In early October, REALTORS® Ezekiel Morris, Courtney Q. Jones, Mabél Guzmán and Jean Crosby received presidential medallions for their contributions to Illinois REALTORS® and the real estate industry.

Outgoing Illinois REALTORS® President Matt Difanis honored the four during the Fall Business Meetings in Lombard. Awarded at the end of the outgoing president’s term at the association’s board of directors meeting, the medallions represent one of the highest honors the association can bestow on a member.

The managing broker and owner of EMA Realty and Management in Chicago, Morris was cited for his work championing equal housing opportunity on the 50th anniversary of the federal Fair Housing Act. He served as chair of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Fair Housing Act Anniversary Implementation Group, and guided the organization’s commemoration of the landmark legislation. He traveled nationally to promote awareness of the fair housing policy and the need for REALTORS® to recommit to the ideals of the federal act and the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. He located his business in an underserved neighborhood where he established a training center to help grow the next generation of homeowners and REALTORS® the southside Chicago community.

Jones, principal and business development officer with Chicago Homes Realty Group in Chicago, is credited with fostering an unprecedented level of cooperation and collaboration between the Dearborn REALTIST Board and the Illinois REALTORS®. He was honored for working collaboratively to improve the industry for all through promotion of minority homeownership.

Guzmán, with @Properties in Chicago, received the presidential medallion for working collaboratively with Illinois REALTORS® leadership to create a more strategic and organized plan for advancing our members’ involvement with NAR. An ardent advocate for integrating Illinois’ volunteer leadership into NAR’s governance, she has held important roles with NAR, such as vice president of association affairs, liaison for global committees and chair of the NAR Conventional Finance & Policy Committee.

Crosby, a partner with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Crosby Starck Real Estate in Rockford, received a presidential medallion for her pioneering role as chair of the Screening and Candidate Audit Working Group. Her work had little to do with selection and much to do with pioneering a new screening step where her role required a heightened level of confidentiality to protect both the Illinois REALTORS® and prospective candidates.

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Previous stories in the Illinois REALTORS® Who Made a Difference in 2018 series include: