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Joshua Y. Horton has been appointed as the new President of HANFRA. (All images courtesy of brokers)

Sag Harbor - The Hamptons and North Fork REALTORS Association (HANFRA) held its annual awards dinner and installation of officers ceremony at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor last week.

Deal of the Year Award was given for a residential real estate transaction based on the gross transaction value and/or the uniqueness of the deal. Ray and Joan Hegner from The Corcoran Group in Montauk won the South Fork award for waiving their commission in the sale of the Bernard Madoff property. Nancy Cervelli and Barry Novick from Corcoran in Southold, along with Kate Nickles, from Lewis and Nickles, won the North Fork award for selling a 62-acre vineyard property.

Rookies of the Year are awards for new agents with significant sales figures who display good teamwork skills, ethical professional behavior and industry participation. The winner for the South Fork was Richard Doyle of Prudential Douglas Elliman in Southampton. Patricia Berg from the firm of Lewis and Nickles in Southold was awarded the North Fork honors.

The 2010 Realtor of the Year award was presented to John Halsted, from the Corcoran Group, at a previous ceremony.

New officers included President: Joshua Y. Horton; Vice President: Marty Gleason; Treasurer: Ann Rasmussen; and Secretary: Nicholas Planamento.

Horton, a Greenport native, is a Senior Managing Director at The Corcoran Group, the East End's largest real estate firm, and has direct oversight of the company's Shelter Island, North Fork and Westhampton Beach markets.

"I am honored to serve my colleagues in the industry. Being a realtor is special, important and speaks to a higher standard of professionalism and industry standards. The unique nature of each East End community throughout the North Fork, South Fork and Shelter Island requires East End Realtors to maintain a diverse portfolio of knowledge. HANFRA must be a resource they can draw upon to foster support in their ongoing professional development and market knowledge," stated Horton.

He added, " 2010 will be a year of breathing new life into our education and training curriculums, bringing realtors and relevant industry professionals together in substantive dialogue to promote a higher standard of business and knowledge and building additional value in the organization for our members."

Barry Novick (along with Kate Nickles and Nancy Cervelli) won the North Fork award for selling a 62-acre vineyard property.

"We think it's important as an organization that serves hundreds of associate agents and brokers and firms to recognize people who have taken an initiative and have stood out in the industry. And these awards are given by their peers in the organization," said Horton.

The two realtors who closed the Bernard Madoff deal were honored because they chose to eliminate the commission so more of the proceeds from the sale of the house went to the victims of Madoff, he said.

"They felt a sense of duty and commitment to doing their part to help provide some remedy portion of the solution to this terrible tragedy," Horton said.

The Deal of the Year Award given to realtors on the North Fork was not the highest grossing deal but it was by far and away one of the most unique deals, he said. Because the Long Island railroad cut right through the farm, there were a number of easement issues to contend with, along with marketing challenges. "There were a lot of legal complications on this sale and it made it a very interesting transaction to go through and the agents did a great job," Horton said.

HANFRA is a not-for-profit organization with over 800 members. It offers its members continuing education, free mediation, legal advice, insurance and other benefits. Its members also belong to the National Association of Realtors and New York State Association of Realtors, and subscribe to the associations' strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

"We have a multi-tiered agenda for 2010 that includes technical advancements for members and educational opportunities. We want to not only provide required NY state education classes and seminars, but hold them on the East End so our members don't have to travel through central and western Long Island for these courses. We also want to make them meaningful to the East End," Horton said.

HANFRA, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation is the East End Realtor orrganization that provides education and training programs, ethics guidelines and promotes National Association of Realtors Professional Standards and important real estate industry resources to East End Realtors.

For more information go to www.HANFRA.com.