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8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 600 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301.590.2000 Fax: 301.590.2248 www.gcaar.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2004
Contact: Sara Geimer
312.329.8296
sgeimer@realtors.org

The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS^® (GCAAR) is proud to announce that Ned Li, a real estate broker with H&I Real Estate, Rockville, Md., has been named one of the recipients of the fifth annual Good Neighbor Awards by REALTOR^® Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of REALTORS^®.

Two other times GCAAR members have been named finalists, but this is the first time a member has won the award.

Li is being recognized for building a flourishing community center that now has 2,000 members and 350 community service volunteers.

REALTOR^® Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards, in its fifth year, honors the ongoing volunteer efforts of REALTORS^® who are making exceptional contributions to improve the quality of life in their communities. Winners were selected based on the depth and impact of their volunteer contribution, the broadness of that impact, and their demonstrated leadership and initiative. Nearly 300 entries were considered this year.

In 1982, Li established the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md.

"We needed something that would bring the Chinese community together," says Li, CCACC's current executive director. "We also needed to build a bridge to the larger community around us, so we started very small and kept at it."

From its modest beginnings meeting one night a week in a local school, Li's dream has blossomed into one of the largest and most successful community organizations in Montgomery County, offering more than 30 educational, cultural, and athletic activities-including volleyball, hiking, folk dance, computer training, arts and crafts, a seniors chorus, and English classes. CCACC also has 350 volunteers who run social services, such as health care assistance for the uninsured, citizenship training, and meals for the elderly and homeless.

"Ned has been a driving force behind the CCACC from the very beginning and now, as an elder statesman, he continues to put in enormous amounts of time every week," says Shu-Ping Chan, Asian-Pacific American Liaison for Montgomery County, Md.

'Driving force' is a good way to describe Li, 61, an enthusiastic athlete who ran two marathons at age 56. "Sports are a good way to connect with people," says Li, who early on was organizing field days so youngsters in the community could meet and compete. He also started a runners club and, an avid photographer himself, began a photo club.

But he also had another goal. "Along with programs that would meet the needs of Asian immigrants, I felt there was an opportunity to help non-Asians gain a better appreciation of our culture," says Li. A good example of that is the Chinese language and culture program, which reaches out to non-Chinese parents of adopted Chinese children.

Janet and Lyle Levine and their adopted Chinese daughters, ages 4 and 2, take weekly classes at the CCACC, where they always see Li.

"Ned is always so welcoming and so interested in the children. Even though he founded the organization, he'll do the most menial things to see that it runs smoothly. He even unrolls the carpets the smaller children sit on and then rolls them back up after class," says Janet Levine. She says the program has given her family an invaluable opportunity to become part of their daughters' cultural heritage.

"I'd like my children to be fluent in Mandarin," she says. "And my husband and I would also like to speak Chinese. It's important that we do this as a family instead of just saying to the girls, 'Now go learn about your culture'."

Carol Hampe also appreciates what Li and the CCACC are doing for her and her 8-year- old daughter, Laura, who was also adopted from China. "The CCACC has given us both a wonderful way to connect with the Chinese community," says Hampe. "This past year Laura was able to be onstage at the Chinese New Year celebration and sing the traditional song, 'Gong Xi, Gong Xi,' and she was beside herself she was so happy. She said, 'My dream has come true!'"

Of course, Li was there for that magical moment, and it made him smile because it embodies his dream. "We have an organization people can look up to, one that bridges both the Chinese and the larger communities. We also have a good team of volunteers who have learned how they can give back to society. This makes them happy," he says quietly, "and it makes me happy, too."

Profiles of each of the Good Neighbor Awards winners and their programs will be featured in the November issue of REALTOR^® Magazine and at www.realtor.org/realtormag.

Each winner will receive a $7,500 grant in the name of their community project, a crystal trophy, and the right to use the Good Neighbor Awards logo on their Web site and promotional materials. The recipients and a guest also will receive travel expenses to attend the 2004 REALTORS^® Conference & Expo in Orlando in November, where they will receive their awards in front of an audience of 6,000.

Ned will also be recognized on December 2 at the Capital Area Real Estate Summit, which will be held at the new Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Rockville, Md.

NAR President Walt McDonald said the Good Neighbor Awards gives NAR the opportunity to honor some of the many REALTORS^® who give of themselves to improve the quality of life in their communities. "REALTORS^® care about our communities and have a vested interest in building healthy communities. The accomplishments of the Good Neighbor Award winners are an inspiration to the 1 million real estate professionals who are members of NAR, and we are proud that they can be recognized as models to all Americans of what each person can do to improve our communities one deed at a time," said McDonald, broker-owner of Walt McDonald Real Estate, Riverside, Calif.

REALTOR^® Magazine Editorial Director Pamela Geurds Kabati said, "We created the Good Neighbor Awards to reward REALTORS^® for contributing to their communities, something so many of them do without any recognition. We're proud to highlight their achievements to help show the world the positive difference REALTORS^® make in the places they call home."

REALTOR^® Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards is sponsored by eNeighborhoods Inc.-which has supported the program since its inception-Fannie Mae, and new sponsor Pulte Homes Inc.

"As founding sponsor of the Good Neighbor Awards, I am honored to help highlight the truly amazing things that REALTORS^® are accomplishing at the grassroots level in their communities," said Stu Siegel, CEO of eNeighborhoods Inc., who has also personally contributed to the Good Neighbor Awards through The Stuart & Jill Siegel Foundation. "I've found that the most successful of REALTORS^® are those who give back to their communities and integrate community service with their day-to-day businesses."

More information about the Good Neighbor Awards winners is available at www.realtor.org/realtormag.