Chris Read named Illinois REALTOR® of the Year for outstanding industry leadership, service
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – February 4, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — REALTOR® Chris Read, CRB, CRS, GRI, ABRM, CIPS, CNC, SFR, BPOR, SRS, SRES, of Woodridge, has been named the 2016 Illinois REALTOR® of the Year by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR). She is the Managing Broker/Owner of CR REALTOR® and is CEO of CR Strategies in Woodridge.
The announcement was made during the association’s Public Policy Meetings held Jan. 18-21, at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Riverfront Conference Center in East Peoria, Ill. Read will be honored at a June 21 banquet in Springfield.
The REALTOR® of the Year award is presented to an IAR member who best exemplifies the professional qualities of a REALTOR®. The award recognizes leadership in the REALTOR® Association as well as service to civic, community and charitable causes.
“Chris is a leader and mentor within the real estate industry. We honor her for her steadfast dedication to association service, industry advocacy and the promotion of professionalism and the highest ethical standards,” said Mike Drews, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.
During a real estate career that spans nearly 40 years, Read has been actively involved in the REALTOR® association at the local, state and national levels and has served in a variety of leadership capacities. A member of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®, she has served as president of her local association and was named its local REALTOR® of the year in 2007.
For IAR, Read has served multiple terms on the Board of Directors and has chaired a variety of committees and working groups, with a particular focus on business issues and license law, professional standards and education. She is a licensed continuing education and pre-license instructor, the author of several industry courses and a mediator who has become a trusted industry resource in the area of professional standards and ethics. Since 2010, she has been appointed to serve on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Real Estate Administrative Disciplinary Board.
Read is an advocate for a strong REALTOR® government affairs program and is among an elite group of REALTORS® in the country who have been inducted into the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) Hall of Fame for lifetime contributions of at least $25,000. At the national level, she is a long-time member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors and currently serves on the Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee and the Conventional Financing and Policy Committee.
Read has also been active in her local community, serving as a member of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, as the Business Community Representative for School District 203, and on her community’s Future Search Committee in 2000 and Community Partnership for Education in 2003.
The Illinois Association of REALTORS® is a voluntary trade association whose 44,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, IAR works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by recommending and promoting legislation that safeguards and advances the interest of real property ownership.
Contact: Jon Broadbooks, 217-529-2600
