From community impact to mentorship distinction, Calgary's real estate community honoured some of the city's most exceptional REALTORS® at the second annual ROAR Awards this past weekend.

At this year's event, which was held at TELUS Spark, and emceed by Canadian comedienne and actress Jessica Holmes, five exceptional REALTORS® took home hardware in categories that included Marketing Excellence, Mentorship Distinction, Community Impact, Commitment to Education, along with the award for People's REALTOR®.

"It's humbling to think that people took time out of their busy lives [to nominate me]. It's really an honour," said Leisa Fuller of Century 21 PowerRealty.ca, who took home the award for the People's Realtor®.

The award, which is voted on by the public, is given to an individual who consistently goes above and beyond to deliver exemplary customer service to clients.

"Every client that hires doesn't have to – they decide to. And they pay us to do a job that I really love. I just can't imagine doing anything else," said Fuller.

With more than 140 nominations for this year's awards, ROAR committee chair Robyn Hauck said picking the winners wasn't an easy process. Nominations came from the public, in the case of the People's Realtor® award, or REALTORS®, in the case of the other four categories. Winners were eventually screened, interviewed and selected by sub-committees consisting of REALTORS®, past winners and community liaisons.

"At the end of the day, the people we selected were clearly the top performers who consistently went beyond what's expected to excel, inspire, give back and help others succeed," said Hauck. "This is what the ROARs are all about and what it means to be among the best in real estate.

"The winners are examples of what clients look for in a REALTOR®: professional, reliable, courteous and committed to providing the best possible experience. We were so impressed with all the nominees this year. They've all worked hard to deliver outstanding results for their clients and the ROAR Awards made sure their efforts didn't go unnoticed."

Lindsey Smith of CIR Realty took home the Commitment to Education Award for his devotion to professional development, commitment to sharing new concepts, teaching and for encouraging others.

"I think education for me is something that is a bit of a selfish pursuit, because those of you who are mentors and are giving back know that in order to teach someone you have to learn the stuff so in depth yourself that you become so much better," he said.

Milton Brandson of Century 21 PowerRealty.ca walked away with the award for Community Impact for his involvement with the Rotary Club of Airdrie, among other local commitments, for the past three decades.

"I think volunteering for me is not about a specific program or project but an accumulation of 35 years of small service in small ways," he said.

Singling out the REALTOR®  who uses creativity to take their brand to the next level, the Marketing Excellence award recognized Chris Mulders of CIR Realty. The Airdrie-born-and-raised REALTOR®  is behind www.airdrie360.com, which regularly features neighbourhood posts, videos, photos and real estate market reports.

"In addition to helping me grow my business, [marketing] has really let me meet some incredible people and do some good in my community," said Mulders.

Robyn Moser of CIR Realty was honoured for actively transfering her knowledge and good working habits to the next generation.

"My mentors were the people who probably didn't even know it," she said.

"And for me, that was a big thing. We've all made impacts in our community and our industry to people in our industry, and we have no idea that we've done these amazing things and made someone want to be better, drive to be better and strive to be better and even to see the possibility to be better."

For more information about the ROAR Awards, visit www.roarawards.com.

The recently announced 23 metre tall "Bloom" for St. Patrick's Island, by Canadian artist Michel de Broin, has received both praise and ridicule from residents ranging from some who compare it to an "antenna array" and "expensive junk" to others who say it's "aesthetically pleasing" and a "graceful result."

Also new to the city's art scene is an interpretive public art exhibit by Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) students recently unveiled at Ralph Klein Park in the city's southeast.

The series of illustrations are intended to be visual reference and information pieces educating visitors on different living things in Ralph Klein Park.

"It's been a great privilege to be able to collaborate with the City of Calgary's Ralph Klein Park," said ACAD student Gladzy Kei. "My piece visually communicates the different types of birds; ranging from winter birds like the Snowy Owl, Raven, Black-billed Magpie, to birds that are active during the spring, summer, and then fall."

The ACAD piece adds to Calgary existing public art infrastructure, which has made headlines at several points throughout the last several years.

In February, city council voted 9-5 against a motion by Coun. Peter Demong that, in light of falling energy prices, would've frozen the city's public art budget.

The defeated motion came on the heels of the City making changes to its public art policy last May. Under the old policy, the city's "per cent per public art" was calculated at one per cent of the total capital project costs up to $4 million for City capital budget projects over $1 million. The new policy now sees the same spending level for projects under $50 million, but drops that ratio to 0.5 per cent on projects in excess of $50 million.

Outspoken art opponent Coun. Sean Chu proposed an even harsher cut at $25 million, but was defeated.

"I have often said that one of the key determinants of a successful city is our ability to focus in on the things that really impact peoples' quality of life, the things that make us smile every day," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

"It's important to invest in things like arts and culture and sports and recreation and great public spaces and even public transit – not just in and of themselves, but because they are key drivers to the economic and social success of the city."

Some public art pieces in the city have been more welcomed than others. The controversial Travelling Light "blue ring" on 96th Avenue N.E. cost $471,000 and drew the ire of many Calgarians, even prompting its sale on buy-and-sell site Kijiji.

The $370,000 Chinook Arc piece in Barb Scott Park, which changes colour depending on peoples' movement, has attracted less attention, as has the $3.12-million River Passage Park, intended to improve local habitat, wildlife movement corridors and recreation opportunities at Harvie Passage on the Bow River, which opened last fall.

One of Calgary's most expensive show pieces is the $25-million Peace Bridge over the Bow River. Despite drawing the ire of Chu, who has been dubious of cycle counts on the bridge, the structure is one of the most widely utilized and photographed landmarks in the city.

The bridge has won Canadian Architect's 2014 for best steel design and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction's 2013 Engineering Award.