SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (May 19, 2008) The Commercial Real Estate Network (CREN) of the Capital Area Association of REALTORS (CAAR) has just received the RCA Commercial Services Accreditation conferred by the REALTORS Commercial Alliance (RCA), the commercial division of the National Association of REALTORS. The letter of approval received from the RCA indicating approval stated that “We strongly believe your association leads by example and receipt of the Accreditation confirms your dedication to commercial services.” The purpose of the RCA accreditation is to set standards and benchmarks for state and local associations to develop a commercial voice and to recognize and showcase RCA-accredited boards, regardless of their structure. One of the benefits of RCA Accreditation will be enhanced benefits and added-value from the RCA.

“CREN immediately made application for the accreditation after the program was announced by the RCA in April and is proud to be among one of the first organizations to receive this accreditation,” said Dan Sale, CAE, RCE, CAAR Executive Vice President. Some of the things that the application asks about that sets CREN apart from many other REALTOR associations include the operation of a commercial information exchange (CIE), a dedicated commercial website, networking events, specialized commercial forms and contracts, a membership consisting of at least 5% of all CAAR members and specialized education programs, to name a few. “The application itself is a great tool for associations to use to evaluate what they are offering their members in this arena,” said Jim Peters, CREN Chairman. “It was a straight forward gathering of information, the purpose of which was to determine whether CREN was dedicated to providing services to its commercial members,” said Peters.

Phil Chiles, ABR, GRI, CAAR President, said “It is rare to see a REALTOR organization the size of ours cater to the needs of commercial real estate brokers and agents in the manner that we do. This is a testament to the enthusiasm and active involvement of our commercial oriented REALTOR members. When you review the list of those 25 organizations that have been approved we are in very good company.”

CREN was established by CAAR in 1999 with just a handful of members. Today, membership in CREN stands at an all-time high with 36 members. To belong to CREN individuals must have a real estate brokerage license (or sales license), complete an application for membership, and agree to pay monthly dues. Go to www.SeeBuildings.com for more information on membership in CREN. To learn more about the REALTORS Commercial Alliance go to www.realtors.org/rca.

On May 14, 2008 at the National Association of REALTORS Midyear Meetings in Washington D.C. Chiles received a plaque, on behalf of CREN, in recognition of this accreditation.

The Capital Area Association of REALTORS is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 700 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area’s Resource for Commercial Real Estate Information can be found at www.SeeBuildings.com .

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For a complete list of accredited organization click here .