ORLANDO, Fla. – November 16, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — Bill Brown, a second generation Realtor® from Alamo, California was installed today as 2017 president of the National Association of Realtors® at the association’s Board of Directors meeting during the 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Brown has been active in real estate for 36 years and is the founder of Investment Properties, a division of the family real estate business started by his father, William H. Brown, in 1964, which focuses on the sale of apartment buildings to both institutional and private capital investors.
Brown was NAR’s 2016 president-elect and 2015 first vice president. He has served in numerous positions at the local, state and national levels, including as an NAR director since 1991, the 2004 chairman of the Realtors® Political Action Committee Trustees, a committee liaison in 2006 and 2011, and 2012 vice president for Region 13, comprised of California, Hawaii and Guam. In 2008, he served as the California Association of Realtors® president and was honored as Realtor® of the Year; he served on CAR’s Executive Committee six times. Brown was elected president of the Oakland Association of Realtors® in 1984.
Elizabeth Mendenhall is 2017 NAR president-elect. She has been a Realtor® for 20 years and is CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty in Columbia, Missouri. Mendenhall is a sixth-generation Realtor® and holds numerous real estate designations. On the national level, Mendenhall currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. She chaired NAR’s Strategic Planning Committee in 2012, served as vice president of committees in 2011 and was the NAR liaison to association leadership in 2008. In 2010, Mendenhall served as president of the Missouri Association of Realtors®, and in 2003, she served as president of the Columbia Board of Realtors® and was named their Realtor® of the Year.
Thomas Riley, a Realtor® from Bedford, New Hampshire is the 2017 NAR treasurer. He has been a Realtor® for more than 35 years and is president of Riley Enterprises Inc., specializing in residential and commercial real estate and property management. In 2015, Tom served as NAR’s vice president for Region 1, serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He previously served on the NAR Board of Directors from 2007 to 2008 and 2010 to 2013 and served multiple times on the Finance Committee, including as vice chair in 2014. Riley served as president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors® in 2011 and president of the Greater Manchester/Nashua Board of Realtors® in 1998.
John Smaby is 2017 NAR first vice president. Smaby is a second-generation Realtor® and has been in the industry for 37 years; he is a broker at Edina Realty, where he specializes in residential real estate. Smaby has held numerous positions nationally and with the Minnesota Association of Realtors®, where he served as president in 2015, treasurer in 2013 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2013. He was MNAR’s Realtor® Political Action Committee chair from 2013 to 2015 and the RPAC Trustees and Public Advocacy Committee chair in 2014. In 2013, Smaby received the Ed Anderson Political Achievement Award and in 2014, was named Realtor® of the Year.
Mabél Guzmán is 2017 NAR vice president. Guzmán, a Realtor® for more than 20 years, is a broker with @properties in Chicago. At the national level, she served as the 2014 chair for NAR’s Conventional Finance & Policy Committee and in 2015 as the liaison for Global Committees. She chaired the Student Loan Debt Working Group from 2014 to 2016. Guzmán served as a member of the Illinois Realtors® Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011. In 2014 and 2015, she received their President’s Medallion for Outstanding Service. Guzmán was elected treasurer in 2009 and president in 2011 of the Chicago Association of Realtors® and was a member of the board of directors from 2007 to 2009. In 2012, she was named their Realtor® of the Year.
Kevin Sears is also 2017 NAR vice president. Sears, a Realtor® for over 20 years from Springfield, Massachusetts, is broker/partner of Sears Real Estate, specializing in single-family brokerage and property management. Sears has served NAR in numerous capacities, including as NAR’s 2016 vice president for Region 1, comprised of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He has served on the NAR Board of Directors since 2008 and as a federal political coordinator for over 15 years. In 2016, Sears chaired the Realtor® Party of the Future Strategic Planning Work Group. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors® elected him President in 2010 and he has been a member of their Board of Directors since 2000. In 2006, MAR named Sears Realtor® of the Year. He was elected president of the Realtor® Association of Pioneer Valley in 2005.
NAR’s 2017 regional vice presidents are: Jamie Diane Moore, Warwick, Rhode Island, Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont); Allan H. Dechert, Avalon, New Jersey, Region 2 (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania); Mary Dykstra, Roanoke, Virginia, Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia); Ann McDonald, Winchester, Kentucky, Region 4 (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee); Sherri Meadows, Ocala, Florida, Region 5 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands); William G. Milliken Jr., Ann Arbor, Michigan, Region 6 (Michigan and Ohio);
Patrick Dalessandro, Prospect Heights, Illinois, Region 7 (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin); Donald R. Marple, Davenport, Iowa, Region 8 (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota); Karen Crowson, Benton, Arkansas, Region 9 (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma); Leslie Rouda Smith, Plano, Texas, Region 10 (Louisiana and Texas); George Harvey, Telluride, Colorado, Region 11 (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming); Julie DeLorenzo, Boise, Idaho, Region 12 (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington); and Leil Koch, Kula, Hawaii, Region 13 (California, Hawaii and Guam).
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
MEDIA CONTACT: SARA WISKERCHEN / 202-383-1013
