From January through March, I went on a four-location Listening Tour throughout Chicago. I wanted the opportunity to meet you, our Chicago REALTORS®, to share my experiences and discuss CAR’s future.
First and foremost, thank you! In all parts of our city, I saw new and familiar faces. Not only did you show up, you were engaged and enthusiastic. I must give a special “thank you” to our CAR past presidents, who were in attendance throughout the tour to give their continuous support and guidance as we continue to move our Association forward.
It was my pleasure to have these open and honest conversations about what matters most to you, what excites you, what the Association means to you and what the Association can do to better support your careers.
At each tour stop, I revealed CAR’s new mission statement, which was crafted by our Board of Directors in mid-December.
The Chicago Association of REALTORS® unites all facets of the industry as a leading advocate for real estate, driving REALTOR® business success and economic development of our communities.
What excites me most is that your comments, suggestions and compliments for our Association perfectly align with these words. Here’s what we heard: YOU WANT MORE RESOURCES! The good news is: we have them, and the even better news is: we’re always developing more. Right now, as a member, you have full access to tools like FastStats, which give you historical and monthly market data about each of Chicago’s neighborhoods. On our website, you’ll also find dozens of resources — everything from tools for marketing your business to REALTOR® safety and Member Perks. Did you know we also have an online Career Center? Here, managing brokers can post job vacancies and get access to new licensees who are on the job hunt. I encourage you to click through ChicagoREALTOR.com to explore what’s available. We’re laser-focused on finding the best ways to make you aware of these tools and creating additional resources to help you navigate our ever-changing industry. YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED! We know due to the nature of your business, it’s not always easy to get to CAR Central. We have a CAR to You program that brings our education offerings to your offices. We’re excited to extend this to include programs like Coffee with Your GADs, so you can be a larger part of our advocacy work. We’re also looking forward to making greater use of our satellite office in West Towns and our presence on the south side at the Frank J. Williams Education Center. In the coming months, look to CAR for more tools and opportunities to help advance your business. Please stay in touch with us and let us know what you need. The Listening Tour is over, but I’m always happy to hear from you! MICHELLE MILLS CLEMENT, CAE Chief Executive Officer Chicago Association of REALTORS®