IAR President Mike Drews, former IAR president Michael Oldenettel and IAR RPIC Chair Ed Neaves shortly before Neaves and Drews presented on IAR’s successes in getting members to use REALTOR® Party tools. Photo: Jon Broadbooks

Update: IAR was recognized with a RPMIC Chairman’s Award for the association’s efforts to build use of REALTOR® Party tools. IAR President Mike Drews, who sits on the committee, and IAR RPIC Chair Ed Neaves, accepted the award.

Illinois REALTORS® shared the state association’s successes in marshaling support for Calls for Action at a Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, meeting of the REALTOR® Party Member Involvement Committee.

The committee heard from IAR President (and RPMIC member) Mike Drews and Illinois Association of REALTORS® RPIC Chair Ed Neaves as they shared how they incorporated strategic planning into the association’s approach to getting members to use REALTOR® Party tools.

Neaves spearheaded an effort earlier this year to bring local association leadership to Springfield for a day-long planning session during which members plotted strategy for the next year. Those attending analyzed their political outreach efforts, then crafted a calendar to guide them through the year ahead.

The effort yielded impressive results.

Previous Calls for Action had garnered at most a 15 percent member response, but more typically the responses were below 10 percent on national Calls for Action. After the training, the association’s latest Call for Action on so-called G Fees soared to nearly 30 percent.

In all, 10,000 IAR members answered the latest Cal for Action and the numbers are still climbing. The response rate, proportionally, beat out larger states including Florida, Texas and California.

Drews and Neaves told the national committee members about what they learned from the process, and provided the resources for brokers to replicate the program in their local and state associations.