To recognize her passion for service to others, the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors awarded Dickson Realty agent Kathy Leggett the Mat Gibbons Good Neighbor Award at the organization’s installation dinner.
The award recognizes an individual Realtor’s distinguished volunteer service to the community and their ethical and professional caliber.
“The Mat Gibbons Good Neighbor Award is about giving back to the community—it's about people who serve a greater good,” said Nancy Fennell, President of Dickson Realty. “That has always been part of our mission at Dickson. I'm so proud that Kathy and so many of our agents who have really taken it to heart and worked to make our community the best place that it can be. I love that Kathy is part of doing such good work.”
For almost seven years, Leggett has volunteered with STEP2, a private, local nonprofit organization that provides gender-specific long-term treatment services for substance use disorders, domestic violence intervention, and education, and trauma services.
“I am passionate about serving our community because it feels good to give back, and it's the right thing to do,” Leggett said.
Since 1986, STEP2 has helped women and their children in Northern Nevada with housing and treatment. In addition, STEP2 helps the women in the program find suitable employment, reunify with children, and access quality childcare. When a woman is ready to leave STEP2, she is clean and sober, gainfully employed, and she has learned life skills that will allow her to break free from patterns and environments that perpetuated addiction to create and maintain a better life for herself and her children. In 2018, Leggett joined the organization’s board of directors.
“I am passionate about STEP2 because I believe everyone deserves a second chance,” Leggett said. “I know of several women who have been helped through this program and who have turned their lives around. To be able to make a difference in the lives of STEP2 women is very gratifying and satisfying.”
She encourages others to join with her and help STEP2 by visiting step2reno.org and donating, or by visiting the campus for a tour of the counseling center, residential facility, and 25 tiny homes.
"I am very fortunate to have the time to volunteer," Leggett said. "I love the staff, the board members, the volunteers, and the clients up at STEP2. This nonprofit program is so well managed."
Leggett, who was born and raised in Reno, has been with Dickson Realty since 2010.
“The owners at Dickson Realty have created a culture of service to the communities where we live and raise our families,” Leggett said. “Through their example, many of our agents and employees are involved in supporting a variety of nonprofit organizations.”
