At the annual awards ceremony for the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors on Thursday, the group looked back on the past year, swore in their next board of directors for the coming year and continued their annual tradition of donating duffel bags stuffed with holiday gifts to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Students in Transition program.

Kelly King and Nicole Murphy, who work with the Students in Transition program, which serves students experiencing housing instability, spoke to the realtors about the program and accepted the donation. Each duffel bag was filled with gifts based on a request filled out by students — which King called their “dreams.”

It can be difficult, King said, for the students to fill out those sheets, because “they’re not used to being asked.”

“They can’t understand why strangers would want to do something like this for them,” she said. “That’s what the holidays are supposed to be about. A chance to dream and a chance to have hope for something more. So many of our students have had to grow up too quickly, at a pace and in a place that doesn’t allow for that.”

Over the six years the association has been making the annual donations, King said they’ve given gifts to “over 200” students. As she spoke, dozens of bags covered the tables and the floor behind her, and even more had already been delivered. King said the donations gave the students the opportunity to dream — preserving some part of the “innocence, magic and wonder of the holidays.”

Murphy said the local Students in Transition program has a graduation rate of around 78%, far exceeding the national average for students experiencing housing instability, which is 68%. The statewide average, she said, is even lower at 58%.

Part of the success they see, she said, is because the students have more space for dreams and ambitions.

“What you’re able to provide, it allows students that feel really invisible … like they feel seen and they feel loved,” Murphy said.

The Realtors said they were proud to continue to provide the gifts to the students.

“All these bags behind me have some pretty special gifts in them,” Past President Fred Braun said during the ceremony. “Regardless of the price, regardless of what they are — big or little — it really doesn’t matter. The kids that receive things like this will truly appreciate it.”

The Realtor’s association also marked the passage of a busy year, including a Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec & Trade Show that Chief Executive Officer Kelly Martin said drew “record attendance,” the annual trash pickup day, and a statewide Realtors convention in Seward hosted by the local group as part of the state association’s six-year rotation.

Amanda Davis was given the President’s Award by President Febra Hensley, Stephanie Davidson was named Affiliate of the Year and Randy Work was named Volunteer of the Year.

For more information, find the “Kenai Peninsula Association of REALTORS” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

Kelly King speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Students in Transition at Kenai Catering on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)