KCRAR member Craig Conant was selected by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) as a mentor for the 15th annual Volunteering Works program. Conant, who is a 2001 National Good Neighbor Award winner, will be mentoring Arlin Fisher, a REALTOR® from North Dakota.
The Volunteering Works program, which matches real estate agents who work on small-scale charitable efforts with mentors who can help them improve and expand their impact, brought Conant and Fisher together due to a tragic connection, the loss of a child. For both Conant and Fisher, their loss inspired the creation of public gardens, Children’s Memorial Gardens in Warrensburg, Mo. and Garden of Healing in Fargo, N.D.
“Even though this garden stemmed from the loss of Cameron, we want it to be a place of life and living,” Fisher said about the Garden of Healing.
Conant hopes that through this mentorship, he can help Fisher in his fundraising efforts, and he hopes to make a trip to North Dakota for a personal meeting and chance to see the Garden of Healing. In addition to one-on-one mentoring from Conant, Fisher will receive a $1,000 seed grant from the program.
Conant has been highly active in the NAR Good Neighbor Society and its programs, including the Volunteering Works program, which he helped to launch 15 years ago. Since then, he has been selected as a mentor six times.
“It is always a two-way street, and I always learn something from each person that I have the fortune to work with,” Conant said.
Although the Good Neighbor program offers its recipients public recognition, Conant stressed that is not the driving force for the Good Neighbor Award winners and Volunteering Works recipients he has encountered.
“No one I have ever met does this work for publicity,” Conant said. “Most all of us tolerate
the publicity to get monies or assistance for our charity. That is always the ultimate goal.”
