The 2003 S.E.C Membership Awards


As 2004 S.E.C. President, I had the honor of presiding over the Society of Exchange Counselors 42nd annual Members Dinner and Awards Banquet on January 20th in Tampa, Florida.
Attended by seventy members, candidates, and their spouses, the Awards Banquet was a major highlight of the Tampa marketing meeting. Edgar Lopez, S.E.C., CCIM served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening where the 2004 officers and directors were formally inducted and Society members were honored for their service and achievements.
The Society’s long-standing symbols of achievement, the Counselor of the Year Award, the Yvonne Nash Award, and the Cliff Weaver Award, were presented at the dinner. This year represented the twenty-fifth anniversary of these prestigious awards.
The Bob Steele Award and the S.E.C. Education Foundation’s Jack Hunt “Excellence in Education” Award were also presented.
The following Society members were recipients of S.E.C. Awards in 2003.
S.E.C. Counselor of the Year Award
The Society of Exchange Counselors most prestigious award is presented each year to that Counselor who best exemplifies the S.E.C.’s core values of Service, Experience and Counsel.
The 2003 S.E.C. Counselor of the Year Award was presented to Mark Johnson, S.E.C., CCIM of Brownsville, Texas.
The Cliff Weaver Award, “Most Creative Transaction”
The Cliff Weaver Award is presented to the S.E.C. Counselor(s) who structured the most creative transaction of the year. This award, in honor of one of the most creative Counselors of all time, is given in order to recognize the special creativity of our membership.
The 2003 Cliff Weaver Award was presented to Ron Bowden, S.E.C., CCIM, of Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Yvonne Nash Award
Named in honor of Society member Yvonne Nash, this award is presented to the Counselor who has closed the most transactions during the year with fellow Counselors and/or candidates.
The 2003 recipients of the Yvonne Nash Award were Cliff Strand, S.E.C. and William Biddle, S.E.C., both of Newport Beach, California, for closing eight transactions with multiple S.E.C. Members in 2003.
The S.E.C. Education Foundation “Jack Hunt ‘Excellence in Education’ Award”
This award has been named in honor of Jack Hunt, S.E.C., whose vision and determination led to the formation of the S.E.C. Education Foundation. The award is presented each year to that Society member who had demonstrated a commitment to S.E.C. Education and to the mission of the Society’s Foundation.
The 2003 recipient of the Jack Hunt Award was Phil Corso, S.E.C., of Scottsdale, Arizona, a founding member of the S.E.C. Education Foundation for his vision, leadership, and commitment to S.E.C. Education.
The S.E.C. Observer “Bob Steele Award”
This award was named in honor of Bob Steele, S.E.C., one of the founders and publishers of the original S.E.C. Observer (along with Cliff Weaver and Dick Reno), for contributions to the success of the S.E.C. Observer, the Society’s e-publication.
The 2003 recipient of the Bob Steele award was Virgil Opfer, S.E.C., of San Diego, California, for his work as 2003 Editor of the S.E.C. Real Estate Observer, the Society’s online publication and author of multiple articles on creative real estate topics since the Observer’s creation in 2002.