The Kenai Peninsula Association of REALTORS on Thursday held their annual year-end awards ceremony and for the seventh year donated duffel bags filled with holiday gifts for students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Students in Transition program.

Kelly Martin, chief executive officer for the association, said Friday that the annual tradition of giving the bags has become something that her community looks forward to because they support the work of Students in Transition — which serves students experiencing housing instability. Martin credited, specifically, Kelly King and Nicole Murphy — “the work that those two ladies do is just amazing.”

Each year the association purchases the duffel bags, and members are given information about the students like their age, gender, interests and the “things that they might need or might want,” Martin said.

“Our realtors and affiliates, they stuff these bags to the gills with gifts.”

This year, Martin said the association is additionally focusing on support for Love INC of the Kenai Peninsula. They collected toys for Love INC’s Christmas store and members will be volunteering there next week.

During the ceremony, the association installed its board of directors for next year and recognized Erick Dunn as affiliate of the year, Matt Fisek as volunteer of the year and gave Fred Braun the president’s award.

Martin said Dunn is actually based in Anchorage at First Rate Financial but drives down repeatedly to volunteer at association events and efforts on the peninsula.

Fisek, with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Soldotna, is “relatively” new to the scene, but hit the ground running, Martin said, becoming “volunteer extraordinaire” at the Sports, Rec and Trade Show, with the duffel bags and food drive and beyond.

Braun has been involved for decades, Martin says, volunteering at events, serving on committees, and acting as a mentor and person that other realtors look up to — “so deserving.”

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

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