Illinois REALTORS® 2021 Fall Business Meetings are underway in Naperville. In this podcast, Illinois REALTORS® Vice President of Professional Development Young Brockhouse gives you a behind-the-scenes preview of what to expect from the various forums being held during the next three days at the Chicago Marriott Naperville.

Full transcript:

Jeremy Goeckner: Hello, and welcome to the IR Weekly podcast, keeping you up to date with all the latest news in the REALTOR® world.

Kelli Jessup: Welcome everyone. I’m Kelli.

Jeremy Goeckner: And I’m Jeremy. The fall business meetings are now underway in Naperville, and it is very exciting to be a part of all the activity that’s going on here at the Chicago Marriott in Naperville. It is a busy week, and I know at Illinois REALTORS® headquarters staff have been buzzing about for weeks getting all the moving pieces in order for this huge event.

Kelli Jessup: That’s right. The week actually kicked off yesterday with some closed committee meetings and continues today with committee meetings, member forums, and of course, an Inaugural Gala.

Jeremy Goeckner: Yeah, we’re looking forward to that one, of course. And to get a handle on everything going on this week, we invited Young Brockhouse, the Illinois REALTORS® vice president of professional development to stop by and give members a sneak peek at this week’s activities.

Kelli Jessup: Welcome Young. Thanks for joining us. So let’s jump right in. Can you tell us what is in store for attendees this week, attending the Fall Business Meetings?

Young Brockhouse: Thanks for having me. Well, this is our first in-person event of 2021. So first and foremost, everybody’s very excited to see each other again. We have a lot of new and pressing issues to discuss in our forums. There are some changes that are going to be very important for members and in the midst of that, we have committees conducting their business, a mock arbitration hearing, and of course the main event is tonight’s celebration as we inaugurate Zeke Morris as Illinois REALTORS® 2022 President and the first African American president in the association’s history.

Kelli Jessup: Yes, we are very excited. It’s going to be a very memorable and exciting evening.

Jeremy Goeckner: Absolutely a historic night, for sure. We are all looking forward to that. So what’s going on today though, before all the giant inaugural festivities begin?

Young Brockhouse: Well, today’s big forum is the REALTORS® Political Involvement Forum. In that session, Illinois REALTORS® State Legislative Contacts, Jeff Kolbus and Moses Hall, Federal Political Coordinators, Ayn Bartok and Erica Villegas, and Political Involvement Working Group Chair and Vice Chair, Kinga Korpacz and Antonia Mills. They’ll be talking about their experiences supporting Illinois REALTORS® advocacy efforts and how members can get involved.

Jeremy Goeckner: Oh, that sounds great. And then tomorrow that’s a really big day as well, right?

Young Brockhouse: Yes. Wednesday, another full schedule of events for members. First there’s legal update with our Legal Hotline Attorney Anneliese Fierstos. She’ll discuss legal trends, hot topics and everything else that she sees on the legal hotline. Then we have our Public Policy Forum, which will give members an inside-look at the effectiveness of our GAD program. Public Policy Forum Chair and Vice Chair, Jeff Kolbus and John LeTourneau will lead a discussion with Angelo “Skip” Saviano, who is Elmwood Park Village President. And Jonathan…

Jeremy Goeckner: This is a good one. This is a good name. Come on. You got this!

Young Brockhouse: Jonathan Zivojnovic. Elmwood Park Village trustee.

Jeremy Goeckner: Fantastic! That was great!

Young Brockhouse: Greg called me, and he goes “Hey, Young? Yeah. Zivojnovic”. And I was like “Zivojnovic. Zivojnovic.”

Jeremy Goeckner: Zivojnovic. That’s great. That is heck of a name.

Kelli Jessup: Luckily it was you not me. So, some good legal and advocacy insights. What else is on the agenda?

Young Brockhouse: There’s the Global Forum in that forum, Global Forum Chair Moses Hall and Vice Chair Andy Velkme, are going to lead a panel of international real estate experts. They’re going to talk about Illinois foreign investment, they’ll share tools and techniques they use to reach and engage with global clients.

Kelli Jessup: Sounds interesting. So who are some of the participants on the panel?

Young Brockhouse: Guest speakers include Bill Endsley, principal at World Citizen Consulting, Sharon von Schoenberg, she’s manager of global strategy and relations for the Canadian Real Estate Association, and Lisa Calarco, manager of global programs and outreach NAR Engagement.

Jeremy Goeckner: Wow. I’m sure any discussion about global real estate transaction is going to be very, very interesting, but there are even more forms on Wednesday, right?

Young Brockhouse: Yes. YPNs forum is all about networking.

Kelli Jessup: And as a staff liaison to YPN. I’m excited about this one. It’s a timely discussion.

Jeremy Goeckner: Yes, that’s right. Kelli. So, hey! Let’s take it over with you here. What can you tell us about the YPN Forum?

Kelli Jessup: Yeah, so the YPN Forum is all about how the pandemic has changed the way we connect with others and going to look at some new ways we’re networking today. YPN chair Megan Beechen and Vice Chair Connie Vavra are going to be joined by the National Association of REALTORS® YPN Advisory Board member, Heather Haase, from Ohio. We also have the past WCR West Suburban President Sheena Baker, the 2022 REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley President Miguel Fernandez and Margaret Hicks. She’s the Broker Outreach Manager for MRED. The panels going to be talking about their favorite non-traditional networking methods, tips and best practices.

Jeremy Goeckner: Oh, well that sounds really, really great. But Young, I believe there’s one more forum on Wednesday, right?

Young Brockhouse: Yes. And it’s a great one: Business Issues Forum. Very timely topic. It’s been in the news a lot. It’s about discriminatory appraisals. Forum Chair and Vice Chair, Sarah Ware and Brian Kwilosz will be joined by Discriminatory Appraisals Taskforce Chair, Lutalo McGee, appraiser and taskforce member Paul Brown, researcher Dr. Marshall Jean and Better.com. Chief Valuation officer Jillian White, to discuss discriminatory appraisal issues from multiple perspectives.

Jeremy Goeckner: Well, that’s a fantastic line up, there. So that brings us though to Thursday. So what’s on tap the last day there?

Young Brockhouse: So, Thursday, business meetings close out and we have our board of directors meeting. It’s open to all members and afterward we all head back home recharged and ready to implement everything that we’ve learned this week.

Kelli Jessup: That’s great. And so, before we wrap up, if there is a member listening that wasn’t able to make it this year, can you tell us how they can attend next year?

Young Brockhouse: We’ll be sending out several emails. You can register. It’s free. It’s included in your dues. I encourage every member, whether you’ve been in a business for a long time or you’re starting out, it’s a way to shape the real estate industry going into the future. You’re on the cutting edge of information. It’ll be very worth your while.

Jeremy Goeckner: Oh, man. That is quite a week. Young, thank you very much for stopping in to share the details with our audience. We are really looking forward to watching the week unfold and seeing the great images and takeaways from these many events. Young, thank you for being with us here today.

Young Brockhouse: Yep. Enjoyed it. Thank you.

Kelli Jessup: And that’s it for IR weekly. Thank you for listening as always give us a rating and review on your podcast app of choice.

Jeremy Goeckner: And if you want any more content, simply search for Illinois REALTORS® on your social media app of choice. We’ll see you next week.