Regina Ragon, a sales associate with Prudential Realty Center in Flintstone, Ga., is one of five winners chosen by the National Association of Realtors as a Realtor Magazine 2009 Good Neighbor Awards winner.
Ms. Ragon was selected for founding the Latin American Community Development Inc., a non-profit that improves living conditions for local residents in Nicaragua.
“Like many others, realtors are working harder than ever in this challenging economy, yet many of them, just like these Good Neighbor Awards winners, still find time to volunteer to help those in need,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex.
“Shining a spotlight on the Good Neighbor Awards winners will hopefully inspire others to volunteer and get more involved, which is so important tothe quality of life in our communities.”
Ms. Ragon launched Latin American Community Development in 2006 after she took a church mission trip to rural Nicaragua to provide medical care and was haunted with images of roofless houses, residents plagued by parasites andrustic toilets.
“Seeing the lack of text books, no indoor plumbing, hunger, and people with parasites during that first trip broke my heart,” said Ms. Ragon. “I thought I could do something that would be sustainable for them.”
LACD’s goal is to help people in rural Central American towns become more self-sufficient. So far, LACD has focused on two farming communities – Calishuate and Potrilleros in Nicaragua’s south Pacific region.
Ms. Ragon would eventually like to broaden LACD’s reach to more Nicaraguan communities. In Calishuate, LACD helped establish a sewing co-op since Nicaraguan kids lacking mandatory uniforms aren’t allowed to attend school; local women sew uniforms and make and sell linens for income. This past February, LACD and Calishuate residents completed construction on a medical clinic since access to medical care is a chronic problem in rural areas. Sponsors donated $40,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment to get the clinic running.
In Potrilleros, LACD has installed doors and security bars on open-air school windows; students had routinely carried their desks home to prevent them from being stolen. LACD has provided a new water filtering tank, drastically reducing the incidence of chronic diarrhea caused by tainted water.
LACD also has helped residents make basic home improvements, such as installing tin roofs.Ragon finds herself routinely awed by her Nicaraguan experiences.
“You go there and find what’s truly important– family, friends and enjoying life,” Ms. Ragon said.
Ms. Ragon and the other four Good Neighbor Award winners will each receive a $10,000 grant for their charity, a $1,500 Lowe’s gift card and are profiled in the November-December issue of Rrealtors Magazine.
The recipients willreceive their awards on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the 2009 Realtors Conference & Expo in San Diego.
NAR Vice President of Publications Pamela Geurds Kabati said, “The 2009 Realtors Magazine Good Neighbor Awards winners should take pride in knowing that they play such an important role in the lives of others. By stepping up to the plate to help individuals and organizations address their most challenging problems, they really are helping to make a difference.”
Celebrating its 10th year, the Good Neighbor Awards has been awarded annually since 2000 and is presented by NAR’s Realtor Magazine. The Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by eNeighborhoods, which has supported the program since its inception in 2000, as well as Homes.com, Lowe’s and HouseLogic.
Nominees were judged on their personal contribution of time, as well as financial and material contributions to their cause. To be eligible, nominees had to be NAR members in good standing.