HG Realtor Foundation Raises $20,000 in First Annual “Dancing for the Foundation” Event
Howard Hanna Rand Realty Dancers Win Competition
New Rochelle, NY (June 2023) The Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® recently raised over $20,000 in its first annual local adaptation of “Dancing with the Stars”. Held at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle, the “Dancing for the Foundation” event brought in more than 200 people to watch six HGAR REALTOR® and Affiliate member dancing couples.
JP Endres and Joe Maymi of Howard Hanna Rand Realty in New City and White Plains were named the winners of the competition. Layla Boyles of Century 21 Realty Center in Monroe and Alex Delgado of Christie’s International Real Estate in Nyack took second place. Coming in third place were Jessica Broomhead of Compass Greater NY LLC in Chappaqua and Anthony Ruperto of Ally Realty in Beacon.
The event also featured three judges, including Christian Perry of Sotheby’s International Realty in Greenwich, who appeared on 13 seasons of “Dancing with the Stars.” The others were Elisabeth Vieselmeyer of Feeding Westchester in Elmsford, one of the non-profits the Foundation supports and Bonnie Koff, former Chair of the Foundation Fundraising Committee. Koff, an agent with Corcoran Legends Realty in Tarrytown, was honored for her years of work with the Foundation, which she was also instrumental in founding.
“We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Bonnie Koff, who has been so dedicated to her work with the Foundation for so many years,” said Carol Christiansen, Chair of the HG Realtor Foundation Fundraising Committee. “With her help, we were able to launch another successful event -- the first of its kind for the Foundation. In fact, it was so well received that we’ll definitely be repeating it next year. The audience participation was just amazing.”
The performing dancers also included: Irene Amato of A.S.A.P Mortgage in Peekskill and Mark Aakjar of Mark’s Inspections in Ossining; Wasfiyah Talib of ERA Insite Realty Services in White Plains and Raymond LaFlamme of U.S. Bank in Greenwich; and Vili Mirtcheva of Corcoran Legends Realty in Bronxville, and Steven Reese of Christie’s International Real Estate in White Plains.
Since 2014, the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities and non-profits throughout Hudson Valley. As concerned members of the communities we work in, the Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation participates in qualified community-based charities who serve the housing, hunger, health, happiness, and humane needs of citizens everywhere.
The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® is a not-for-profit trade association representing over 14,000 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties, as well as the Bronx and Manhattan. It is the second largest REALTOR® Association in New York, and one of the largest in the country.
