Illinois REALTORS® 2020 President Ed Neaves recognized REALTOR® Tracey Royal, Acting Director of the IDFPR Division of Real Estate Mario Treto and Illinois REALTOR® staff members with Presidential Medallions Thursday at the Board of Directors meeting, concluding the Fall Business Meetings.

Outgoing presidents annually award the medallions to people who make significant contributions to the association and the real estate industry.

Tracey Royal

Royal, ABR®, is the president and designated managing broker of Team Real Estate Services in Oak Park, and she is the chair of the Affordable Housing and Community Involvement Committee for Illinois REALTORS® and a member of the Illinois REALTORS® 2021 Board of Directors. She’s the Federal Political Coordinator for U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago, the president-elect for the Women’s Council of REALTORS®-Illinois and has served in several leadership capacities on the local level.

Neaves said, “For going above and beyond, for taking a challenge and making it bigger than yourself and for showing what true leadership is all about, Tracey, you deserve this award this year. Thank you for your service.”

Mario Treto

Neaves said of Treto: “He embraced his role as a regulator while at the same time welcoming open dialogue with those he regulated. He is a zealous consumer advocate who believes in our right to fairly conduct our businesses. His commitment to fairness was never more apparent than in his willingness to speak on behalf of the industry his division regulated so that they could stay open when the first Stay-at-Home order was issued in March of this year.

“Since then, Mario is in regular communication with staff and vice versa,” Neaves said. “This willingness to maintain constant open dialogue has proven invaluable to our industry, and we believe he recognizes the value we bring to the table as pro-consumer, ethically-minded and well-trained brokers. For your efforts during the recent pandemic and your willingness to partner with us, I say ‘thank you’ to Director Mario Treto.”

Jeff Baker

Neaves lauded Deputy CEO Jeffrey T. Baker for the positive relationships he’d built with leaders of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Division of Real Estate and legislators, dating back to 2018 negotiations about modifications to Illinois’ Real Estate License Act (RELA). Those relationships enabled Illinois REALTORS® to be given essential worker status even when COVID-19 caused Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to issue a Stay-at-Home Executive Order effective March 21.

“As liaison with the Director Treto, Jeff negotiated many of the key points of the real estate license law,” said Neaves. “However, Jeff and Director Treto both assumed a new role and relationship as the COVID-19 pandemic required new, unchartered regulations. Jeff was our single voice to the Pritzker administration and that resulted in real estate being deemed an essential service, addressing the terms and handling of evictions, and other housing issues ranging from  forbearance of rent and mortgages, terms and policies on open houses, and the list goes on and on.

“Jeff’s legal and leadership skills allowed you and I to have an option during the stay-at-home executive order and to continue to earn a living in real estate.”

Baker is scheduled to become CEO in January 2021, succeeding retiring CEO Gary Clayton. Baker was the associate general counsel and director of Legal Services for Illinois REALTORS®. He began working for the association in 2014 as an outside attorney.

Kristen Butcher

“Executive Vice President Kristen Butcher continues to marvel anyone that she comes in touch with regarding her work ethic and her total understanding of Illinois REALTORS®,” said Neaves. There’s an old adage in politics, ‘The right person at the right time.’ That applies to Kristen, and could not have been more true and evident as we were thrust into a total remapping of how Illinois REALTORS® functions, whether that was meetings, staffing or workload.

“Kristen was the kingpin who made sure all aspects of the association continued regardless of the matters or the means to accomplish the task,” he said. “She facilitated the direct supervision of two departments while directing transition of the executive function between Gary and Jeff.

“I’ve had the pleasure to work with Kristen and benefit from her professional approach.”

Butcher joined Illinois REALTORS® in 2013 as vice president of professional development, and she led the association’s education programs and events until she assumed the position as number two executive in January 2019.

Julie Sullivan

Illinois REALTORS® Senior Director of Legislative & Political Affairs Julie Sullivan is the recipient of a Presidential Medallion in recognition of her three decades of lobbying on behalf of Illinois REALTORS®. She is retiring in 2020.

“She is not only loved by Illinois REALTORS® members and staff but has been a staple at the State Capitol. She was recently elected Speaker of the Third House, an organization of registered Illinois lobbyists that chooses among its members those with the highest regard and respect among them,” Neaves said.

Len Taylor

Illinois REALTORS® Vice President of Operations Len Taylor also received a Presidential Medallion to honor his more than 32 years as the association’s “numbers man.”

Taylor and his keen investment principles, predictions of membership numbers and management of the association’s financials through several uncertain times, is one of the primary reasons the association is as strong as it is, Neaves said. Taylor retires after 2020.

“Len has guided and mentored every Treasurer who has served this board for the last three decades,” Neaves said. “Len is a man of very few words, but he is never shy to share his opinion. He has helped place this association in a very strong financial position.”

Betsy Urbance

For her work negotiating changes to RELA, managing several task forces and developing positive relationships with members of the Division of Real Estate, Neaves awarded a Presidential Medallion to Illinois REALTORS® General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Services Betsy Urbance.

“I would like to award a Presidential Medallion to Betsy Urbance for service above and beyond her job description,” said Neaves, who noted that Urbance headed the Legal Hotline for about 25 years. “Betsy is no stranger to any of us and her dedication and work ethic are no surprise either. I wanted to recognize her for steadfast leadership and stewardship throughout the recent rewrite of the Real Estate License Act (RELA).

“Betsy shepherded our industry’s proposed changes to the law through to the end, conducting countless negotiations with the Division of Real Estate,” said Neaves. “Betsy managed the efforts of four different task forces, taking the ideas and concepts that originated from them and turning them into a law that is consumer friendly but that provides us REALTORS® a proper licensing framework. I am recognizing Betsy today for work that began more than two years ago. And in the case of Rules to accompany the Act, her work is ongoing. Betsy never quits and shows up for members every day.”

Illinois REALTORS® Staff

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc in Illinois, Neaves said he was impressed by the professionalism, communication skills, planning and logistics of Illinois REALTORS® programs and events.

“The staff’s efforts in the Spring and Summer of this year deserve recognition beyond a simple thank you,” said Neaves, noting that plans for Capitol Conference, AEI conference and MIPIM had to be scrapped because of the virus. “The shutdown of schools and businesses was sudden for all of us, including the Illinois REALTORS® staff. But they did not go home and stop working. No, our Springfield staff dropped everything and in a matter of a week repositioned the entire association to respond to every member inquiry or request for assistance that came in.

“Articles, alerts, emails and social media were turned up to full speed,” he said. “A new webpage was created and was populated with everything our members would need to know about how this pandemic and shutdown affected us. The entire staff of Illinois REALTORS deserves this award.

“The staff took their desk setups home and immediately started converting well-established in-person events like Capitol Conference and Spring Conference into virtual meetings and webinars. The staff of this organization is unmatched. For serving this leadership team and this association so well in a challenging year, while they experienced their own personal challenges with the pandemic, we are eternally grateful and say thank you.”