards Luncheon.
- Unsuccessful candidates may be re-nominated in subsequent years by submitting a new application.
The award recipient will be honored during the CCBR Awards Ceremony in January. They will receive an inscribed plaque, a $250 donation will be made to the organization of their choice, and they will be recognized in the Cortland Standard and at cortlandmls.com.
DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 6, 2024
Click HERE for a nomination form, or contact the Board Office
Email nominations to [email protected] or mail to
Cortland County Board of Realtors
64 Main St. Suite 205
Cortland NY 13045
CCBR 2023 Awards
CCBR held their awards luncheon on January 25, 2024, at Central City Bar and Grill. This annual event recognizes Realtor® and affiliate members for their support and acknowledges their achievements.
The Realtor® of the Year Award was presented to Kristopher Buchan, 2023 President. The 2023 President’s Award was presented to Jerry Hartnett.
The Community Hero and Realtor® Good Neighbor awards recognize recipients for their community service. A $250 donation is made to the recipient’s charity of choice in their name. Merle McKown, was the recipient of the Community Hero Award. The Realtors® Good Neighbor award was presented to Pamela Williams.
The following Realtors® received the Golden Circle award, which recognizes CCBR members that achieved a volume of two million dollars in listings and sales: Jeffrey Abulencia, John Constantino, Jessie Fowlston, Nikki Davi, Amy Werner, Karen Herdman, Sue Sherman-Broyles, Travis Thurston, Kurt Washo, Pam Williams, John Aspinwall, Jaimie Beers, Jenna Davi, Daniel Heisey, Karina Murphy, Girard Kelly, Kristopher Buchan, Pam Cullip, Marie Ferro, Tracy Koenig, Brian Jackson, Mark Skodzinsky, Jeff Guida, Terry Howell, Dana Decker, Corrie Oustad, Sean Mack, Jason Hage, Nicki Wynn, Susan Briggs, and Jerry Hartnett.
Awards were presented to members for their Years of Service in the real estate industry as members of CCBR. 5 Years: David Donlick, Travis Thurston, Amy Werner, Pamela Williams, and Kurt Washo. 10 Years: Shalisha Farley, Tracy Koenig, and Christine Meier. 15 Years: Dana Decker, Linda Muirhead, and Joanne Sweeney. 25 Years: Nicole Wynn. 35 years: Roger McKee.
CCBR affiliate members were recognized for their sponsorship, and their participation in our events and committees: Paragon Home Loans, CFCU, Tompkins Community Bank, Inspections by Rob, Visions Federal Credit Union, AmeriCU, M&T Bank, NBT Bank, Zach Clarke State Farm, Bailey Place Insurance, Baranello Law Office, Basements and Above Home Inspections, Box Alarm Home Inspections, Community Bank, NA, Cortland Area Chamber of Commerce, Howell on Home Inspections, Nexus Home Inspections, Nick Romo – State Farm, Pomeroy, Armstrong, and Casullo, Top Notch Home Inspection, and Wayne Piotti, CPA.
Congratulations to all and thank you for your continued service.
CCBR 2022 Awards
Lee Benson, of Benson Davis Insurance, was the recipient of the Community Hero Award. He was introduced by Kris Buchan, CCBR 2023 President. Lee is Vice President of the 1890 House Museum Board of Directors. He has volunteered for just about every one of their committees. His very strong financial contributions and many hours of volunteer work have helped keep the doors to the museum open at times. Lee has also been involved in the Homer and Preble Congregational Churches, Cortland Repertory Theatre, and the Chamber of Commerce. These are just a few of the benefactors of Lee’s community commitment. Lee’s contributions and volunteerism add to the quality of life and tourism attractions of Cortland.
The Realtor® Good Neighbor award was presented to Sue Sherman Broyles by Kris Buchan. Sue exemplifies the definition of this award. She tirelessly works to fundraise and promote the mission of the YWCA. She is the past YWCA Board President and current Trustee. She has helped promote the community activities of the group and its members. Sue is also the current Treasurer of the Fort Nightly Club, a charitable group whose mission is to help citizens of the area through volunteering, fundraising and community service. Sue is always concerned about the quality of life for her community members. She’s not only a tireless fundraiser, but she also gets her hands dirty and pitches in for the real work at hand.
Committee chairs were recognized for their dedication and hard work. Thank you to all who served on committees in 2022. The time and effort of volunteers keeps our organization running.
