Georgia Association of REALTORS® Donates $150,000 to Aid Gulf Rebuilding Effort 

ATLANTA, Ga. (September 25, 2006) – With the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina having come and gone, the Georgia Association of REALTORS®  is still committed to aiding in the efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast. On Saturday, September 9, 2006, GAR President Judy Presley of Gainesville presented a check in the amount of $150,000 to Tom Stevens, the 2006 President of the National Association of REALTORS®.

   “It’s been a year since Katrina hit, but most of the Gulf area looks like the disaster could have happened yesterday,” said Presley. “REALTORS® are the leading advocate for homeownership, and helping people get back into their homes across the Gulf Coast is important to us.”

   The money will fund Operation Home Delivery, which is a pledge by NAR to build 54 homes in the Gulf Region, symbolizing each state and territory represented by NAR. Money must be raised to build the homes. Once the funds are secured, volunteers from every state will be assembled to build homes in the Gulf in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Some REALTOR® associations will also be building Houses in a Box, where homes are framed and then packaged and shipped to the Gulf, where they can be fully built. GAR members plan to do a Home in a Box build in December 2006 and will travel to the Gulf Coast in Spring 2007 to do an on-site build for Habitat.

   The Georgia Association of REALTORS®, the Voice for Real Estate in Georgia, is a voluntary professional association of approximately 40,000 licensed real estate brokers and salespersons engaged in all aspects of the real estate business throughout the state of Georgia. 

   For more information on Operation Home Delivery, log on to www.realtor.org/HousOpp.nsf/Pages/OperationHomeDeliveryChallenge?OpenDocument.