Western district real estate agent Rob Rickard has been named as the 2021 Elders' National Rural Sales Person of the Year.
The south-west Victorian local, who manages Elders branches at Camperdown and Mortlake, took out the prestigious award which recognised him individually out of more than 400 offices across the country.
Mr Rickard said that he was honoured to receive the award, paying tribute to his team and the people who helped him along the way.
"I am quite chuffed," he said.
"I am very fortunate to be part of a great team, both the livestock team and administration staff here at Camperdown and Mortlake are terrific."
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Growing up on a farm in the Mallee, Mr Rickard began his 30-year real estate career in 1994 at Elders Bendigo before taking 12 months to travel to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
A trip that he says was very formative both personally and professionally.
"It gave me a whole different outlook on life," Mr Rickard said.
Seeing overcrowded cities, extreme poverty and food shortages helped him to appreciate how fortunate he was to live and work in Australia.
Coming home to Australia with renewed enthusiasm, Mr Rickard took the position of real estate manager at Elders Camperdown and Mortlake and has worked for those communities for more than 20 years.
Working in the historic townships of south-west Victoria, Mr Rickard said that the history of the region was of great significance to him.
"People instill a great deal of trust in myself to ensure that I do the absolute best for them," he said.
"I even have one family that has owned their property for over 150 years."
Mr Rickard said despite such a wealth of experience in the industry, hard work and continual development was key to success.
"I love learning from my clients," he said.
"I never stop learning every day from people that I deal with and I am fortunate to come across so many good people."
Mr Rickard also acknowledged his long association with Elders as key to his success.
"Also to my parents for all they did for me to help me grow and to respect people in everyday life," he said.
"I had a fortunate upbringing."