2012 REALTOR® of the Year

Jim Sewell, an agent with Century 21 Commonwealth in Frankfort and member of the Lexington Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® (LBAR), was named KAR’s 2012 REALTOR® of the Year. Sewell served as president of the Kentucky Association of REALTORS® in 1987 and has been active with the state association for 37 years, volunteering much of his time to work in leadership positions including the Board of Directors and serving as chair for various committees including government affairs, KREC selection committee and Founding Trustee for the Kentucky Real Estate Education Foundation. On the local level, he served as president and treasurer of the Frankfort Board of REALTORS® where he was also selected as REALTOR® of the Year twice. At the Lexington Bluegrass Association of REALTORS®, Sewell has served on almost every committee and is currently serving on LBAR’s governmental affairs committee. Nationally, he has served as a director and is currently serving as a federal political coordinator for Congressman Ben Chandler. Sewell has also been a real estate appraiser for 37 years and received his B.A. from Centre College.

Past REALTORS® of the Year

1956 - Wheeler Nickell, Ashland

1957 - John Carpenter, Louisville

1958 - Paul M. Kendall, Louisville

1959 - Henry E.Pogue, Jr., Ft. Thomas

1960 - Paul Semonin, Louisville

1961 - Holmes Coats, Lexington

1962 - Morris McBirde, Paducah

1963 - Robert Crabtree, Lexington

1964 - William Cowger, Louisville

1965 - Chet Mason, Newport

1966 - Pauline Lewis, Frankfort

1967 - William Snyder, Louisville

1968 - Robert Massey, Louisville

1969 - Ralph Waldrop, Mayfield

1970 - Nat Sanders, Louisville

1971 - Charles Weisberg, Louisville

1972 - David P. Schoepf, Newport

1973 - Doug Gibson, Lexington

1974 - Thomas Laswell, Owensboro

1975 - Jack Rottgering, Paducah

1976 - Robert Laswell, Owensboro

1977 - Donald Tucker, Murray

1978 - Pat Parks, Louisville

1979 - Stuart Dalton, Louisville

1980 - Ward Elliott, Bowling Green

1981 - Joe Pitt, Louisville

1982 - Joe Schiff, Louisville

1983 - Bill Johnson, Kentucky Barkley

1984 - Joe Guy Hagan, Louisville

1985 - Charlie Murphy, Lexington

1986 - F.E. Whitney, Hopkinsville

1987 - Wayne Thomas, Kenton-Boone

1988 - Evelyn Pusateri, Louisville

1989 - Sue Teegarden, Campbell County

1990 - Louise Gentry Hall, Bowling Green

1991 - Rick Baumgardner,Hardin County

1992 - Becky Murphy, Lexington

1993 - Sallie Kirby-Howard, Louisville

1994 - Louise Edelen, Louisville

1995 - Mary Bellucci, Louisville

1996 - Dottie Franck, Louisville

1997 - Jess Kinman, Frankfort

1998 - John Chandler, Cumberland Valley

1999 - Linzie Craig, Shelbyville

2000 - John S. Davis, Paducah

2001 - Jayne Cox, Lexington

2002 - Portia Leftin, Northern KY

2003 - Linda Moore, Paintsville

2004 - Tony Clark, Owensboro

2005 - Ken Warden, Ft. Thomas

2006 - Dot Miller, Elizabethtown

2007 - Carolyn Edwards, Lexington

2008 - John J. Weikel II, Louisville

2009 - Ann McDonald, Lexington

2010 - Jeff Smith, Fort Mitchell

2011 - Robert Damron, Pikeville