At the 2019 RE/MAX Australian Annual Awards, held on St Valentine’s Day, the network stopped to recognise one of its finest, not just for her dedication to the industry and global franchise, but for the outstanding achievements within her personal life.

A lady with an incredibly busy schedule, Cyndi Ward gives a glimpse into why she was chosen to receive the prestigious Everyday Hero Award, in what is only its second time awarded.

It’s not every day that you come across a hero, but then again, chances are you may not have even known it. Gladstone’s Cyndi Ward is one such person, but it is a compliment she takes with utmost humility.

Recognised in front of her peers, Cyndi received the award from RE/MAX Australia’s Managing Director, Michael Davoren.

“There are no criteria as the recipients of this type of award are people who have no boundaries,” said Michael. “Their business life is generally way beyond the ordinary and their private life is generally just that. It is private but exceptionally special.”

The Everyday Hero Award is a very special award that has only been awarded once before and will not necessarily be awarded each year.

“How Cyndi leads her life, what shehas done and continues to do makes her very worthy of the Everyday Hero mantle,” he said.

Cyndi manages RE/MAX Gold’s rental department and is a dedicated, hard-working and passionate real estate professional. Her experience and exceptional knowledge in her field has awarded her various accolades throughout her career, but one thing that stands out is how humble she is in receipt of them all.

Having lived in the Queensland regional city of Gladstone from a young age, Cyndi has lived the pressures of the unprecedented market downturn the city experienced several years ago. It was a difficult time which saw investors and landlords put through a rollercoaster, looking to property managers for answers; it was her resilience and leadership which helped navigate through this tough period.

“It was five years of an absolute nightmare and it saw a lot of people – investors, landlords and property owners – put in a really challenging situation both financially and emotionally,” said Cyndi.

“It was a challenging time for us, too, but we focussed a lot on turning negative energy in a positive and talked a lot about the importance of having empathy, not sympathy.”

Outside of building a successful property management business with RE/MAX Gold, she is fully occupied by raising her young family of three boys, one of whom has special needs and requires constant care.

With the environment in her hometown seeing an ever-increasing need for carers and a decreasing supply of the same, in 2015, Cyndi and her husband made the decision to become foster parents, opening up their family home to a number of children, many of who come from difficult circumstances.

“It can be very challenging, and heartbreaking, but ultimately it is the best experience that we, as a family, have had,” said Cyndi.

“Not just for us but for our children also. It has been grounding and really puts things into perspective.”

Regardless of their backgrounds and sometimes challenging behaviour, these children are all treated as family under the Ward roof and Cyndi encourages everyone to consider the benefits of becoming a foster parent.

In 2018, Cyndi was involved in the start-up of Ride-For-Life’s Gladstone branch and currently serves as Treasurer on the board. Having been through her own personal tragedy, Cyndi has become an advocate for suicide prevention training, ensuring as many people as possible – including the team at RE/MAX Gold – receive the training.

“Suicide prevention is something very close to my heart and it’s important to me to be able to educate others on this,” said Cyndi. “Gladstone has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, so educating people is incredibly important.”

Upon receiving the Everyday Hero Award earlier this month (February), an incredibly humbled Cyndi summed up the very reason she was recognised for the award in the first place, thanking the support of those around her.

“I’m not a hero,” she said. “I’m just trying to make a difference.”

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Contact for media:

Cyndi Ward, Managing Director Rental Department, RE/MAX Gold – 0411 607 935

Lyn Cox, Public Relations, RE/MAX Australia M. 0418 793 096

About RE/MAX: RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. With more than 120,000 agents and 8000 offices globally, nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX.