Barbara Lowry receives OAR Excellence in Community Service Award

Lowry Receives OAR Excellence in Community Service Award

Kudos to CBR’s own Barbara Lowry, Coldwell Banker King Thompson, who has been chosen as the 2003 recipient of the OAR Excellence in Community Service award. As only one of these awards is given each year, this is quite an honor for Barbara, the Affordable Housing Committee of which she is co-chair and for the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. 

The Excellence in Community Service Award recognizes an individual REALTOR® who has demonstrated outstanding participation at the local board level in planning or implementing a community service or housing needs project. The only other CBR member to have received this award since it’s inception in 1992 was Jan Looman in 1995. 

Under the co-leadership of Barbara Lowry, CBR along with the local office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the city of Columbus and Habitat for Humanity came together to co-host three community service activities to commemorate June as National Homeownership Month.

1. The kickoff for the month-long celebration began with the Habitat for Humanity Cul-de-sac Street Opening, located on Hanford Street on Columbus’ Southside. When the street is completed, it will include 11 new builds (5 homes built by Habitat for Humanity and 6 by Wake Forest Builders), with prices ranging from $83,000-$160,000.
2. The Rhema Christian Center Home Buyer Info Night gave 40+ prospective new homeowners in the low-to-moderate income price range an opportunity to talk one-on-one with REALTORS®, lenders, credit counselors, community representatives and HUD about their specific housing needs in surroundings that are familiar and non-threatening – their very own communities.
3. Participation in the Historic Hilltop Bean Dinner culminated the month’s
   activities, with REALTORS®, lenders and housing agency representatives disseminating homebuying information at the CBR/HUD table. The local Hilltop Bean Dinner has evolved into a gathering place for the community — bringing together families, friends, area businesses and non-profits for a day of fun. This event has grown to become the biggest bean dinner in history, this year drawing more than 30,000 people to the daylong celebration.

In accepting the award at OAR’s Award Luncheon held at the Convention in Cleveland, Barbara said, “This award is not only for my work, but for the work of the entire 131+ members of the Affordable Housing Committee. We decided to include community festivals in our National Homeownership Month activities this year in the hope that we would have an opportunity to inform more people about how to become homeowners. With more than 30,000+ people in attendance at the homeownership month activities, we were able to bring more prospective homebuyers a little closer to their dreams of homeownership.”

Barbara, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker King Thompson, Hilliard, holds CBR’s Certified Affordable Housing, REALTORS® (CAHR) Certification, which recognizes expertise in working the affordable housing market.

Her community involvement includes serving as 2003 President of the Hilltop Business Association and co-chairing, with her husband, the Historic Hilltop Bean Dinner.

The Affordable Housing Committee is one of CBR’s largest and most active. Several of the committee’s programs have received national attention, including the Certified Affordable Housing, REALTOR® (CAHR) certification program and the National Homeownership Month Home Buyer Info Nights. The committee also has developed numerous affordable housing education classes for REALTORS® and participates in numerous community outreach projects.