It is my goal for the rest of this year to continue to implementing the vision of our late 2018 National President Jimmy Settle, ALC, who lost his battle with cancer on April 1. It is with both a heavy heart and great pride that I have taken the oath of office to finish his term and become the 2018-19 National President of the REALTORS® Land Institute. I am honored to serve at such an exciting time in RLI’s history as we approach our 75^th Anniversary in 2019. As president, I look forward to continuing our momentum in building a more member-centric, value-providing organization that all members can be proud to call their own. Leadership and staff continue to work diligently towards achieving the goals set out in our 2017-2020 Strategic Plan to establish us further as “The Voice of Land.”

I am honored to present in this letter some of the successes RLI has seen under Jimmy’s vision and our new strategic plan. First and foremost, we had our most highly attended National Land Conference in recent history last March in Nashville with 248 land professionals in attendance, a 42% growth over the previous year. We also had over 30 partnering companies help sponsor the event, a record number, showcasing the latest technologies and services in the industry. Last but not least, we held our inaugural APEX Awards Ceremony recognizing the highest producing agents in the industry which continues to create quite a bit of buzz as we work with our partners at The Land Report to continue recognizing our top agents. Thank you to all who attended, we hope to see you at NLC19 in Albuquerque, NM, next March where we plan to celebrate RLI’s 75^th Anniversary with a bang.

As we celebrate the 30^th Anniversary this year of Land University (LANDU) with a new logo, RLI continues to work with an instructional designer to utilize their expertise to work with staff and instructors on revamping our LANDU courses. We plan to have ten updated courses and one brand new Recreational Land Real Estate course on our new Learning Management System (LMS) by the end of 2018. These new courses are designed to better engage attendees both with each other and the content to create an enhanced learning experience. RLI is excited to be unveiling five of these newly updated courses at our 2018 LANDU Education Week in Arlington, TX, from June 2-10. If you are thinking about earning the elite ALC Designation, this is a great opportunity to complete all six courses towards the education requirement in one place. Plus, the networking and expertise gained at this event will help you long after you leave the classroom.

Another pillar of the strategic plan focuses on developing our RLI Chapters. Last year, we invested in providing our chapters access to RLI national’s database to better manage and recruit members. Through this initiative, we are excited to announce that over half of our chapters have adopted the new website and more are planning to by the end of the year. These websites will both strengthen the new RLI brand as well as better allow our chapters to help grow our organization. We have also put in place a Chapter Leadership Council (CLC), which was announced at the Chapter Meeting at NLC18. The mission of the CLC is to empower chapter leaders to deliver value, engage professionals, enhance the overall RLI member experience, and work with National RLI to ensure Chapter success.

As a member of RLI, you make all the difference. You are the lifeblood of our organization and the power behind our prestige. Thank you for being a member and for your part in keeping the organization strong.

If you are in the land business, RLI is where you belong!

Sincerely,

Jeramy Stephens, ALC
2018-19 RLI National President