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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 28,500+ hours to community service and either helped to raise or donated nearly $850,000. For a full list of charities that PMAR’s members volunteered for or donated money to in the past year, click here.
2013 Portland First Citizen
Jean DeMaster
The Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (PMAR) is pleased to announce Jean DeMaster as the recipient of the 2013 Portland First Citizen Award.
For over four decades, Jean DeMaster has tirelessly advocated for the homeless and underserved in our communities. Her advocacy, vision and leadership have given tens of thousands of individuals and families hope for the future and pathways out of poverty. The Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (PMAR) is pleased to announce Jean DeMaster as the recipient of the 2013 Portland First Citizen Award.
DeMaster has served as Executive Director of Human Solutions since 2002. For the past 25 years, Human Solutions has focused on eliminating barriers to escaping poverty through emergency family shelter, job training, affordable housing, eviction prevention and emergency household assistance. On any given night, Human Solutions provides housing or emergency shelter for approximately 730 homeless individuals in more than 240 homeless families. In 2012, their programs touched the lives of more than 90,000 individuals and families. DeMaster’s leadership of the organization is perhaps most visible through The Rockwood Building, which Jean conceptualized as a center where multiple services could be accessed by low-income residents of east Multnomah County. Over seven years, DeMaster worked with local, state and federal governmental agencies, foundations, the business community, development partners and community representatives to bring the $19.2 million project to realization and offer affordable housing and services to homeless and low-income residents of East Multnomah County.
Prior to her career at Human Solutions, from 1998 to 2002, DeMaster served as Executive Director of the YWCA of Greater Portland and led the organization through challenging times. She implemented her vision of the YWCA as a central player in the safety net of the city and successfully led a $7.9 million capital campaign to restore their downtown facility, as well as raised $4.1 million to restore Camp Westwind for women and children. DeMaster created Portland’s first year-round shelter for homeless families, Safe Haven in North Portland, and much more.
From 1983 to 1994, DeMaster was Executive Director of Transition Projects, Inc. During her tenure, the organization developed affordable housing for single adults who were overcoming drug and alcohol addictions and operated the city’s largest emergency night shelter, the first in the city to have designated space for homeless women. In honor of DeMaster’s advocacy and leadership, in 1993 Transition Projects, Inc. named the organization’s new homeless shelter and transitional housing facility that was solely for women, the first such shelter in Portland, Jean’s Place.
DeMaster’s resume also includes Executive Director for Children’s Club; co-founder of Technical Assistance for Community Services in 1976, which later grew to what is now known as the Nonprofit Association of Oregon; Program Manager at Portland Impact, Inc.; and Program Manager of the Adult Care Home Program within Multnomah County’s Aging and Disabilities Services Department, where she oversaw regulation of over 600 adult foster homes and increased the program budget by 33% in three years.
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. It is considered one of Portland’s most prestigious awards, and the individuals who have received it form an honor roll of the city’s most prominent leaders during the last eight decades.
Past Portland First Citizens
| 1928 | Ben Selling | 1972 | Ira C. Keller |
| 1929 | J. C. Ainsworth | 1973 | Howard Vollum |
| 1930 | Aaron M. Frank | 1974 | William E. Roberts |
| 1931 | Henry B. Van Duzer | 1975 | Fred G. Meyer |
| 1932 | Raymond B. Wilcox | 1976 | Larry Hilaire |
| 1933 | George L. Baker | 1977 | Louis B. Perry |
| 1934 | Hopkin Jenkins | 1978 | Edith Green |
| 1935 | Edward C. Sammons | 1979 | David Edwin Abram |
| 1936 | Arthur L. Fields | 1980 | William Swindells, Sr. |
| 1937 | Richard B. Dillehunt, M.D. | 1981 | Judge Harlow F. Lenon |
| 1938 | Franklin T. Griffith | 1982 | Samuel T. Naito & William S. Naito |
| 1939 | Charles H. Martin | 1983 | Carl M. Halvorson |
| 1940 | Ross McIntyre | 1984 | Bishop Paul D. Waldschmidt |
| 1941 | Mrs. Thomas D. Honeyman | 1985 | John Piacentini |
| 1942 | Edgar F. Kaiser | 1986 | Dr. Albert Starr |
| 1943 | Portland Service Men/Women | 1987 | Robert L. Ridgley |
| 1944 | Mrs. C.S. Jackson | 1988 | Don C. Frisbee |
| 1945 | Theodore R. Gamble | 1989 | Melvin 'Pete' Mark |
| 1946 | Chester A. Moores | 1990 | Harry L. Demorest |
| 1947 | Sid Woodbury | 1991 | Dr. Matthew W. Prophet, Jr. |
| 1948 | Hillman Lueddemann | 1992 | Harry Glickman |
| 1949 | Thomas Harry Banfield | 1993 | John 'Jack' Faust |
| 1950 | David B. Simpson | 1994 | Maestro Jacob Avshalomov |
| 1951 | Frank Erwin McCaslin | 1995 | Harold & Arlene Schnitzer |
| 1952 | Edgar William Smith | 1996 | Fred A. Stickel |
| 1953 | C.B. Stephenson | 1997 | Neil Goldschmidt |
| 1954 | Ben H. Hazen | 1998 | Brian & Gwyneth Booth |
| 1955 | Dr. Morgan S. Odell | 1999 | Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. |
| 1956 | Harold Fox Wendell | 2000 | Peter E. Jacobsen |
| 1957 | Rt. Rev. Benjamin Dagwell | 2002 | Senator Mark O. Hatfield |
| 1958 | William Bruce Boone | 2003 | Tony L. Hopson, Sr. |
| 1959 | Paul Boole McKee | 2004 | Dan Wieden |
| 1960 | Dr. Leo Sherman Lucas | 2005 | Gert Boyle |
| 1961 | Dr. Samuel Latta Diack | 2006 | Jack McGowan |
| 1962 | Truman Wesley Collins | 2007 | Peggy Fowler |
| 1963 | Judge Donald E. Long | 2008 | Joe Weston |
| 1964 | Charles R. Holloway, Jr. | 2009 | Bill Schonely |
| 1965 | Aubrey R. Watzek | 2010 | Brian J. Druker, MD |
| 1966 | Mrs. S. Mason Ehrman | 2011 | Mercy Corps |
| 1967 | John M. Fulton | 2012 | Duncan Campbell |
| 1968 | John D. Gray | ||
| 1969 | Homer T. Shaver | ||
| 1970 | Judge Gus J. Solomon | ||
| 1971 | Glenn Jackson |
