Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors names new officers, gives annual awards
Tom Hormel, current president of Washington Realtors, the state real estate agents' association, swears in new officers with the Moses Lake Othello Association of Realtors during a short online meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Charles H. Featherstone
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors (MLOAR) handed out its annual awards during a short online ceremony Tuesday.
Kandi Bersanti, a real estate agent with Windermere Moses Lake, was named the association’s Realtor of the year by new MLOAR President Kevin Burgess, who is also an agent at Windermere.
“I don’t know of anyone who deserves it more,” Burgess said, noting during a difficult 2020, Bersanti kept her eyes on things real estate agents “should be doing and things they should not be doing.”
“Real estate is my passion,” said Bersanti, a past-president of the association. “I care a lot about the community and a lot about property rights. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s really rewarding, too.”
The association also named Samaritan Healthcare’s Theresa Sullivan as its citizen of the year.
In addition to being MLOAR’s new president, Burgess received the association’s community service award for gathering supplies and aid for the residents of Malden, the town almost completely destroyed by wildfire in September.
Burgess said while he was originally hoping to have more in-person meetings in 2021, he will get association members more involved in the MLOAR’s work, locally and in the state real estate agents’ association, as well as ensure new realtors are properly trained in the organization’s ethics.
“I’m looking forward to serving as president in 2021,” Burgess said.
Joining Burgess as new elected association officers are Tara Zerbo of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Gary Mann Realty as president-elect (next year’s president), Julie Peterson as secretary, Tami Canfield as treasurer, Kathryn Haworth as local director for 2021, Jeff Heimark as affiliate representative, and Danielle Svilar, Chris Miller and Cindie Conklin as state directors.
Tom Hormel, a veteran real estate agent of 22 years and 2021 president of Washington Realtors, the state’s real estate agent association, swore in the new members, and told them their job is not just to advocate for themselves, but also for their clients.
“Our number one job is to advocate for our members, and our members want us to advocate for homeowners and homeownership,” Hormel said of the state association. “We are all in this together.”
(This story has been updated to reflect the correct name of the company Tara Zerbo works for.)
Charles H. Featherstone is at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.