The Staten Island Board of Realtors takes pride in announcing that twenty-seven (27) Realtors have earned the nationally recognized Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation. The new SRES designees are: Leonard Aptman, Paula Benigno, Claire Bisignano-Chesnoff, Anna Castro, Ann Coppola, Pat Croake, Eugene Golia, Michael Johnson, Paul Link, Barbara McCarthy, Ellen McCollum, Vincent Monardo, Elen Moustakis, Kathleen Negron, Carlos Nieto, Carmine Palummo, Jill Pinto, Patricia Reilly, Callie Robinson, Thomas Ryan, Greg Sokol, Liane Spodek, Robert Tracey, Arlene Trunzo, Robert Urs, Patrick White
and George S. Wonica.

The Realtors successfully completed a two-day, 15-hour program on April 13-14 at the Richmond County Real Estate Institute (RCREI), to earn their designation. Jim Pugliese, a nationally-known speaker and moderator, was the course instructor.

A national program since 1998, the SRES is the specific designation offered by the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council (SAREC) to identify those members who have successfully completed its education program along with other pre-requisites.

SRES is the only designation and marketing program specifically designed to serve senior property owners. By earning the SRES designation, a Realtor has demonstrated necessary knowledge and expertise to counsel senior clients through major financial and lifestyle transitions involved in relocating, refinancing, or selling the family home. It ensures the Realtor has received special training, gets regular updates, and is prepared to offer the options and information needed in making life changing decisions.

Tim Corliss, a former Franciscan monk, who later left the order and spent 42 years in real estate, created the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council in 1997 to focus on the needs of buyers and sellers 50 years of age and older.

Corliss, a huge man with an irrepressible smile and relentless encouragement for others, passed away in January of 2002 after an 18-month battle with cancer. A past president of the 90,000-member California Association of Realtors (CAR), Corliss anticipated the senior niche long before the industry realized the net worth locked up in seniors' homes - and the anxiety they experienced selling their long time residences.

Now, Corliss' efforts are not only being recognized but they also are paying dividends for real estate professionals who choose to focus on older folks. In late 2002, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) granted CAR permission to endorse and confer the SRES designation through its SAREC subsidiary.