Antje Gehrken, Jean Lewis and P.J. Trautman will be among 21 local Illinois association REALTORS® of the Year (ROTYs) honored April 9 at the 2024 REALTOR® of the Year Banquet in Springfield.

The ROTY award recognizes members who have done exceptional work to advance their association and the real estate industry.

Gehrken is the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR) ROTY and is the president and designated managing broker for ARE Partners in Chicago. The former CAR president (2021-2022) has served her fellow REALTORS® by involvement on the local, state and national association levels. Highlights include three years on the NAR Board of Directors for larger associations, 2024 chair of the Illinois REALTORS® RPAC Fundraising Working Group and 2023 chair of the Commercial and Property Management Committee.

Lewis is the Southwestern Illinois Board of REALTORS® (SIBR) ROTY and is a broker for Keller Williams Pinnacle in O’Fallon. She is SIBR’s immediate past president, chairs its Education Committee and serves on several other local committees. She’s served on several Illinois REALTORS® committees during the last four years and is a member of its 2024 Leadership Development Class.

Trautman is the Champaign County Association of REALTORS® (CCAR) ROTY and is the founder and designated managing broker for Trautman Real Estate Agency & Appraisal LLC in Champaign. The CCAR immediate past president has served on numerous state committees, including the Illinois REALTORS® Young Professionals Network and the Major Investor Working Group. He is a graduate of the Illinois REALTORS® 2016 Leadership Development Program.

Gehrken, Lewis and Trautman will join 2024 Illinois REALTOR® of the Year Ayn Bartok, designated managing broker/owner of All in One Real Estate in Harrisburg, and other local ROTYs at the President Abraham Lincoln DoubleTree Hotel for the banquet. The reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.

The ROTY banquet is sponsored by the Illinois REALTORS® to support the Illinois Real Estate Educational Foundation (REEF).

(This is the fifth in a series of articles featuring 21 local REALTORS® of the Year in 2024.)