Beth Smoot, a sales associate with the Brier Creek Office of Fonville Morisey Realty, a Long & Foster company, in Raleigh, N.C., has been named one of 10 finalists for REALTOR Magazine’s 2014 Good Neighbor Awards, a program that recognizes Realtors who volunteer to serve the needs of their communities and exemplify how Realtors across the country give back to their communities. Smoot will be featured in the November/December issue of REALTOR Magazine.
In October, five winners will be selected from the 10 finalists and will receive travel expenses to the 2014 REALTORS Conference & Expo in New Orleans, where they will accept their awards at a presentation in front of thousands of their peers. Winners will also receive a $10,000 grant and national media exposure for their community charity. The remaining five honorable mentions will each receive $2,500 grants for their causes.
Smoot and Jackie Craig, her fellow real estate stager and community activist, saw the need for a “food pantry for furniture,” so they decided to put their staging expertise and business acumen to work. In 2010, they founded The Green Chair Project to provide home furnishings donated from the community to families and individuals transitioning from homelessness or disasters. They encourage families to prioritize and make choices and empower them to create their surroundings and rebuild their lives. Since creating The Green Chair Project they have been able to serve more than 1,900 people and keep 577 tons of household goods out of landfills.
“It was such a pleasure to read about all of the amazing & great works going on around the country by fellow Realtors! It is an honor to be included in such a generous and community-building group. I so appreciate my association with Fonville Morisey which supports and encourages community involvement and with my partner Peggy Duke who made it possible for me to work many long hours getting The Green Chair off the ground,” Smoot said.
“We are so proud of Beth. She has created a wonderful service for the community, impacted lives in a positive and meaningful way, and brought great admiration to herself and the company. She is exceptional in every way,” said Mary Kay Pendergraph, general manager of Fonville Morisey Realty.