The Belvidere Board of REALTORS®, the REALTOR® Association of Northwestern Illinois and the Rockford Area REALTORS® have combined their resources to become the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of REALTORS®.

“The merger will help our association lower costs, stabilize dues and secure higher quality services for our members,” said NorthWest Illinois Alliance of REALTORS® CEO Conor Brown, who previously led the Rockford Area REALTORS®. “The great relationships that members built in their communities will continue to grow and flourish. We’ll widen our name recognition and political influence with our grassroots advocacy, community involvement and branding.”

The new organization serves more than 1,000 members and 126 affiliate members spread across Boone, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties. The territory stretches from Belvidere in the east to Galena and Mount Carroll in the west, from South Beloit in the north to Oregon in the south.

Officers of the new organization are President Brad Marinelli of Dickerson & Nieman Realtors in Rockford, President-elect Ginger Sreenan of Pioneer Real Estate Services in Rockford, Treasurer Natalie Mulhall of Dickerson & Nieman Realtors in Rockford and Immediate Past President Jerry Gibson of Keller Williams Realty Signature in Loves Park.

“The three associations have collaborated so well on so many things throughout the years, and having common cultures and marketplaces definitely helped make this possible,” said Marinelli.  “We are excited about our future as we become stronger together.”

In addition, two chapters have been created to preserve local identity and culture for members, and to support local advocacy, philanthropic causes and scholarship programs. The Boone County Chapter is led by Chair Josh Bohling, Vice-chair Cathy Fiebig and eight other members of its Chapter Council: Cassandra Hoch, AJ Kordash, Carla Mizner, Lindsay Moore, Natalie Mulhall, Leann Sacket, Christi Steines and Angie Wait-Weber. The Tri-County Chapter for Stephenson, Carroll and Jo Daviess counties is led by Chair Ashley Heilman, Vice-chair Amy Barnes and 11 other members of its Chapter Council: Brian Borchardt, Jackie Debes, Ann Haag, Faye Heilman, Terry Heim, Josh Longamore, Anne Sadler, Angela Stodden, Julie Wenzel and Adam Werhane.