Laura Derrick named 2019 South Carolina REALTOR® of the Year

September 26, 2019

South Carolina REALTOR® (SCR) member, past president and Realtor® at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Columbia, was named the association’s 2019 REALTOR® of the Year at its annual conference at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston on September 11, 2019.

The REALTOR® of the Year award is designed to honor and recognize a Realtor® member who has contributed most to the advancement of the real estate profession and community.

Laura Derrick is a former teacher and graduate of Clemson University.  She has been a Columbia Realtor® for more than thirty years. Throughout that time she has held many state and local Realtor® association leadership roles including secretary of SCR in 2015 and SCR Region 5 Vice President (representing Columbia, Aiken and Southern Midlands) in 2013 and 2014. She was SCR treasurer in 2016. Derrick also is a graduate of SCR’s esteemed leadership program, LeadershipSCR. She initiated the associations first ever Women’s Conference in 2018, while she was president. The conference was a sold-out event.

In 2011 she served as the Central Carolinas REALTOR® Association (CCRA) president. CCRA also presented her with its REALTOR® of the Year award in 2011.

She has won multiple sales awards including Top Sales, Top Listing Agent and Top Producer, and was also awarded the International President’s Circle for Coldwell Banker. She holds multiple designations including Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and is a graduate of the Realtors® Institute (GRI).

Derrick is active in her community and serves on the Midlands Red Cross board of directors.

She is a past volunteer and member of the March of Dimes board of directors. She was named Volunteer of the Year in 2006. Also, she was a volunteer for Palmetto Richland Children’s Hospital and was active in raising more than one million dollars for Children’s Hospital. She is currently serving as a deacon at St. Andrews Baptist Church.

Derrick has a step-son and is grandmother to 3 grandsons and a grand-daughter. She lives in Columbia with her husband, Jimmy, who is a 47-year veteran of the real estate industry.