Our Agents

Real estate is a second career to me, but one to which I have devoted a great deal of my time and energy.  Along with all of our office, I have made a commitment to personal service.  Listening carefully to your needs and using the tools we can bring to bear on your home search will be the watchwords of our agency to you.  We are not about volume; but rather gauge our success on the friends we make from amongst our clients as we help you find the perfect home for your family.

I have spent 30 years in the “people business” of sales and marketing.  Early in my career I honed the analytical tools that I now use to understand our market and how that market translates into your new home search.  I grew up and attended college in Ohio.  I worked for an international marketing company for 28 years in Ohio and then Minnesota.  Luckily they transferred me here to Bloomington-Normal 15 years ago as we have found Central Illinois has much to offer to our family. I am a member of National Association of Realtors, Illinois Association of Realtors, and Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors.

My two daughters thrived in the excellent school systems of our community and are now away at college.  Unit Five schools prepared them well for college, but Bloomington’s award-winning District 87 schools provide an interesting rivalry.  In sports, when you throw in a catholic school and a lab school attached to Illinois State University we have some intense battles on turf and court.

My wife of 27 years has been part of the school system here in Bloomington and Normal for years in pre-schools as well as working with special needs kids but has chosen to do something different for a time and is a manager at a clothing store in one of our local shopping malls.

My interests over the years have been in volunteer/board work with the Bloomington Library, Habitat for Humanity and Recycling Furniture for Families, a local furniture bank.  I am an usher at my church and have spent a good bit of time over at Illinois State University, as a student in the History department and a teacher in the College of Business.

I look forward to being a part of this next big step in your life.  Moving is an adventure.  I would love to add your search for a home in Bloomington or Normal to the list of satisfied customers who have become friends of my family.

Connie Beard has served McLean County as a professional Realtor since 1993 in the office of Denbesten Real Estate, where she has enjoyed the support and friendship of the Denbesten family.  She is experienced in existing home sales, new construction, first time buyers, rural properties, relocation and executive level homes.  Choosing quality in service over quantity in sales marks her work. Connie says, “I’m far more interested in devoting my time to one client and a successful transaction then meeting a quota.  My goal is my client’s satisfaction not a particular number of sales.  I thoroughly enjoy my work.  I grew up in the building profession and real estate work with my dad so it’s sort of in my genes”

Connie is a Texas gal who has been planted in the cornfields of Bloomington/Normal with her family since 1988.  She and her husband, David, have two grown children and a “surprise” still at home. David was an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard so as a military family they enjoyed living on both coasts and overseas in Japan. David now works for State Farm Insurance as a global business analyst.

Having multiple moves under her belt Connie understands fully the challenge of relocating and putting roots into a new community.  She has enjoyed work as a teacher, radio personality and businesswoman before becoming a professional realtor.  Her greatest joy comes from serving God through the various roles in which he has placed her. In addition to wife, mother and grandmother; she serves as the Managing Director for Vale Community Players, a ministry of Vale Community Church.  She also travels the Midwest and south speaking for Stonecroft Ministries.    Reading, needlework and scrapbooking are enjoyable diversions.

“My Real Estate work is based almost entirely on referral.  When you have served a client well and they recommend you to family and friends, it is very satisfying” says Connie,” It’s that kind of relationship I want for all my clients.”

My parents (Ray & Irene) fell in love at Illinois State University and decided to make Bloomington/Normal their home together.  They married in 1972 and raised my sister and me in Bloomington.  As a lifetime Bloomington, Illinois resident, I hope to make my friends and clients feel just as comfortable in my hometown as I do.

I went to District 87 schools and graduated from BHS with honors in 1995.  Since I was young, I always said I would attend Illinois State University and live in the dorms, like my mom did.  I majored in mathematics education and minored in economics.  After graduating in May 1999, I took a teaching position at my alma mater, Bloomington High School.  After two years of teaching Algebra, Pre-Algebra, and Honors Geometry, I decided to explore the business world with my family business.

In July 2001, I bought my first investment property and joined the family business, Denbesten Real Estate.  I worked for my father and maintained my own building and tenants for the following year.  In September 2002, after a year of assisting my father run Denbesten Real Estate and manage his investment properties, I passed my Real Estate Salespersons license exam.  After my first year as a Realtor® I had accomplished 5 closings and had satisfied 6 clients.  In February 2004, I passed the Broker’s exam, and in April took over Denbesten Real Estate from my father, Ray.  In September 2005, I bought my second apartment building.  For many years, I was involved with various committees at our local MLS office.  Since October 2009, I have chaired the Education Committee at the Bloomington Normal Association of Realtors.  In May 2010, I graduated from Illinois State University a second time, this time with my MBA (Masters in Business Administration).  In October 2011, I was elected by my colleagues to sit on the board of directors for the BNAR.

Connie Beard had been with my family business for many years and stayed on when I took over.  She has always been an uplifting person to have in my office and serves her clients to the utmost.  Greg Meyer joined my boutique  company in 2008.  His intelligence, humor, and dedication to client’s needs is humbling to me.  We are all excited to help every individual reach their dreams through real estate in central Illinois.

In my personal life, I went on a mission trip in March 2002 to Mexico with my church, Second Presbyterian in downtown Bloomington. A gentleman named Nicholas Miller and I were reacquainted during the excursion. We are both lifetime members of 2PC and have known each other and our families for many years. Romantic sparks did not fly until after we got back in our hometown of Bloomington. A few weeks of dating and he asked me to marry him. We announced the news to friends and family in June 2002. In July 2003, Nick and Cathy became Mr. and Mrs.  Our first daughter was born in 2007 and our second little girl in 2009.

I am active in my church, attend Bible Study Fellowship, volunteer with the 4-H fair in the summer, lend a hand to McLean County Young Life, and am a member of the Lake Run Club.

Give me a call or send me an email so that I may come to know you as a friend and client.  Feel free to ask me for a list of references of past clients.