A Saint John, N.B. real estate agent has just received an award named in honour of the longest-serving – and still very active – Realtor in the Saint John Real Estate Board0’s history.
Recently the board unveiled the inaugural Harold Coughlan Award of Excellence, which was created both to honour the longstanding commitment of Harold Coughlan and to award a member who has contributed meaningfully to the board and the industry it serves.
The inaugural recipient of the award, Jason Stephen, was presented with it at the board’s Annual General Meeting by Harold Coughlan himself.
“Jason spent 13 years serving as a director on our board, including as president, vice president and as the chair of numerous committees and task forces,” says Coughlan. “With excellence, he has represented our industry’s interests to our provincial and national offices, with our local, provincial and federal governments and to the media. He has helped to shape important legislation that guides all of our members to a higher standard.”
Stephen has been a Realtor in the Saint John area for 18 years, during which he has served in Government Relations and Federal Affairs, Political Action, Education, Public Relations, Governance, Finance and Realtors Care.
Coughlan has been licensed in real estate for 52 years, after entering the business in the footsteps of his father, Harold Coughlan, Sr. He has spent just over 36 of those 52 years involved in organized real estate, serving as president of the board three times and playing an instrumental role in setting up real estate courses that led to the certification of the Fellowship in the Real Estate Institute of Canada.
In 2012, he was the recipient of the prestigious Dave Hawkins Award from the New Brunswick Real Estate Association. Still actively licensed, Coughlan remained a director with the board right up until the Annual General Meeting on March 15.
“As much as I’ve loved serving my industry, I recognize it’s officially time to pass the torch to the next generation,” says Coughlan. “I am proud of the thoughtful, passionate and professional Realtors that are pushing this industry to grow and change to serve the needs of our community. Jason is a shining example of that kind of professional.”
