By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

When Mary Manard began her Joplin real-estate business in 1957, she is said to have had difficulty borrowing money.

After being involved in the development of such retail landmarks as the Bel-Aire Shopping Center, Northpark Mall and the Range Line Road hotel district, Manard Realty has outlasted the obstacles and will celebrate 50 years this year as a local business.

Burl Garvin, a Joplin Realtor from 1936 to 1984, is cited for affecting the city's direction of growth by buying and selling property in areas now housing such community foundations as Freeman Hospital West. One of Garvin's visions for the downtown area was to turn historic but under-used buildings like the former Connor Hotel into apartment space, a hot trend in Joplin now 30 years later.

Garvin died in 1988. Manard died in 1992, only one day before the Joplin Board of Realtors planned to honor her with the Pioneer in Real Estate Award.

"We are living in their legacy," said Lana Nelson, president of the Ozark Gateway Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors. "Every Realtor is in essence self-employed, so when they retire, there's no fanfare, no company to make sure you receive a commendation."

Nelson's organization, along with area agents and brokers, honored Garvin and Manard and other pioneers of Joplin-area real estate Thursday night during a ceremony at Southwest Missouri Bank Community Room at Seventh Street and Duquesne Road.

Half of the honors were awarded posthumously to descendants of the honorees.

"What these people have done has impacted the quality of life for those in Joplin," Nelson said. "We want to let these people know that what's important to them is important to us. It's just the right thing to do."

Mary Manard's son, Kevin Manard, represented his mother at the ceremony and couldn't have been happier that Joplin was giving something back to the woman he calls "quite an individual."

"She had incredible ambition and was also a very caring person," Manard said. "She was a controversial person and wasn't afraid to be heard or speak out. One thing she always wanted was recognition and she never really got that, so it's nice to see them recognizing her now."

Garvin's sons, Gary Garvin and Bob Garvin, couldn't help but smile every time they saw someone appreciating a photo display of their father and thinking about the impact he had on the Joplin community.

"He tried to make this town a better place to live," Bob Garvin said. "He was very civic-minded and was a member of all these organizations. He donated land behind the McDonald's on Main Street for a park that was later named after him. It was more than just selling houses, he was working toward the betterment of this town. He loved this town."

Anniversary