The following Realtors® were recognized for achieving the Golden Circle award, which recognizes CCBR members that achieved a volume of two million dollars in listings and sales: Melissa Skodzinsky, Colleen Nash, Amy Werner, Karen Herdman, Susan Sherman Broyles, Ashley Warfield, Emma Hans, Donna Standish, Keith Egrisi, Pam Williams, Travis Thurston, Kurt Washo, John Aspinwall, Jenna Gregory, Anita Bryan, Daniel Heisey, Adelle Fetterly, Karina Murphy, Mark Skodzinsky, Brian Jackson, Tracy Koenig, Marie Ferro, Pam Cullip, Kris Buchan, Girard Kelly, Peter Martino, Joanne Sweeney, Terry Howell, Dana Decker, Corrie Oustad, Jamie Yaman, Shuryl Menapace, Tim Alger, Jason Hage, Nicki Wynn, Jerry Hartnett, and Sally Brown Kurtz.
Awards were presented to members for their Years of Service in the real estate industry as members of CCBR. 10 Years: Ryan Kolas, Brian Jackson, 15 Years: Mark Skodzinsky, 20 Years: Susan Hunt, Philip Henry, 50 Years: Neb Hage.
CCBR affiliate members were recognized for their sponsorship, and their participation in our events: Tompkins Community Bank, Paragon Home Loans, CFCU, AmeriCU, Inspections by Rob, M&T Bank, NBT Bank, Nick Romo – State Farm, Bailey Place Insurance, Baranello Law Office, Cortland Area Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Knickerbocker, Esq., Pomeroy, Armstrong, and Casullo, and Wayne Piotti, CPA.
CCBR 2021 Community Hero
CHRISTINE GREGORY
By Jenna Gregory
A HERO is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Christine Gregory, the 2021 recipient of the Cortland County Board of Realtors® Community Hero Award, consistently models and demonstrates qualities of compassion and service to a variety of volunteer activities. The recipient has a passion and desire to help others and strives to make Cortland County a better community.
Christine has enhanced the Cortland community for over 45 years.
She started as a junior high school teacher at CHS and ended her 40 plus year career as a high school US AP History and AP Politics educator. Her passion and love for teaching the youth was absolutely incredible. Through the years she inspired hundreds of students and touched countless lives.
For many years she was the advisor to the Interact Club at CHS. “Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club that gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun and meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends. The basic principle of the Rotary Interact is to help others.” That is exactly what she aimed to do by getting the youth involved in their community, to be curious about the world they live in and encourage them to share their voice. Some Interact activities she helped her students get involved in included : Teens for Jeans, empty Bowls at Homer Center For the arts. Fireside chats sponsored by Family Reading Partnership, Veterans day ceremony at SUNY Cortland and the Pumpkinfest.
A large project she started while she was Interact Club Advisor was the collection of goods and necessities that our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq desperately needed overseas. She spent many hours after school and on weekends at the high school sorting, packing, and shipping donated items. The entire school community was involved. This was something she was extremely passionate about.
She volunteered for 4 years as co-advisor to the class of 2012. During this time she helped organize an anti-bullying workshop with CHS students, was an advisor to the CHS school store and helped plan countless events and fundraisers.
She also helped coordinate student involvement with the annual United Way Day of Caring food drive. Each year students would spend the day sorting donated food and essentials into boxes to be dispersed to local food pantries. She continued assisting the United Way after retiring by driving around Cortland County collecting these donation boxes and delivering them to the new waves of youth who continued the sorting, and she spent a year on the United Way for Cortland County fundraising team.
When she retired, with her help and influence, our family created a Community Service Based award in her honor which is given at graduation to a deserving CHS senior who has contributed to their local and school communities. Money is awarded to the senior and to a local community service organization of their choice.
After retiring, she felt compelled to stay involved in her school community. She is now in her 3rd term as a Cortland City School District school board member. This is an absolutely thankless volunteer position. She spends hours preparing for and being present at meetings, researching issues, and is available day and night to speak with community members who need to voice their concerns and ideas.
A few months ago, she was admitted to the hospital and had my dad bring her laptop when she knew she was going to be in there for a few days. She wanted her laptop so that she could still attend her Zoom school board meeting! Talk about dedication.
She spent years as an adjunct professor at SUNY Cortland. Her son was coaching football at that time, and she got involved in tutoring players who were struggling with their classes and needed better grades or needed to maintain their grades to be eligible to play. Again, she would spend hours reading and researching topics and subjects that she had no previous experience in, just to help keep these players stay engaged and on the right track. To this day, she has maintained relationships with many of these young individuals.
She is involved with the CRT board and believes in the power of having a theater such as CRT in our community. Music and theater are passions of hers. Her time on this board has brought her a lot of joy. She has brought ideas that have turned into events such as bringing local singer, Adam Decker, home last summer for an awesome outdoor event up at the Dwyer Park CRT venue.
