Joseph Aust, vice president and sales associate with Long & Foster Real Estate’s Charlottesville Historic Downtown Sales office, recently received the 2017 Realtor Hall of Fame Award from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors.

The prestigious award is given to a member of the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors for a lifetime of service and leadership to the association and for their service to the real estate industry as a whole. The award, presented to Aust in early January, is the highest career honor given by the association.

“Joe made significant, outstanding and exceptional contributions to the local, state and national associations of Realtors,” said Arleen Yobs, 2018 president of the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors.

After a career in banking, bond underwriting and land development, Aust entered the real estate industry in 1970. He worked in real estate management from 1978 until 2014, when he joined Long & Foster Real Estate’s Historic Downtown Charlottesville office with his wife, Kathy Kelly.

He has received numerous awards throughout his career and is a licensed Virginia Real Estate Board instructor and a Virginia Realtors’ ethics instructor. He holds Realtor Emeritus status for being a Realtor association member for over 40 years.