(l to r) NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall swears in Matt Difanis as Illinois REALTORS® president, Dan Wagner as president-elect and Ed Neaves as treasurer during the Inaugural Gala Thursday night. (Michael Hudson Photo)
The Illinois REALTORS® celebrated the installation of its new leadership team Thursday night as Matt Difanis, ABR, CIPS, GRI, of Mahomet was sworn-in as the 2018 President. The ceremonies were part of the association’s Inaugural Gala at the Chicago Marrriott Naperville.
Other 2018 officers are: President-elect Dan Wagner, senior vice president for government relations at the Oak Brook-based Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc., and a Wheaton resident; and Treasurer Ed Neaves, of Bloomington, managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington. Immediate Past President Doug Carpenter, ABR, AHWD, GRI, SFR, of Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group in Mokena will continue to help the leadership team.
2018 President Matt Difanis
Difanis is the co-owner of RE/MAX Realty Associates, with offices in Champaign, Mahomet and Monticello. He took his real estate pre-licensing coursework in 1998 while still an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He subsequently worked full-time as a REALTOR® while attending the University of Illinois College of Law and chose to remain in the real estate industry after earning his Juris Doctor degree. He was featured in REALTOR® Magazine’s 2004 Class of “30 Under 30.”
He has been involved in all levels of REALTOR® organization. He was president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS® in 2012 and was honored as its REALTOR® of the Year in 2013. Nationally, he is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors.
At the state level, he has chaired a variety of committees, working groups and task forces and, in 2018 will lead the Illinois REALTORS®’ Executive Committee and Board of Directors. He has chaired ethics and arbitration hearing panels all over the state and has served as an ombudsman with the Illinois REALTORS®’ Ombudsman Program since its inception. He is a Golden “R” Major Investor in the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and a member of NAR’s President’s Circle.
Difanis is active in his local community, serving in leadership roles with the Mahomet Area Youth Club, as the past official photographer for the Central Illinois Honor Flight and volunteering with a variety of other community charities and events. In 2015, Difanis was named Central Illinois Business Magazine’s “Forty Under 40” Man of the Year. He and his wife, Angelle, live in Mahomet and are the parents of two children, Gabriel and Isabelle. His wife is a nurse practitioner, who treats patients in a convenient care clinic.
For more photos, see the gallery below.
