The New Brunswick Real Estate Association (NBREA) bestowed this year’s Dave Hawkins Award on Roland Couturier, a Realtor from the northern community of Kedgwick, N.B. with more than 28 years in the real estate industry.
The award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the real estate industry in New Brunswick during their career.
The association says Couturier has had many careers over his lifetime, starting out as a woodsman and trucker, then starting his own accounting firm and eventually, his own real estate brokerage after a trucking accident forced him to make some major career changes.
He comes from the small northern community of Kedgwick, where his imprint is evident wherever you go, the association says. “He was, and continues to be, a leader in the community. Beyond his professional commitments, Roland has always found time to give back to his surrounding community,” says the association in a statement. “He was instrumental in getting a hockey rink and a community centre built for the town, he was the founding chair of the local Woodsmen’s and he was also involved politically on the local, provincial and national levels. Roland has been an advocate for other disabled workers with Workers’ Compensation, recognizing how their career struggles mirrored his own. Roland was considered a success story and, often, Workers’ Compensation would highlight his success across the country, sharing his story about how a serious injury can open new opportunities.”
He was also “very dedicated in keeping the Valley Real Estate Board operating as their long serving president for many years to ensure that the region had the same quality services as Realtors throughout New Brunswick.”
Due to health reasons, Couturier was unable to attend the 2017 NBREA AGM conference to accept his award in person. Instead, NBREA visited him before the conference to present the award. NBREA created a touching tribute and a recording of Couturier’s acceptance speech was shared with the members in attendance at the Dave Hawkins Award banquet.
His first language is French; his acceptance speech and the words of wisdom he shares are here in French. English subtitles were added to part of the video.
