SOUTH BEND — Stephanie Whitaker has been “saving the world one party at a time,” said Jan Edwards.

On Friday, Whitaker was recognized for her fundraising events, among other accomplishments, when her friend and world-saving party cohort, Edwards, announced her as a recipient of South Bend Area Realtors’ 2020 Affiliate of the Year.

Whitaker rose from the table at Embassy Suites by Hilton South Bend at Notre Dame’s banquet hall, 1140 E. Angela Road, South Bend, and walked toward her friend with a smile on her face.

Once they met, they hugged in front of other attendees of the Greater South Bend Realtors’ installation and awards luncheon.

“She’s deserved this award for years,” Edwards said after the luncheon. “She’s known throughout her industry as someone going consistently above and beyond not only in our association [but] in our community.”

Whitaker said earning the award took her by surprise. 

She said she has done what she has always done: “provide the best services to our customers and their clients.”

Whitaker is part of Meridian Title Corporation in South Bend, which has a range of title services that extend to Niles, Buchanan, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg and Cassopolis. She is its senior account executive.

The Affiliate of the Year award is given to a person that supports Greater South Bend Realtors, has had professional accomplishments and has made a commitment to the community. The association itself advocates for area realty-related groups, sets marks of professionalism and skill, and supports its community members.

Whitaker has been a member of the association since 2006 and has served on committees ranging from education to member activities.

Over the years, Whitaker has supported the following organizations, and more, financially or voluntarily: Food Bank of Northern Indiana, Habitat for Humanity, Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County, Junior Achievement, Ronald McDonald House, Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Margaret’s House, Center for the Homeless.

Whitaker has also received outstanding performance in sales awards for the past five years and was named the affiliate of the year for 2012 and 2018 through the Women’s Council of Realtors’ South Bend network.

“She exceeds expectations in all that she does, and is always quick to step in and support her colleagues and friends,” Edwards said. “Her positive attitude and quick wit are infections.”

Whitaker’s award came during a luncheon that centered on the changing landscape of Greater South Bend Realtors, its members and the Indiana realty field.

On Jan. 1, the local association officially switched its name and brand from the Greater South Bend-Mishawaka Association of Realtors.

Association CEO Myron Larimer said the name change gave the group a “bigger umbrella” of inclusivity. The city of South Bend is more familiar nationally than Mishawaka, and designating one city as the center of a larger area of realty made the group seem less exclusive than it really was.

Larimer also said that the change marks a shift in branding. The association, through a new set of executive leadership and committee members, Whitaker included, will rework its commitments to advocacy, professionalism and community commitment.

The association’s website is currently being completed, as are its offices. Building renovations at 1357 Northside Blvd., South Bend, are expected to wrap up this week, Larimer said.

Change is happening at a statewide level, too, said Bernice Helman, Indiana Association of Realtors president, namely in fair housing.

Helman said anti-discrimination measures are not being taken by realty groups throughout the nation, and her association would soon implement new educational guidelines to increase competency on the issue among the smaller, localized branches.

“I’m going to challenge that we are all part of the solution and not part of the problem,” she said to the luncheon audience. “We have to educate ourselves.”

Despite the number of changes discussed, some traditions at the luncheon remained the same. That included a gavel-passing ceremony, where past presidents of Greater South Bend Realtors and its former moniker passed a gavel wrought with symbolism down a line.

The gavel’s wood was taken from the estates of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, the U.S.’s first and third presidents. Its iron was taken from the USS Iowa, a battleship that carried Japan’s flag of surrender during World War II.