Florida Realtors named Cynthia Shelton, CCIM, CRE, CIPS, as its 50th Florida Realtor of the Year at the association’s recent 94th annual Convention & Trade Expo at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.

Award winners are honored as individual lifetime contributors to their local Realtor board, community, state association, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

“All I can say is thank you,” Shelton said upon accepting the award. “Aren’t you proud to be Florida Realtors?”

According to a statement from the state association, Shelton dedicated many hours to Florida Realtors and, as 2009 president of the association, oversaw an organizational shift as the Florida Association of Realtors rebranded under its current name, Florida Realtors.

During her year serving as state president, Shelton worked to convince the Florida Legislature to create a short-term loan program that allowed first-time homebuyers to use their $8,000 federal tax credit as a down payment on a home. She also worked to debut a

Florida Realtors scholarship program under the new non-profit Florida Realtors Education Foundation Inc.

Shelton has served on the NAR board of directors for 25 years, and she is the slated candidate for 2011 Region 5 regional VP.

A commercial member of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association and director of investment sales with Colliers International, Shelton has chaired many national, state, and local Realtor committees.

She also served as national president of the CCIM Institute, the largest network for commercial real estate professionals. Shelton is one of only two women to hold that office.

“Cynthia Shelton is an able and capable person who enables others,” 2010 Florida Realtors president Wendell Davis said.

Eric Sain of the Corcoran Group in Palm Beach was honored as Associate Realtor of the Year.
Phyllis Choy, president of the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association, received the 2010 Realtor Achievement Award, which recognizes a realtor who serves as manager, broker of record, or officer in his or her company.

The Commercial Realtor Achievement Award was presented to Maurice (Moe) Veissi, a principal with Miami-based Veissi & Associates Inc., and William (Bill) Eshenbaugh, president of Eshenbaugh Land Company in Tampa Bay.

The 2010 Humanitarian of the Year, an award that honors Realtors who make a difference in communities, was presented to Connie Johnson of Brandon from Coldwell Banker Residential.