News from the Chicago Chapter

President's Message for 2024 - We are BACK!

Fellow Members, Industry Partners and Friends:

About this time last year, at the beautiful Realtor Building on Michigan Avenue, the board stood before you with our message: WE ARE BACK! And with the help, guidance, and leadership of this board and the countless hours that our volunteers have given to this Chapter, we can report to you that YES, WE ARE INDEED BACK! 

2023 was a wonderful year that included many chapter accomplishments. Too many to list, but here are a few that deserve a highlight:
•    First and foremost, celebrating our Chapter’s 70th Anniversary!
•    The IREM Cares Committee raised over $30K for Sarah’s Inn! Most notably raising $20K in 20 minutes at the PREMIER Awards.
•    The IREM Chicago DEI Committee received a $5,000 Robert K. and Gladys M. Beal Chapter grant for its 70 for 70 DEI Initiative:   to have 70% of our membership earn the DEI skill badge in honor of our 70th anniversary.  DEI begins with awareness and the DEI Skill Badge delivers this to all our members. The grant allows us to offer this badge to members at no cost. 
•    In addition to the grant, we won the prestigious IREM Innovation Award on the international stage at this year’s Global Summit in Toronto for 70 for 70.
•    The Chapter reinstated its yearly Past President’s luncheon, hosting 16 of our esteemed legacy leaders.  This well received event provided the opportunity to showcase the diverse knowledge, experience and history that has shaped our chapter.
•    We were thrilled to identify and honor five recipients for Shari Vass Ed Fund scholarships.  The fund is dedicated to supporting newcomers in our industry obtain their ARM®.  A sincere thank you to Shari Vass for her enduring support and partnership!

We are back, now time to look forward to 2024…

Our new board met in October and completed an in-depth strategic planning session for 2024. The result is that we have a year full of exciting events… 
•    we will, of course, have our annual PREMIER Awards and Golf Outing. 
•    we will also have an annual boat outing with our partner organization, CCIM, this summer. 
•    we will also have double the amount of networking events on the calendar: half in the suburbs and half in the city.

But to make this all happen we will need your help. We love getting to know our members and the best way to do that is spend time together.

•    Help spread the word about IREM to those who have not attended one of our events. We want to bring at least 10 non-members to each of our meetings. We believe that IREM’s education and networking capabilities will pique their interest to join us.
•    Volunteer for a committee. It does not require a lot of your time and it is always fun working side by side with others in our industry. We have seven committees to choose from so you’re sure to find one that fits your interests and skill set.

On behalf of the Board, we THANK YOU for your continued support this year and look forward to working together to make next year even better!

Ian Novak, CPM® - 2024 Chicago Chapter President     
Kristen Sarkisian, CPM®, ARM® - Chapter President-Elect