SIBOR Holds Board Elections, Bestows Awards For Professional Excellence and Community Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

SIBOR Holds Board Elections, Bestows Awards For Professional Excellence and Community Service

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Staten Island Board of Realtors (SIBOR) annual elections, held Thursday in the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield, included the presentation of six distinguished awards. The names of recipients of the Realtor of the Year and Realtor Associate of the Year awards were kept under wraps until being announced at the event.

“The year started, of course, with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy,” said Traci Cangiano, president of SIBOR. ‘So many of our members and neighbors were severely affected. So many Realtors rose to the occasion to help where they could. … If I tried to identify all the folks who went above and beyond, I’d be leaving scores of people out. So let’s just say, ‘the Realtor community was very well represented.’”

SIBOR named Fran Ottino of M&M Homes, Great Kills, as Realtor of the Year for 2013; the honor of Realtor Associate of the Year was presented to Robert Keltch of Gillani Homes, South Beach.

A Realtor for over 11 years, Ms. Ottino specializes in residential and commercial real estate, working as an agent for buyers and sellers in Staten Island and Brooklyn. A former New York City educator, she is a SIBOR board member and long-time volunteer; a member of the Commercial Brokers Association; a paralegal and associate broker, and is designated by the National Association of Realtors as a Seniors Real Estate Specialist^®.

Avidly involved with numerous SIBOR initiatives, Keltch entered the real estate industry following a career in banking. He formerly had worked with Bank of America and American Express Bank. Keltch is an alumnus of Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

Also honored were: Terry Tarangelo, associate group director and a vice president of Signature Bank on Staten Island, and Joseph Tirone, owner of Jostin Capital, a real estate advisory and consulting-services firm, and Community Home Brokerage, a licensed real estate brokerage firm, who were presented with SIBOR Community Service Awards; Philip Guarnieri, president and co-CEO of Empire State Bank, who was recognized with the SIBOR Affiliate-of-the-Year Award, and Robert Fitzsimmons, president, founder and broker/owner of St. George-headquartered Gateway Arms Realty Corp., who received the William “Bill” Coull Realtor Service Award. Bill Coull, for whom the honor is named, was a real estate broker and home inspector for many years. As a Realtor, he was one of the founding members of the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service and the Richmond County Real Estate Institute, where he was one of the principle instructors.

The elections that preceded the meeting and breakfast were for positions on the boards of SIBOR and the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service.

About The Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR)

The Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR) is the largest not-for-profit trade association in Staten Island, N.Y.

SIBOR exists to enhance the ability and opportunity of its members to conduct their business successfully and ethically; and to promote the preservation of the public’s right to own, transfer and use real property.

Comprised of over 1,600 members, SIBOR serves real estate agents, brokers and affiliated professionals throughout the borough and surrounding areas.

SIBOR is the provider of the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service Inc. (SIMLS), which works as a clearinghouse through which more than 250 local real estate firms exchange information on properties they have listed for sale. Together, its members participate in over 3,000 real estate transactions every year.

All SIBOR members belong to the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

SIBOR may be reached at 718-979-0007 and viewed online at http://siborrealtors.com. SIBOR may also be visited on Facebook at “Staten Island Board of Realtors” an on Twitter via @SIBOR.

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