AUBURN – The business accomplishments of Sharon Millett were lauded Thursday night, as well as her devotion to family and friends, during a ceremony honoring her as the 2007 Auburn citizen of the year.

Millett, who served as president of the 1.3-million-member National Association of Realtors in 1999, has built Coldwell Banker Millett Realty in Auburn into a widely known Central Maine real estate company. With 50 agents and support staff, Millett said she considers the people she works with to be her extended family.

“I’m still excited about going in to work every day because of them,” she told the audience of about 300 Auburn Business Association members and invited guests at Lost Valley. But she said it’s her children, her husband, Jerry, her grandchildren and others in her family who hold the central focus of her life. She credited her husband with helping her overcome shyness and meet a variety of challenges. It was her husband who got her into the real estate business when she joined him at Floyd Ray Real Estate, she said.

“Every time I second-guessed myself about anything I wanted to do in my life, this man said, ‘Why wouldn’t you do it? Of course you can do it.’ He was so sure I could do everything, he made me believe it,” Millett said.

In addition to her husband, Millett was accompanied Thursday by daughter Trisha Fletcher, son Tim Millett and her other children ranging in age from a 14-year-old to a 1-year-old. Millett’s 12-year-old granddaughter, Katherine Millett, delivered the banquet invocation.

Fletcher said she’s “in awe” of her mother and listed Millett’s accomplishments, such as volunteering as a Y teen adviser and for WCBB Channel 10 charity auctions, and serving as a campaign supporter and organizer of many local and state political races.

She talked about her mother’s support for organizations such as the United Way, the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, Head Start programs, the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Auburn Public Library, Central Maine Medical Center, St. Mary’s Regional Hospital’s Sisters of Charity Health Systems, and Good Shepherd Food-Bank.

Fletcher talked about her mother’s induction as the second woman president of the National Association of Realtors, the world’s largest trade organization.

Sandra Skillings read a poem she wrote about Millett. The two have been friends since Millett became her neighbor upon moving to Auburn from Brewer soon after high school. Their children grew up together.

Mark Pilot, a Millett realtor who served as master of ceremonies for the evening, introduced Skillings as “the office poet.”

One of the lines in Skillings’ poem said, “Sharon was never one to take a back seat when she thought she could be driving. She knew that she wanted to be at the wheel and help keep this industry thriving.”

Cindy Butts, CEO of the Maine Association of Realtors, emphasized that Millett pioneered full-disclosure provisions in real-estate deals several years ago, when it was not common.

Charlene LeClair, receptionist at the Millett office in Auburn, injected a light-hearted element into the award banquet with a slide show documenting “The History of the Sharon Millett Hair Styles.” Beginning with “the flip” and “the shag,” she showed Millett styles from high school days through “the days of big hair” to the “distinguished businesswoman” style.

In 2003, Millett received the Economic Development and Achievement Award from the Auburn City Council and Mayor Normand Guay.

Over the past few years, she has served as a member of the Maineiacs Development Council and chairwoman of the Maine Real Estate Commission. She currently serves on the board of Auburn Savings Bank and is vice chairwoman of the Sisters of Charity Healthcare System.

First licensed as a Realtor in 1979, she was president of the Maine Association of Realtors in 1985.

Auburn City Manager Pat Finnigan presented the key to the city of Auburn to Millett, and Mayor John Jenkins expressed appreciation for her contributions to the city.