Liz and Mike Merrick have been married for 38 years. Community service and volunteer work have been an important part of their lives together.

Mike has been a Realtor with RE/MAX for over 20 years in the Atlanta market. Liz joined him five years ago to create the dynamic team “Spouses Selling Houses.” They are extremely grateful to have such positive, inspiring brokers, Kristen Anclien Jones and Megan Pafford-Wyatt, at RE/MAX Around Atlanta.

Raising their family in East Cobb, they felt it was important to model to their three children the importance of helping others and caring for the most vulnerable. Mike played an active role in volunteering by coaching in their local community for all three of their children in various sports, including baseball, basketball and roller hockey, where Mike served as the Commissioner of the league for many years. It was a gratifying experience to make a positive impact on so many kids’ lives. Through the years, the Merrick family has also sourced needs for the St. Vincent De Paul food pantry, participated in annual Christmas “Adopt A Family” programs, volunteered at “Challenger Baseball” and also prepared and served meals at MUST Ministries.

Liz has always had a heart for serving people with disabilities. She has helped various organizations and people domestically her entire life. Twenty years ago, Liz became involved in leading teen and adult mission trips to Mustard Seed Communities, an organization in Kingston, Jamaica that cares for children and adults with severe disabilities that have been abandoned. Seeing the residents bedridden or using inappropriate chairs, Liz saw a need to bring customized wheelchairs to the residents. Since then, their entire family has been involved which has resulted in custom fitting over 800-plus children and adults in custom-fit wheelchairs by fundraising and sourcing wheelchairs and parts. She and a team of physical therapists, occupational therapists and wheelchair specialists travel to Jamaica 3-plus times a year to evaluate the residents, they put together each chair locally and then send a shipping container full of the wheelchairs to Jamaica once a year.

The quarantine increased the demand for providing a meal to the many who go without — the homeless and children who were unable to go to school. To address this need, Liz and Mike started a program to fill that void and currently they deliver between 300-600 sandwiches to homeless shelters in downtown Atlanta every week. Along with a group of volunteers they call “The Sandwich Warriors”, they have delivered over 25,000 sandwiches in the past year.

Liz and Mike are blessed in their everyday lives and very thankful that they can give back to the community near and far by reaching out to their less fortunate brothers and sisters.

Runners up:

• Nicholas Brown, Compass
• Stacy Tunick, Engel & Völkers