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2016 Land REALTOR of America Award Recipient Chicago Farmers Member Ray L. Brownfield

May 2017 - Recently at the REALTORS® Land Institute National Land Conference, held at Charlotte, North Carolina, Ray Brownfield was the sole recipient of the 2016 Land REALTOR® of America Award. This prestigious award is bestowed upon a REALTORS® Land Institute member who has achieved the Accredited Land Consultant designation, excelling in extremely high levels of real estate transaction competency, displaying above reproach ethics, leadership and professional standards.

Ray is the managing broker and owner of Land Pro LLC, located in Oswego, Illinois. He is also an Accredited Farm Manager through the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Ray and his staff provide professional land real estate brokerage in Illinois and farm management services throughout Illinois, parts of Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska. In 2016 Ray was the real estate broker for over $20M in real estate sales and managed over 7,000 acres of farmland. He is a native of Iroquois County Illinois, and thoroughly enjoys his family farm at Thawville. He and his wife Patty live in Naperville.

Purdue student receives 2017 TCF scholarship

Purdue University junior Merrilee York, of Monrovia, Indiana, is a recipient of a Chicago Farmers’ scholarship. Ms. York is majoring in Agronomy with a minor in Food and Argibusiness Marketing.

Ms. York grew up in Monrovia, a small town southwest of Indianapolis. During her younger years, Ms. York showed beef cattle in 4-H shows. She has been a member of 4-H for 10 years. “Even though I grew up raising beef cattle, my passion is crops,” Ms. York wrote in a thank you letter to Chicago Farmers.

A member of Sigma Alpha, the professional agriculture sorority, Ms. York also is a member of  Purdue’s Agronomy Club. She noted that her leadership activities, academic success and hard work have led her to obtain an internship with Monsanto this summer prior to her senior year as a seed production intern.

Ms. York thanked Chicago Farmers for choosing her for the scholarship. “I understand that without the generosity of people like you, a college education would not be possible for students like me,” she wrote. “I have been truly touched by your decision to be so generous, and I hope to one day be fortunate enough to give back to Purdue agriculture students. Again, I would like to thank you.”