Illinois REALTORS® to gather for education and networking in St. Charles, Oct. 11-13

SPRINGFIELD, IL – August 26, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — REALTORS® and other real estate professionals from throughout Illinois will gather October 11-13, 2011, for the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) 95th Annual Convention and Expo at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.

This year’s convention, themed “Vision of the Future: Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” will offer REALTORS® practical marketing and tech tools to improve their business skills now while providing industry information and inspiration to help them better prepare for the future.

In the opening session “Fever: Redefining Your Business for Today’s Market,” keynote speaker Brian Copeland, CRS, will share principles he learned in the music industry and how they can be applied to today’s real estate market. Copeland was the recipient of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2010 Technology Advocate Award and serves as the 2011 chairman of NAR’s Young Professionals Network Board. He is a member of the national board of directors for the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS). He has appeared on countless reality TV shows including HGTV’s “Good Buy, Bad Buy,” “House Hunters” and The Learning Channel’s “Flip That House.”

Other featured speakers include:

• Marketing expert Chuck Bode – “25 Marketing Ideas: Down and Dirty”
• Top trainer Lynn Madison – “Setting the Price for Your BPO or CMA”
• Credit consultant JoAnn Sworan – “Credit Repair 101”
• National coach and closing speaker Verl Workman – “Getting REAL Results in an eCrazy World”

There will also be an Illinois Real Estate Forum on Finance. Hear from industry professionals: John Calk, Vice Chairman of The Federal Savings Bank and president and COO of Chicago Bancorp;  Mary Kenney, Executive Director, Illinois Housing Development Authority; and Antonio Riley, Midwest Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“This year’s IAR Convention and Expo is a great opportunity for agents to learn about the latest industry trends, enhance their education, build their referral network and learn business strategies and tips from industry experts,” said IAR President Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, ABR, CRB, GRI, a managing broker for Traders Realty in Peoria.

REALTORS® have the opportunity to earn up to six hours of continuing education (CE) credit toward their licensing requirements with two CE classes. IAR Legal Hotline Attorney Betsy Urbance will review the licensing, agency, compensation and escrow rules required under the license law rewrite in her course, “Agency, License Law and Escrow 2.0” on October 11 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Instructor Marki Lemons will walk REALTORS® through the process of preparing a short sale package and the timeline to get everything accomplished in, “Short Sales: The Result of Foreclosure” on October 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Real estate industry vendors will showcase their products and services in a state-of-the-art trade expo. Hours for the expo are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 12, and  9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on October 13. A Virtual Expo is available after September 1 on the IAR website, www.illinoisrealtor.org/convention.

Inaugural gala activities include a reception, dinner and dance in honor of the incoming 2012 IAR officers. The incoming officers are President Loretta Alonzo, CRB, GRI, broker-owner of Century 21 Alonzo & Associates in La Grange Park; President-Elect  Michael D. Oldenettel, CRS, GRI, managing broker-owner of RE/MAX Results Plus, Inc. in Jacksonville; Treasurer Phil Chiles, ABR, CRS, GRI, broker-associate with The Real Estate Group in Springfield.

For more information about the 2011 IAR Convention and Expo, visit the Illinois Association of REALTORS® website at www.illinoisrealtor.org or call 217-529-2600.

IAR Members registering by September 14 get the early-bird rate of $125. Advance registration before September 28 is $135 for members and $175 for non-members. Walk-in registration for the full convention is $145 for members and $175 for non-members. Walk-in, one-day registration is $105 for members and $115 for non-members and trade show-only registration is $40.

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, the Illinois Association of REALTORS® works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by recommending and promoting legislation that safeguards and advances the rights of real property ownership.

Contact:
Mary Schaefer
217-529-2600