Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors presents awards

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors presented awards to eight members who were recognized for their service to their community, their association and their profession.

At its annual awards event Dec. 4, GLVAR presented its Realtor of the Year award to longtime Realtor Neil Schwartz, of Coldwell Banker Premier in Las Vegas. Schwartz, a former member of GLVAR's board of directors, was honored for his professionalism, performance and community service.

Before building a successful real estate career, Schwartz was a comic actor and professional dancer. He appeared in several of the best-known television series of the 1970s, including "All in the Family," "Happy Days," "Barney Miller." Schwartz acted and danced in the Disney movie, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."

In 1986, Schwartz went into real estate in California, later becoming training director. After the Northridge earthquake, he moved to Las Vegas in 1994.

"He is passionate about our organization and the issues that involve our members and our industry. He is forthright in his thinking and is not afraid of speaking his mind for the betterment of the group," said Linda Rheinberger, Realtor and member of GLVAR.

Other GLVAR award winners include: Instructor of the Year, Linda Rheinberger; Gene Nebeker Memorial Award (for professionalism and service to the GLVAR and the community), Forrest Barbee; Ronn Reiss Award (for educational excellence and leadership), Bill Yacobozzi; Frank Sala Award (for commitment to grassroots political action and for protecting private property rights), JR "Buck" McElhone; Hall of Fame Awards, Judye Phebus, Devin Reiss and Woody Rossum.

GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its 13,500 members with education, training and political representation. A representative of the National Association of Realtors, GLVAR is one of the largest professional organizations in Southern Nevada.

For more information, visit lasvegasrealtor.com.