DeClerck and Woolley installed as presidents of the HGAR and Hudson Gateway MLS

Katheryn DeClerck, associate broker with Better Homes and Gardens Rand in Warwick, will serve as the 2013 president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR), while Russ Woolley, owner and principal broker of Wright Bros. Real Estate inNyack, will be the president of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service. (HGMLS). DeClerck succeeds Nancy Kennedy of Houlihan Lawrence in Croton, the 2012 HGAR president, and Woolley takes over the reins from Gary Leogrande of Keller Williams in White Plains, the 2012 HGMLS president. Kennedy and Leogrande will remain on the executive committees of HGAR and HGMLS respectively. DeClerck is currently a director with the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) and has chaired NYSAR's communications and public relations committees. She has served on NYSAR's grievance committee, was a director with the former Orange County Association of Realtors (OCAR) for five years, and chaired its diversity committee. In 2011, she was named OCAR's "Realtor of the Year." DeClerck holds designations including Green; GRI; ABR; ASR; Certified e-PRO; Certified by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and At Home with Diversity. In addition, she has been a volunteer with the United Way of Orange County since 2007, serving on various committees and making site visits to its many agencies including Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Literacy Volunteers, and Food Bank. Woolley has been in the real estate business for 34 years. He has served as president of the former Rockland County Board of Realtors (RCBR) and has been the owner and principal broker of Wright Bros. Real Estate for the past 11 years. Woolley is a charter member of the Congers/Valley Cottage Rotary Club and chairman of the Church Council of the New City United Methodist Church. He also serves on the Committee of Church & Society, which is involved with social concerns. In addition to the president, the 2013 HGAR officers elected include: Diane Cummins of Douglas Elliman in Somers as HGAR's president-elect for 2014; John Lease III of John Lease Realtors in Newburgh as regional VP, Orange County; Drew Kessler of ERA Tucker Associates in Nanuet as regional VP Rockland County; Gail Fattizzi of Westchester Real Estate Inc. in Eastchester as regional VP Westchester/Putnam Counties; and Jennifer Maher of Keller Williams in White Plains as regional VP, Westchester/Putnam Counties. Sharon Tucker of ERA Tucker Associates in Nanuet will serve as secretary-treasurer. The new HGMLS officers include J. Philip Faranda of J. Philip Real Estate in Briarcliff Manor as vice president; Leah Caro of Bronxville-Ley Real Estate in Bronxville as secretary and Rosemarie Pelatti of Keller Williams in New City as treasurer. The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS (HGAR) is a not-for-profit trade association covering over 9,000 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties. HGAR is comprised of the former Westchester Putnam Association of REALTORS (WPAR), Rockland County Board of REALTORS (RCBR) and Orange County Association of REALTORS(OCAR). The Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS), owned by HGAR, offers some 24,000 properties in the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. It is among the top 50 largest MLSs in the country.