This may or may not be hard to believe, but Lady Gaga and I have a lot in common. Great style, a love for raw meat dresses, not afraid to speak our minds and we both live for the applause. That’s why the Agents’ Choice Awards issue is one of the most beloved issues of all in my book. Awards, glam, fashion and applause; just a few of my favorite things.
If you want to see a full list of winners, you know where to turn (hint: the cover story) but let me point out what makes Agent X want to get up and dance. There were two new social media influencer categories this year, and, if I had any idea what that meant, I’d be really impressed with Chih-Hao Yang of Fulton Grace bringing home that prize for agents and Sharri Ptak of Proper Rate snagging it for lenders. But because we all know I’m old fashioned, here’s my shout out to loan officer of the year Brian Jessen of Wintrust Mortgage, Managing Brokers of the year Rick Sobin of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate (city) and Catherine Leonard of Baird & Warner (suburbs). Also, let me bow down to the Industry MVPs (both admirable powerhouse women) Jenny Ames and Ginny Stewart. Congrats to all the winners! And, if you’re a loser, better luck next year.
Not into glitz and awards? Are numbers more your thing? Well lucky for you there is something for everyone here, and you can dig your little mathy nose into the Q3 Real Data numbers. Take a gander at the top agents by county, top offices and top closings.
It’s that lull between the happy sunny summer parties and holiday party season. Thankfully, this industry knows how to have fun all throughout the year. Especially Guaranteed Rate, which held its Chicago GR Palooza 2023 event on Oct. 12. Headlined by DJ Megan Taylor, guests gathered at City Hall & Recess at 838 W. Kinzie in Chicago for drinks, food and music. Though the invite said the party would end at 11, that time was just a suggestion, and I have one friend who didn’t make it home until two days later.
After recovering from the GR Palooza, many folks headed to the NAHREP Regional Connect Midwest event Oct. 24-25 at the Kimpton Gray Hotel for some networking and learning at the Leadership Academy.
Let’s honor those late-fall, not-quite-winter birthdays! If you toss some rocks into the air on Nov. 9 at least one will fall on someone in real estate with a birthday: Jim Roth, Ryan Steele, Kevin Green, Mack Alsaidi, Neena Vlamis, and Missy Jerfita all share the day. Yoni Pogofsky is on his own on the 10th, along with Alex Chaparro on the 12th. Craig Hogan and Sandra Snaidauf can celebrate together on lucky Nov. 13, while Joe Brocato, Jim Miller, and Alan Lev are birthday triplets on Nov. 14. The 15th belongs to Fritz Kaegi, 16th Steven Baird, 18th Ron Ruby and 19th is the big day for Steven H. Baumann. Noel Christopher and Jenny Ames may still be enjoying Thanksgiving leftovers on their shared Nov. 26 bday, while Allison Ondrey-Malzone may be done with pie by her Nov. 29 bday. And then we are suddenly in December! Happy birthday to Maria Davies on Dec. 1, Terrie Whittaker on Dec. 2, and Dana Kieres and Erin Mandel on Dec. 3. Last but never least is Kevin Dembinsky on Dec. 4.