Forrest Meadows is known as a man of principle. One of his proudest moments as a small business owner happened in 2015 when he was selected as a finalist for the River Region Ethics in Business and Public Service Award. The recognition by his colleagues as an ethical leader was unforgettable.“I was humbled by that,” Meadows said. “I’m a very small boutique brokerage. All of the other nominees were pretty good size companies and I was honored to be among them.”

Meadows summarized his business ethics as “doing right by the customer always and building relationships with my peers. I respect my peers and, hopefully, I’m conducting my business in a way that earns their respect.” That respect from Meadows’ colleagues led to his nomination for AAR’s 2022 Robert Jemison award. The award was announced at the recent AAR annual convention at Ross Bridge Resort.

“I was totally shocked and honored,” Meadows said. "I had no idea I had been nominated. As they were reading through the accomplishments of the winner, I was thinking ‘that kind of sounds like things I did.”

The award is given in honor of Robert Jemison, the first Alabama REALTOR® to serve as president of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (1926). It recognizes the long and valued service of REALTORS® or REALTOR®-ASSOCIATES for a minimum of 15 years to ALABAMA REALTORS® and their local board/association and who have never served as ALABAMA REALTORS® president, president-elect, secretary or treasurer.

“I am a firm believer that you have to serve in the association of the industry,” Meadows explained. “That is vitally important. I started serving on committees with my local association before moving up the ladder.  I was then encouraged to get involved at the state level.”  At the local level, Meadows served as association president, on numerous committees, and was named REALTOR® of the Year in 2017.  At the state level, he was a regional vice president, executive committee member, and served on several key committees. He is a graduate of Leadership AAR’s 2018 class and is an ARPAC Contributor/Major Investor.

Meadows’ advice to colleagues is simple: “Don’t worry about yourself and how it will come out in the end.  Making wise decisions will benefit you in the end.”