It’s one thing to be recognized for excellence by your employer or your clients or your trade association, but when a jury of your peers singles you out for merit, that’s something special.

This month, we highlight the best brokers, managers, developers and others, but don’t take our word for it — this is all about you! More than 35,000 votes were cast in the 16th annual Agents’ Choice Awards, and this is the issue where you can learn more about their picks for best in the business.

Speaking of real estate professionals at the top of their game, this month’s Association News column is penned by National Association of REALTORS® CEO Charlie Oppler, who discusses innovative new programs and initiatives taking place as the association.

In this month’s Real Issues feature, we take a closer look at the industry trend of women moving into management positions at brokerages across the country.

We also get some tips in our Top Coach column from Kevin Van Eck and Amy Corr, both of @properties, about performing an annual review with clients. It’s an opportunity to touch base and build deeper relationships.

Also this month, we bring you our Q3 Real Data report, which lists the top city and suburban agents and offices and who sold the most. The report is available through a partnership with Chicago Agent magazine and Midwest Real Estate Data. Do you know anyone who made the list?

Special thanks to The REED at Southbank, winner of Best New Development of the Year, for providing the space for our cover photoshoot with Best Team winners Andre T. Mitchell and D.J. Peoples. As always, we’d love your input on what’s happening in your business and the industry as a whole. Our door is always open by emailing Tim.Inklebarger@agentpublishing.com.