being part of this business. In that goal, I can say the program has been an unmitigated success. Applicants talk about having read past issues and dreamed of becoming a "30 Under 30." They say it motivates them to work harder. Past "30s" are giving back by getting involved in local, state, and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS committees, and they're impressing their more experienced counterparts.

The "30 Under 30" feature runs only once a year, and I'm afraid it gets an inordinate amount of focus from its critics. That said, I hear you! When we redesigned the magazine, we instituted a new regular column, "Success Story," that enables us to focus on a broader range of readers. (To the reader who said the magazine focuses too much on success, I respectfully say that our mission is to help you succeed. However, if you spend time reading "Success Story," you'll see that we've broadened the definition of success. This is not a repeat of our old "Top Performer" column but stories of people who are finding success on their own terms. We also instituted REALTOR Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards program eight years ago as a way to spotlight those members who are doing tremendous volunteer work in their communities.)

I agree with the second point about bad apples. However, I'm concerned that many of the people who are writing in assume that Eve Mazzarella is guilty. As one writer pointed out to me, in our legal system, people are innocent until proven guilty. The Eve that we interviewed a year ago was kind and hard-working and didn't seem to have any visible strikes against her. I hope that we someday have the full story and--if there is wrongdoing--the guilty are brought to justice. But I also hope you understand my reluctance to post comments that assume Eve's guilt.