Fred Steffen, left, is the 2023 Realtor of the Year and Heather King is the 2023 Associate of the Year.

Text and Photos
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

LEESBURG — Heather King and Fred Steffen were honored Friday, Dec. 1, at the annual Kosciusko Board of Realtors Christmas dinner.

King, with Meridian Title, was named the 2023 Affiliate of the Year. Steffen, with Steffen Realty, was named 2023 Realtor of the Year.

The awards were presented by last years affiliate and realtor of the year, Brandi Farber and Anna Gilsinger.

“I don’t know what to say, other than thank you,” said King. “I know I haven’t got to meet all of you, but those I have met … really been a joy working with you and for your clients …” she said. She noted she wasn’t going to trust anyone on the committee any more following the surprise, or her husband, who, she stated was to be at home in the hot tub and eating pizza.

Fred Steffen was named the 2023 Realtor of the Year by the Kosciusko Board of Realtors.

Steffen stated “Wow, thank you. I love crying in front of everybody. This is so undeserved … amazing what you can do with $20 when you slip it to the right person.”

King, a native and resident of Marshall County, was noted as being a runner in more ways than one. “They not only run marathons, they are usually on a dead run 24/7 with work, family, kids sport, home and camping. They usually do not have a free minute in their week,” said Farber.

King was noted as having a true connection with the area through her volunteer work. She serves as a board member of the Boys and Girls club, past race director of the annual Blueberry Stomp, Kiwanis and a member of the KBOR outreach committee. Married for 28 years, she has an active sports minded son and some of the families favorite sporting vacations have included skiing in Colorado and hiking in Ohio.

Farber shared the family lives on a hobby farm raising cattle and chickens. “two of their past livestock were descriptively named T-Bone and Hamburger. You cannot forget their trouble making dogs …” She also shared before the family moved to their first farm home, even before they were married, they went house hunting and found the perfect home. “Without notifying her fiancé she and her future mother-in-law bought the house. He saw it on moving day.”

Heather King was awarded the 2023 Affiliate of the Year Award at the Kosciusko Board of Realtors annual Christmas dinner.

Another fun fact shared was one winter, pipes in the crawl space froze. After assessing the situation, her husband, Dan, said he was going to the hardware to purchase a propane salamander to thaw the pipes. “Our affiliate of the year gave a look of surprise and exclaimed ‘you are not putting a lizard down in our crawl space.’

“Finally, our affiliate of the year is one of the most dedicated people you will ever meet. She truly cares about her relationships with her customers and goes above and beyond to help them any way she possibly can,” concluded Farber.

It was noted Steffen is a second generation realtor. His parents have been in real estate for over 50 years. Gilsinger stated “those were the days where we had a buyer and a seller could sign a napkin in a restaurant and consider it a done deal. He grew up around Lake Wawasee … attended Ball State.” Steffen lived in North Carolina and Florida for a while.

He stated his career in 1994. At the time, he and his wife lived in a cottage on a Lake Wawasee Channel for $325 a month. “That rental agreement was probably also written on a napkin. Ironically their spouse worked at the real estate office before your realtor of the year did,” added Gilsinger.

It was noted when Steffen was first learning to sell Wawasee Property and they had a listing, he and his wife would go to the beach at the end of the day to swim and check out the beach. “That helped become a first hand expert, knowing the sandiness, weediness and muckiness all around the lake. That is dedication,” She also stated his favorite routine is studying the bible every morning, focusing on all things odd and unusual. For their 30th wedding anniversary they took a trip with friends to the UK and Europe.

The evening was attended by 145 realtors, affiliates and guests. Additionally there were a number of silent auction items available, with all proceeds going to the KBOR Children’s charity Boots for Scholars. This year the organization provided 25 children with Big Brothers, Big Sisters with $50 gift cards to purchase winter boots.