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Realtors® and the Community
Realtors® care about the community in which they live and work. They fight for affordable homeownership opportunities, take pride in giving back to the community through volunteer work, and recognize those citizens whose extraordinary contributions have enriched our area. PMAR surveyed our members about their community involvement and in the past year, members have donated an impressive 39,400 hours to community service and either helped to raise or donated $3.4 million. For a full list of charities that PMAR’s members volunteered for or donated money to in the past year, click here.
2009 Portland First Citizen
Bill Schonely
The Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (PMAR) is pleased to announce Bill Schonely, the Portland Trail Blazer's Founding Broadcaster and Ambassador, as the recipient of the 2009 Portland First Citizen Award. Schonely will be recognized for his civic achievements and leadership at the annual Portland First Citizen Banquet, scheduled for April 30, 2009 at the Governor Hotel, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Portland First Citizen Award was created in 1928 by the Portland Realty Board (now PMAR) to honor civic achievements and business leadership within the community. Considered one of Portland’s most prestigious awards, the individuals who have received it form an honor roll of the city’s most prominent leaders during the last eight decades.
Bill Schonely is currently serving as the Blazer family’s on-air Ambassador. "The Schonz," who was the voice of the Trail Blazers from their birth in 1970 through the 1998 playoffs, hosts “Blazers Flashbacks” on radio and “Memorable Moments” on Blazers television, looking back at the franchise’s hallmark events, and serves in a variety of ways as the organization’s ambassador to the community. Schonely’s 30 years with Blazers Broadcasting was the second-longest tenure in the NBA to the late Chick Hearn, the legendary voice of the Lakers. He was courtside calling the action when Portland played its first-ever preseason game on Sept. 24, 1970, in Longview, Wash., and over the next three decades did the play-by-play for 2,522 Trail Blazers contests home and away. Schonely called his last Trail Blazers game on April 30, 1998, a first round playoff contest with the L.A. Lakers. The next two years he hosted Rip City TV specials and provided sideline commentary during BlazerVision telecasts at the Rose Garden.
Schonely received the Providence “Heart of Gold” award in 1998 in recognition of his charitable work, as well as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's “Mike Ward Humanitarian Award.” A nominee for the prestigious Curt Gowdy Award at the Basketball Hall of Fame, Schonely's popularity has prompted the city councils and mayors of Portland, Vancouver, Wash., Lake Oswego, Gresham and others to pass resolutions calling for his inclusion into the Hall. He was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Broadcasters three times, and has been honored as the state’s Broadcaster of the Year by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters. In 1998, the OAB established an annual college scholarship in Schonely’s name for aspiring sports broadcasters and writers. In 2002, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
The Portland First Citizen banquet sponsors include The Oregonian, Davis Wright Tremaine, and the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS™). Advance registration for the event is required. For ticket or event information, call PMAR at 503-459-2152 or e-mail Jenni Dellerba.
Past Portland First Citizens
| 1928 | Ben Selling | 1968 | John D. Gray |
| 1929 | J. C. Ainsworth | 1969 | Homer T. Shaver |
| 1930 | Aaron M. Frank | 1970 | Judge Gus J. Solomon |
| 1931 | Henry B. Van Duzer | 1971 | Glenn Jackson |
| 1932 | Raymond B. Wilcox | 1972 | Ira C. Keller |
| 1933 | George L. Baker | 1973 | Howard Vollum |
| 1934 | Hopkin Jenkins | 1974 | William E. Roberts |
| 1935 | Edward C. Sammons | 1975 | Fred G. Meyer |
| 1936 | Arthur L. Fields | 1976 | Larry Hilaire |
| 1937 | Richard B. Dillehunt, M.D. | 1977 | Louis B. Perry |
| 1938 | Franklin T. Griffith | 1978 | Edith Green |
| 1939 | Charles H. Martin | 1979 | David Edwin Abram |
| 1940 | Ross McIntyre | 1980 | William Swindells, Sr. |
| 1941 | Mrs. Thomas D. Honeyman | 1981 | Judge Harlow F. Lenon |
| 1942 | Edgar F. Kaiser | 1982 | Samuel T. Naito & William S. Naito |
| 1943 | Portland Service Men/Women | 1983 | Carl M. Halvorson |
| 1944 | Mrs. C.S. Jackson | 1984 | Bishop Paul D. Waldschmidt |
| 1945 | Theodore R. Gamble | 1985 | John Piacentini |
| 1946 | Chester A. Moores | 1986 | Dr. Albert Starr |
| 1947 | Sid Woodbury | 1987 | Robert L. Ridgley |
| 1948 | Hillman Lueddemann | 1988 | Don C. Frisbee |
| 1949 | Thomas Harry Banfield | 1989 | Melvin 'Pete' Mark |
| 1950 | David B. Simpson | 1990 | Harry L. Demorest |
| 1951 | Frank Erwin McCaslin | 1991 | Dr. Matthew W. Prophet, Jr. |
| 1952 | Edgar William Smith | 1992 | Harry Glickman |
| 1953 | C.B. Stephenson | 1993 | John 'Jack' Faust |
| 1954 | Ben H. Hazen | 1994 | Maestro Jacob Avshalomov |
| 1955 | Dr. Morgan S. Odell | 1995 | Harold & Arlene Schnitzer |
| 1956 | Harold Fox Wendell | 1996 | Fred A. Stickel |
| 1957 | Rt. Rev. Benjamin Dagwell | 1997 | Neil Goldschmidt |
| 1958 | William Bruce Boone | 1998 | Brian & Gwyneth Booth |
| 1959 | Paul Boole McKee | 1999 | Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. |
| 1960 | Dr. Leo Sherman Lucas | 2000 | Peter E. Jacobsen |
| 1961 | Dr. Samuel Latta Diack | 2002 | Senator Mark O. Hatfield |
| 1962 | Truman Wesley Collins | 2003 | Tony L. Hopson, Sr. |
| 1963 | Judge Donald E. Long | 2004 | Dan Wieden |
| 1964 | Charles R. Holloway, Jr. | 2005 | Gert Boyle |
| 1965 | Aubrey R. Watzek | 2006 | Jack McGowan |
| 1966 | Mrs. S. Mason Ehrman | 2007 | Peggy Fowler |
| 1967 | John M. Fulton | 2008 | Joe Weston |
Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors®
5331 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 207 | Portland, Oregon 97239 | P: 503-228-6595 F: 503-228-4170
