Chicago Real Estate Leader, RE/MAX, Takes Hot Air Balloon To Peterson Elementary School In North Park Neighborhood

The students at Peterson Elementary School, 5510 N. Christiana Ave., in Chicago’s North Park neighborhood will learn about hot air ballooning when the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon and its crew visit the school on Dec. 4 to present a special interactive educational program. The visit is part of an on-going balloon education program developed by RE/MAX, the Chicago real estate leader.

The students at the school will see presentations that cover various aspects of ballooning, including its history, the scientific principles involved and a demonstration during which the envelope of the 75-foot-tall balloon will be partially inflated to help students understand how the balloon functions. The program will be presented indoors at 9 a.m.

The RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network is sponsoring the event and is working with Ruth Kopke, a science teacher at Peterson.

RE/MAX Property Associates In Morrison Celebrates Grand Opening In Northern Illinois Real Estate Market

RE/MAX Property Associates in Morrison, Ill., officially marked its entrance into the northern Illinois real estate market with a grand opening celebration on Nov. 20. The office is located at 300 W. Main St. in Morrison, a community of 4,600 in Whiteside County.

Office broker/owner Louise Clark, broker associate Jackie Woodman and office receptionist Kim Newell welcomed 35 guests to the evening event, including Norma Nelson, president of the Morrison Chamber of Commerce, chamber members Mindy Gonzales and Aubrey Fisher and Jim Merrion, regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois, the Illinois real estate leader.
The grand opening party was an opportunity for members of the business and real estate communities in the Morrison area to mingle while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

“Affiliating with the RE/MAX network has already brought significant benefits to our office,” said Clark. “It’s the best brand name in real estate and provides outstanding training opportunities along with the most advanced Internet presence in the real estate brokerage business.”

A resident of the Morrison area, Clark has been a real estate professional for seven years and has owned the office since 2005 when it was known as Smith & Associates.
“Despite the general slowdown in real estate sales impacting much of the nation, we are having a remarkably solid year, with our office sales running about 15 percent ahead of 2007 through the first 11 months,” said Clark. She said that this year has seen an increase in relocation buyers and a modest decrease in first-time buyers. Overall the real estate market in the Morrison area remains quite active.

Chicago Real Estate Leader, RE/MAX, Launches Hot Air Balloon Educational Program At City Schools

The Philip D. Armour School, 950 W. 33rd Pl., and Hanson Park School, 5411 W. Fullerton Ave., recently became the first Chicago Public Schools ever to receive a visit from the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon. The balloon and its crew came to the schools to present a special interactive educational program as part of an on-going balloon education program developed by the Chicago real estate leader.

The program, which has been in operation for more than 15 years, was recently revamped so that the balloon envelope could be partially inflated indoors using cool air. This made the program suitable for the many Chicago schools that lack an unobstructed outdoor area of at least 200 by 200 square feet required by the hot air balloon.

On Nov. 14, the balloon was at Hanson Park School, and on Nov. 18 the balloon and its visited Armour School. At each school, students were treated to a presentation about various aspects of ballooning, including its history, the scientific principles involved and a demonstration on how the balloon functions. At Armour, favorable weather and ample space made it possible to briefly inflate the 75-foot-tall balloon outdoors, and Shelley Cordova, principal of the school, said the program was an outstanding success.

At Hanson Park, less favorable weather confined the program to the school gymnasium, where the balloon envelope was partially inflated so that the students could walk inside it. To accommodate all students, the program was presented twice.
Both school visits were sponsored by Chicago real estate leader, RE/MAX Northern Illinois, the franchisor of the RE/MAX office network in the Chicago area.

“We restructured the program so that it could be effectively presented indoors when required, either due to weather conditions or because a school has limited outdoor space. As a result, we can bring the program to many more schools, and we anticipate that visits to city schools will be an integral part of this program,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois.

The program, which is presented free of charge to the school involved, lasts about an hour and is suitable for students from kindergarten through junior high school. For more information, contact Bennett Schwontkowski of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Balloon Team at 847-516-2910 or corpballoons@aol.com.

RE/MAX Ranked Among Top Franchise Opportunities For Minorities – Good News For Chicago Real Estate Market

RE/MAX recently was selected as one of the “50 Top Franchises for Minorities” in the annual survey by the National Minority Franchising Initiative (NMFI). As the only real estate franchisor included in the prestigious ranking, RE/MAX is joined by such notable business names as McDonalds, 7-11 and InterContinental Hotels Group. This is good news for the Chicago real estate market, which is culturally and ethnically rich in diversity.

Each year, NMFI recognizes the top 50 franchise opportunities based upon a commitment to minority recruitment and advancement. Final selection is the result of factors such as historical performance, brand identification, franchisee satisfaction, training/support and financial stability. Each organization must also complete a questionnaire noting the number of minority-owned franchises and the number of minorities in senior management.

“From our early days 35 years ago, RE/MAX has always provided rewarding career opportunities for women and minorities,” said Margaret Kelly, chief executive officer of RE/MAX International, Inc. “We believe our greatest strength is the diversity of our management and membership. It’s an honor to receive this recognition and be associated with other like-minded organizations.

“RE/MAX offers all our franchisees a tremendous amount of support to ensure their success, Kelly said. “Cutting edge technology resources and training, available online and through the RE/MAX Satellite Network, aren’t available from any other franchisor.”

In 2007, RE/MAX was also named a “Top 25 Franchise Opportunity” by Hispanic Enterprise magazine and ranked third among the “Top 10 Military-Spouse Friendly Employers” by Military Spouse magazine. The most comprehensive franchise ranking, Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500 Survey,” ranked RE/MAX as a top real estate franchisor for the last decade and the No. 1 real estate franchisor for 8 of those 10 years.

“Even in today’s challenging market, RE/MAX is successfully selling new franchises,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. “Through the third quarter of 2008, sales have topped 500 worldwide, with more than 200 in North America. In Chicago, RE/MAX continues to position itself for growth even in the most challenging real estate environment.”