McTamney, Weidman-Phillips honored at REBI event

Former PAR President Bette McTamney was the recipient of the Real Estate Business Institute Hall of Leaders award last week at a special event held during NAR’s Realtors® Conference and Expo in Boston.

The Hall of Leaders awards members who “have provided outstanding contributions and service in the real estate industry and profession.” It is awarded annually and voted upon by leaders at REBI.

“I find it hard to describe the feeling of becoming the latest person to receive and achieve this status and award from such phenomenal leaders in our industry. This award is so much larger than me and I am truly privileged to be in the presence of so many strong and dedicated leaders before me,” said McTamney. “I am so fortunate to have so many top leaders who helped me climb the ladder and who also helped make REBI so strong and to be recognized as top-notch agents. I am privileged to be a member.”

“The Hall of Leader award is the highest honor a member can receive from their peers at REBI,” added McTamney. “It is quite a list of past recipients who have given so much of their time and expertise in helping with countless volunteer hours of their time to help grow our membership and advance us to a whole new level of recognition nationally and globally.”

McTamney served as president of REBI in 2015. During that year, REBI changed their name from the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers to the Real Estate Business Institute.

“We wanted to recognize ourselves to a more inclusive umbrella and to include our newest designation SRS, Seller Representative Specialist,” said McTamney. “These two advanced designations along with two other umbrellas, RENE, Real Estate Negotiation Expert and C-RETS, Certified Team Specialist, both certifications, opened up a whole new platform. Thus, the Real Estate Business Institute, or REBI, was born to form one large umbrella for our members. We advanced from 4,284 members in 2014 to 21,444 members in 2018 with this new formation of REBI.”

Blue Bell’s Debora Weidman-Phillips was also honored, she will serve as REBI’s 2019 president, joining a list of other Pennsylvania Realtor® leaders, including McTamney, Adrienne “Abe” Wagner and Greg Herb. Former PAR President Jim Helsel is also a recipient of  the Hall of Leader award.

Weidman-Phillips has been in real estate since 1989 and now serves as the vice president of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. She has had her CRB designation for more than ten years, and served on REBI’s board of directors from 2014-2017. Additionally, she has served on many state and local committees. In 2001, she received the Realtor®  of  the  Year  from  the  Montgomery  County  Association  of  Realtors® and in 1996 from  the  Eastern  Montgomery  County  Association  of  Realtors®. She also received the Realtor®  Active  in  Politics  award in  2000.