Kelly Knight received the Realtor Community Service Award from the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors for her philanthropic and volunteer work serving the Santa Barbara community. Knight lends her time, expertise, and financial resources to the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, where she serves as a governing board member. Her Santa Barbara real estate team, Knight Real Estate Group, also contributes regularly to the Village Properties Teacher’s Fund campaign, as well as many other local non-profit organizations. 

“My education and legal background have given me much throughout my life, personally and professionally. I believe it’s a fundamental responsibility – as well as my greatest joy – to give back to our beautiful community.”

The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors also awarded Kelly Knight with the prestigious Howard Gates Award for what the association judged as the most “challenging and intricate transaction” of 2023 that demanded “exceptional perseverance, determination, diligence, patience, and expertise”. A former attorney who worked for Santa Barbara’s top law firm, Knight’s expertise in dealing with the nuances of complex contracts and her keen ability to understand and explain the ramifications of a purchase or sale in a way that most agents cannot, was essential to connecting all 10 sellers and successfully completing the sale on behalf of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. The sale of the property marked the realization of a directive set from over twenty years ago, allowing the Foundation to establish an endowed $400,000 scholarship using its proceeds from the sale. 

“I take immense pride in having provided the vision, commitment, and determination required to facilitate the sale of the property to attain this noble objective. The funds from the sale will continue to source annual scholarships indefinitely in memory of a remarkable young man who tragically lost his life over two decades ago. I hope that this Santa Barbara real estate sale success story serves as an inspiration to fellow Realtors, motivating them to explore opportunities to leverage their skills for the betterment of our community.”

Knight is the founder and Associate Broker for Knight Real Estate Group, a boutique Santa Barbara real estate team and affiliate of Village Properties Realtors. The group was the number one producer in Village Properties’ Santa Barbara office for 2022, and the number three producer company-wide with over $150 million in sales since 2020. Knight works with associate Gabe Grandcolas to bring outstanding client advocacy, true professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of the field of real estate to all aspects of the buying and selling process in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, and Goleta. Knight Real Estate Group has a unique specialty- Santa Barbara trust and probate sales, supporting estate trustees in the sale of real estate assets after the passing of a loved one. 

Congratulations Kelly!

Photo credit: The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors

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