The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announces Dale Devereaux as the recipient of the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2023

From supporting his local food bank to raising capital for critical community resources in Red Deer, Alberta, REALTOR® Dale Devereaux's determination to better his community has created a lasting legacy.

OTTAWA, ON, April 18, 2023 /CNW/ - Dale Devereaux, broker and co-owner of Century 21 Maximum, from Red Deer, Alberta, has been selected as this year's winner of CREA's Canadian REALTORS Care® Award. Now in its eighth year, the annual award celebrates and recognizes REALTORS® who create lasting impact for their community. Devereaux is being awarded for his significant contributions to Red Deer, including fundraising for local community resources and a 25-year history of supporting individuals facing food insecurity across the region.

"Our committee was deeply impressed by Dale's relentless commitment to charitable efforts that support community development," says Darcy McLeod, Chair of CREA's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Committee and a member of the selection committee for the award. "During the 37 years of his career as a REALTOR®, he has gone above and beyond to contribute to charities such as the Red Deer Food Bank and the Ronald McDonald House, all the while rallying his community to join his efforts. His impact has been immense, providing meals to nearly 30,000 Central Albertans in need, and helping raise an astonishing $12.1 million for the Ronald McDonald House Red Deer."

Devereaux has a longstanding history of giving back to his community, and his contributions grew in tandem with his success as a REALTOR®. Upon moving to Red Deer in the 1980s Devereaux joined the Piper Creek Optimist Club, where he helped with many fundraising initiatives, and spearheaded Sunday night bingo, which raised $100,000 a year. The club raised more than $1 million with the funds going to support projects like the Children's Library, Neonatal Intensive Care facilities, and Boys and Girls Club camps.

As his career grew, he applied the same diligent dedication to his volunteer work. After a particularly successful year in 1998, he wanted to do more for his community. Inspired by his passion for cooking and sharing a meal with his family, Dale would go on to donate 100 Christmas meals, one for each house sold that year, to the Red Deer Food Bank, so that families in need could enjoy the holidays.

That would become year one of Dale Devereaux's "Feed a Family at Christmas" campaign. Each fall since, he has rallied the Red Deer community to donate Christmas dinners to the Red Deer Food Bank. In 2022, Dale's initiative hit the quarter-century mark, a milestone indicative of the consistent support Devereaux has provided for his community.

By the mid-2000s, Devereaux cemented his reputation for being able to couple his passion for community with his exceptional abilities as a REALTOR®. The Director of the Ronald McDonald House asked Devereaux for help find a suitable piece of land to build the new Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer. And what was expected to take several years, ended up taking only six months with Devereaux leading the search, which accelerated the project. He proceeded to volunteer to campaign for the construction and opening operations, helping to fundraise a monumental $12.1 million in 15 months. Since opening, the Ronald McDonald House Red Deer has served over 3,000 families by providing them with a home away from home while their child receives medical treatment at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

"When I was approached to help find a suitable site for the new Ronald McDonald House, I started doing research and I found a lot that was close to the hospital and faces a main road in Red Deer. I think everyone just assumed this was just escarpment land as it had never been on the market. The company that owned it was out of the U.S., so I got a hold of them, and we made a deal," says Devereaux.

Devereaux was selected as the winner of the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2023 from 48 nominees, each of which made a noteworthy contribution to their community and were nominated by friends, families, community members, fellow REALTORS® and the charities they support. 

Devereaux's win was announced at CREA's Annual General Meeting, which took place today, and as part of the award, CREA will contribute a $5,000 donation on behalf of REALTORS® nationwide to Devereaux's charity of choice, the Red Deer Food Bank. Next year's nominations for the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award will open in September 2023.

"CREA's Canadian REALTORS Care® Award is very special to me. Real estate has been my career and my life, I'm proud to be a REALTOR® and I'm happy to be able to donate my time and resources to causes that are important to our city. This award means so much to me because it highlights the work of REALTORS® across our county—we are by nature of our jobs, entrenched in our communities, and many of us spend countless hours volunteering our time to support them," says Devereaux.

List of the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2023 nominees:

• Adam Murphy of Langley, British Columbia
• Anne Hilliard of Alliston, Ontario
• Bill Keay of Oakville, Ontario
• Brandi Wolff of Westlock, Alberta
• Brenda MacKenzie of Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Brent Pay of Kelowna, British Columbia
• Brett Wellman of Calgary, Alberta
• Chase Siberry-Bennett of Hamilton, Ontario
• Cheryl Bower of Toronto, Ontario
• Chris Dunlop of Toronto, Ontario
• Cindy Wood of Uxbridge, Ontario
• Crystal Hung of Vancouver, British Columbia
• Curtus Collins of Regina, Saskatchewan
• Dale Devereaux of Red Deer, Alberta
• Darin Schiller of Windsor, Ontario
• Dave Neill of Guelph, Ontario
• Emily Rawson of Fergus, Ontario
• Filipe Ferreira of Toronto, Ontario
• Gail Pennington of Toronto, Ontario
• Gail Power of Kingston, Ontario
• Geoff Pawson of St. Catharines, Ontario
• Grace Kidd of Midland, Ontario
• Jason Simard of Nanaimo, British Columbia
• Jay Deakin of Pointe-Claire, Quebec
• Jessica Dunn of Regina, Saskatchewan
• John Stilinovic to Port Alberni, British Columbia
• Leesa Vreugde of Courtenay, British Columbia
• Li Song of Saint John, New Brunswick
• Linda Smardon of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
• Liz Polak of Oakville, Ontario
• Lynn Vardy of Carleton Place, Ontario
• Margaret Bowlen of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
• Mary Browne of Ottawa, Ontario
• Mike Cowan of Trenton, Ontario
• Mike Dirks of Vancouver, British Columbia
• Nicole Hacault of Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Rachel Hammer of Ottawa, Ontario
• Rebecca Kopel of Toronto, Ontario
• Rob Benneian of Windsor, Ontario
• Rob Graves of Aylesford, Nova Scotia
• Rose Iannacchino of Niagara Falls, Ontario
• Russ Parry of Regina, Saskatchewan
• Sam McDadi of Mississauga, Ontario
• Steve Jelenic of Toronto, Ontario
• Ted Boldt of St. Catharines, Ontario
• Véronique Babin of Montreal, Quebec
• Wasim Jarrah of Newmarket, Ontario
• Wendy Ronberg of Carleton Place, Ontario

About the Canadian Real Estate Association

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada's largest single-industry associations. CREA works on behalf of more than 160,000 REALTORS® who contribute to the economic and social well-being of communities across Canada. Together they advocate for property owners, buyers, and sellers, and maintain REALTOR.ca, Canada's most prominent online property listings platform.

SOURCE Canadian Real Estate Association

Pierre Leduc, Media Relations, The Canadian Real Estate Association, Tel.: [phone] or 613-884-1460, E-mail: [email protected]