2010 Award Recipients

REALTOR® of the Year is given to a REALTOR® who is involved in everything. A person who is active in real estate--selling and/or managing, volunteers at the state and local Association, has earned designations, and also participates in activities within the local community.

Jennifer Branchini Jennifer Branchini believes in getting involved. After earning her real estate license in 1998, she joined WCR, and served as 2001/2002 Vice President of Membership. She became active on the Members Benefits Council in 2004 serving as Vice Chair in 2006 and Chair in 2007. At the same time she served on the Bay East Foundation and was pregnant with her third child.

She is currently on the Board of Directors for both Bay East and C.A.R. and serves as the Chair of the Bay East Young Professionals Network Committee (YPN), and the Vice Chair of the YPN Forum at C.A.R. Believing that YPN is an excellent way to network, she also feels that it’s necessary to bridge the gap between the generations conducting real estate in the Tri-valley area and beyond.

Jennifer promotes the value of education for all real estate professionals and has earned her GRI, CRS and SRES designations.

The Alameda County Food Bank, the Food Pantry and Walnut Grove Elementary School have all benefited from her and her children’s involvement.

Rookie of the Year is given to an individual who has started in Real Estate within the previous 18 months, has demonstrated success in sales and education, has volunteered time to the Association and the real estate community, and has been active in their community.

Although a REALTOR® for just eleven months, Jackie Pena has successfully navigated her new profession with all the attributes that distinguish a successful REALTOR®.

She originally joined Bay East as an Affiliate member, but slowly found her interest leaning to that of a REALTOR®.

Jackie enthusiastically gets involved in all that she does. She is an active member of the Tri-Cities Marketing Council. She not only attends weekly, she served as Co-Vice President in 2009 and is the in-coming President for 2011. She was also involved in the first Members Helping Members’ “Evening with Stars” event.

She has two very special soft spots and one of them is children. Her commitment to making life better for children is showcased by hosting an annual breakfast ‘It’s a Wrap’ for Adopt an Angel. Members of the real estate community and their families come in and wrap Christmas gifts that have been donated for children that are placed in the Alameda County Foster care system. Her other soft spot is seniors citizens. She is a team captain and driver for Meals on Wheels, an organization that delivers meals to inbound seniors in the Tri-Cities area.

Affiliate of the Year is a member of the Association who contributes an immeasurable amount of time, money, and/or resources to supporting the real estate industry. This person is also active in community activities.

Felix Pena has been actively involved at Bay East for the past 4 years.

He served as the 2010 Co-Vice President of Tri-City Marketing Group and actively participates in Central County and Valley Real Estate Network Marketing meetings.

Thanks to him, “Evening with the Stars”, a new Bay East event benefiting Members Helping Members came to be. He brought the idea to the Bay East Foundation and then did much of the work to make it happen. Be sure to see him in his starring role in this year’s event on April 2, 2011.

In addition to his service at Bay East, he is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors and served as Vice President of the Silicon Valley Chapter in 2010 and will continue a second term in 2011.

In his free time, he enjoys supporting and attending local sporting events and volunteers his time with Adopt an Angel and “LOV” Adopt a Family.

Good Neighbor of the Year is an award that was established to recognize the ongoing efforts of our REALTOR® members who have made exceptional contributions to improve the quality of life in their local community. This award brings to the forefront the positive difference REALTORS® make in giving back to their communities.

Margene Rivara proves the saying that if you want to get something done, give the job to an active person. She is active as a member of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Foundation and is on the Advisory Board of Cantabella Children’s Chorus. Recently, she was awarded the “2010 Art Supporter of the Year Award” and she received a separate commendation from the City of Pleasanton for her contributions to the community.

Through her volunteer efforts, she partnered locally with others in the development of some of the first senior housing complexes in Pleasanton, which are now more than 30 years old. In 2004 she was one of four Founding Members of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Foundation. In 2007 a full sized glass guitar that she made sold at auction at the Bankhead Theater for $28,500 to benefit the Arts in Livermore and Pleasanton. For the last 6 years, she has worked with 8 other Board Members to advocate for and turn the old Firehouse on Railroad Avenue in Downtown Pleasanton into the Firehouse Arts Center. She has also served for a number of years on the boards of several city commissions, non-profits, and foundations. Margene states, “I am involved with the community because I am passionate about the Arts. I feel that Art plays an important role in a healthy community’s life. My mission is to see that the Arts are accessible to all, most importantly our children. When they are nurtured, our world becomes a better place.”