EXIT Realty Inter Lake received the Business Leader Award for Atlantic Canada in a ceremony held in Ottawa on June 9th. The award was presented by the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and recognizes “businesses that demonstrate social responsibility and support the well-being of their communities.” Also on hand were Gary Simonsen, CEO of the Canadian Real Estate Association and Joyce Paron, President of the Canadian Division of EXIT Realty Corp. International.
The company was nominated by the Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia South Shore Chapter. Inspired by EXIT Realty Corp. International’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity International, EXIT Realty Inter Lake started in 2001 by selling hot dogs on the streets of Liverpool to raise funds. Their efforts have blossomed to include an annual golf tournament and all told, to-date the South Shore chapter has benefited from the brokerage’s efforts to the tune of $240,000. One of their four gala dinners in 2016 featured acclaimed Canadian broadcaster and news anchor, Peter Mansbridge. The nomination process took more than a year to complete and EXIT Realty Inter Lake won from more than 375 other nominees, many of which were much larger organizations.
Along with the national recognition, the honour included a $5,000 grant which will be directed to the Habitat for Humanity South Shore Chapter.
EXIT Realty Inter Lake was one of the first EXIT brokerages in the system, opening for business in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in November of 1997. They opened their second location in Liverpool in 2001.
“Mark Seamone, my partner, and I might have been the ones on hand to receive the award, but the honour really goes to everyone in our brokerage,” said Jon Walker, owner of EXIT Realty Inter Lake. Helping people is part of our philosophy and culture. It’s just the EXIT way.”
The Government of Canada website states, “EXIT Realty Inter Lake is a true role model to other companies and leads by example in their community.”
