Miami Realtor® Honored as 2023 Realtor of the Year
ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors® recognized Christina Pappas, 2022 Florida Realtors president, as its 2023 Realtor® of the Year. The award – one of several – was presented Thursday during the state association’s annual Convention & Trade Expo at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla.
The Realtor audience applauded as Pappas accepted the award from 2023 President G. Mike McGraw.
“It is really, really an honor to receive such an incredible award but it’s due to all of you, to all of us working together,” she said. “It takes a village, and you were all a wonderful village. Working together, we’ve been able to accomplish so much.”
Florida Realtors has presented Realtor of the Year and Associate Realtor of the Year awards for 71 years. Winners are honored as the greatest individual lifetime contributors to their local Realtor board, community, state association and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
As a third-generation Realtor, Pappas grew up with the real estate profession. She’s dedicated to making a positive impact on the industry and helping her Realtor colleagues. A long-time member and leader of the Miami Association of Realtors®, she currently serves on its Corporate Board.
In 2015, she became the youngest person to ever serve as president of Miami’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) Leadership Board and was honored as the Miami YPN of the Year for her efforts in creating new events and seminars under her leadership. Then in 2017, Pappas became the Miami Realtors’ residential president.
After Hurricane Irma made landfall, Pappas helped lead the way as local association leaders quickly mobilized to help communities hit hard in the lower Florida Keys that September. Miami Realtors and many South Florida brokerages, including Pappas’ firm, The Keyes Company, held donation events to collect items to support those impacted by Irma – and then Miami Realtors and other Realtor groups got a plane to deliver the items to the Florida Keys that next day.
A leader in regional, state and national real estate organizations, Pappas has served or chaired many committees, was the 2016 vice president for District 4 and in every officer position for Florida Realtors, leading to being its 2022 president – the youngest elected president in the state association’s history.
Under her leadership as Florida Realtors president, the state association focused on “Building Up Business,” with the goals of boosting advocacy efforts, encouraging leadership, adopting new technology and encouraging diversity and inclusion. At the national level, she previously was a National Association of Realtors (NAR) director for several years as well as a NAR liaison. Currently, she serves on the Realtor Property Resource (RPR) Board of Directors and the Broker Public Portal.
In the community, Pappas is a Cornell Alumni Admissions ambassador, on the executive committee for the United Way Young Leaders and a former Young President’s/World President’s Organization Next Generation Liaison for Miami. She also is a staunch supporter of the Women’s Council of Realtors, having served WCR in several leadership roles.
Pappas has earned accolades for her leadership and business acumen, including the Swanepoel Power 200 list for the nation’s real estate leaders in 2023; the South Florida Business Journal’s Influential Business Women and 40 Under 40 awards; the 2022 RealTrends Emerging Leaders; and as a RisMedia Real Estate Newsmaker in 2018 and 2021.
Throughout her career, Pappas has demonstrated her service, commitment and dedication to her profession, to her fellow Realtors and to her community.
Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research, and legislative representation to about 238,000 members in 51 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Newsroom website is available at floridarealtors.org/newsroom