For the past 12 years She has served on our 22nd Congressional District's Military Academy Committee. She has had the honor of interviewing and helping select young people from our congressional district, some of which have been local students, to attend West Point, Annapolis, Air Force Academy, and the Merchant Marines. These young people make her so proud...she feels that their love for our country and willingness to serve us all deserve our gratitude.
Some other activities and organizations she was involved with over the years include:
Community roundtables at SUNY Cortland
Adopt a Family
YWCA Board of Directors
SUNY Cortland Alumni Association
Yorkers Club Advisor
Cortland Community Service Board
Relay For Life
Organized American Remembrance Day in 2008
Volunteered with YMCA Stingers Swim team
Served on the BOD for Center For The Arts
Lastly, she is Joining the OCM BOCES Board of Education this July.
This individual is a leader, an advocator and an educator. She is determined, compassionate, honest and inspiring.
My mom has contributed so much of her life, love and energy to the Cortland community and absolutely radiates the traits in which I consider to be heroic
Congratulations to Christine Gregory, you are so deserving of the 2021 Community Hero Award.
Marilyn DeLorenzo
CCBR 2020 Community Hero
The 2020 Community Hero Award was presented to Marilyn DeLorenzo. “Marilyn has enriched our community through her many years of service in local organizations,” said friends Mary Lee Martens and Cindy Lewis. “Marilyn realizes that the success of nonprofit organizations is dependent on their financial soundness. It is rare for a volunteer to be willing to provide leadership as well as to attend to the details and tasks that are part of successful fundraising,” they went on to say.
Marilyn taught in public schools and at SUNY Cortland, where she mentored students and encouraged them to give back to the schools in which they were privileged to learn. She was co-president of the American Association of University Women in Cortland from 2003-2005. She has worked tirelessly at fundraising, while encouraging local students through support and awards, helping them on their path of lifelong learning and community service.
Marilyn is a loyal volunteer for the YWCA. She was the driving force behind the Pig & Par Golf Tournament, which nets over $15,000 annually. The proceeds support YWCA programs, including Aid to Victims of Violence and childcare.
A twelve year member of the Board of Managers of Elizabeth Brewster House, she has been treasurer for nine years and chair of the Finance Committee, as well as volunteering with activities, events, outings, tours, and fundraising. She has also served as an Ombudsman for the Cortland County Area Agency on Aging’s Long Term Care program.
A lifelong Cortland resident, she loves her community. She is always among the first to show up for those in need, whether it be with soup, pizzelles, or ensuring the inclusion of those that might be isolated. She is an active member of St. Margaret’s Church and brought Communion to Walden Oaks residents for twelve years.
Congratulations to Marilyn DeLorenzo and thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, for our community!
Catherine Bernardo
CCBR 2019 Community Hero
This year the award was given, posthumously, to Catherine Bernardo. Catherine’s daughter, mother, and some of her closest friends, accepted the award. Jackie Newton, one of those close friends, Presented the award and had these words to share.
It wasn’t until her recent, untimely passing from metastatic breast cancer that we realized how much this amazing person did for our community, her friends, her family, several charities and Walden Oaks Golf Course. While I knew she was a generous, caring and a giving person with a huge heart and a smile that lit up a room, I figured out very quickly while putting this list together how much she did, in addition to working a full-time job, and being a full-time college student, all while being a terrific mom and wife.
The following are just some of the things she did for our community:
- Past President, as well as several other positions, at the McGraw Lions Club, and did the eye screening for children at local schools for the Lions.
- Previous Cortland Chamber of Commerce board member, hospital aide, sat on the community ice skating committee at JM McDonald Complex, donated time to other local charities.
- Started the Foundation of Courage to help people fighting the battle with cancer to make their lives a little easier either, offering car rides, wigs, taxis, or whatever they might need. The foundation of Courage charity will be carried on by her friends and her family.
- In 2018 for Christmas she did Catherine’s Christmas Wish. She raised money to buy lip balm and hand cream for all of those fighting cancer in the local oncology department. She delivered over 250 of these packages with a huge smile and her Santa elf costume!
- Made “Courage” caps and cuff bracelets for cancer patients, including friends and her family
- Hired special needs people at Walden Oaks Country Club
- Was inspirational in promoting women’s retreats
- Raised awareness of cancer by speaking about her cancer experience and raised funds for the American Cancer Society
- Was always the woman behind the scene helping families, friends, and children, without wanting recognition.
She was always opening her heart and arms to so many and showed all of us unconditional love and friendship. Not only was she a hero to all the lives she touched, and to this community, but she encouraged all of us to be SUPER HEROES in our own lives.