Elaine H. Melby was born in Nashville, Tennessee and was a cum laude graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science in English and Secondary Education. She has completed graduate work at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
After serving as an eighth grade language arts instructor in Harrisburg, Illinois for 6 years, Elaine relocated to Carterville, Illinois and began a real estate career with Century 21 House of Realty, inc. in 1978 as a real estate agent. Between 1980 and 2006, she served as a recruiter trainer, Broker/Manager, and Owner/President of the company that grew from 2 offices in 1982 to 5 offices in 2001 with 75 agents and 12 support staff serving Williamson, Jackson, Johnson and the surrounding Southern Illinois Counties. . These Century 21 franchises located in Marion, Carterville, Lake of Egypt, Carbondale and Murphysboro, Illinois became the largest and most productive real estate operation in the 27-county Egyptian Board of Realtors, ranking in the TOP 100 companies for CENTURY 21 out of more than 5000 offices in the nation. Melby sold the company in 2006, remaining as a trainer and manager for several years, now working as a Broker within the operation.
Melby served on the Carterville School Board for 12 years, and has been a member of the Marion Rotary Club since 1995, serving as the first female President of the Club in 2003, is a 3-time Paul Harris Fellow, and a sustaining member of the Foundation. She has served as a Board member of the Carterville Chamber of Commerce, holding the position of President in 2006, and multiple-year recipient of Chamber member of the year. She has served as President of the Century 21 St. Louis Broker Council, is Vice-president of the Heartland Regional Medical Center Board of Directors, a Director of First Southern Bank and is past President and Board member of the John A. Logan College Foundation. In 2004 Melby was recognized as one of the Southern Illinoisan newspaper’s ” Leaders Among Us,” and in 2005 was named an “Inspiring Woman of Achievement” by Southern Illinois University Foundation, Carbondale, Illinois. In 2008 she was named CITIZEN of the YEAR by the Marion Chamber of Commerce and 2014 Melby was named REALTOR OF THE YEAR by the Egyptian Board of Realtors.
Elaine and her husband of over 45 years, David, have one son, Ben and two grandchildren, Gavin,16, and Mylee, 13. They attend Epiphany Lutheran Church in Carbondale where Melby has served on the Church Council, taught Sunday School, and served as Building Fund Chair. In her free time, she enjoys tennis, golf, boating in Florida , watching musicals and a great book. She views her role as a real estate professional as that of an educator, providing useful information for sellers and buyers to make informed decisions and considers it a blessing that she is able to serve her clients in this capacity.
Spoken languages: English
Client Reviews (30)
5.0 out of 5
(5)
Buyer Review
Noah Merriss, Marion, IL
Mrs. Elaine Melby was a wonderful for us in buying our first home. She was very knowledgeable and transparent through the whole process. She was very accessible and easy to work with. My wife and I would recommend Mrs. Melby to anyone and everyone! 10/10!
12 days ago
Buyer Review
Brianan Baker, Carterville, IL
Elaine stuck with my family for close to two years while we looked for our perfect forever home. She was instrumental in our purchase and went above and beyound for us. I will recommend her services to absolutely anyone that requires an agent.
3 months ago
Buyer Review
Kevin and Lois Gyore, Goreville, IL
Elaine Melby was the best we have ever worked with and was very professional. Her communication with us was excellent from start to finish. Her many years of experience showed as she answered our questions along the way. We quickly new we could put our trust in her and gave us the reassurance we needed to purchase the property. She listened to us and was flexible enough to help us make an offer we could afford. We were lucky to have her as agent in this property purchase.
6 months ago
Seller Review
Debbie G. Mitchell, Marion, Illinois
I am delighted to be able to share my testimony of working with Elaine Melby / Century 21. I have known Elaine for 45 years and purchased my first home from her in 1982. Over the years, I have purchased/sold a total of 4 homes through her. From the very beginning, I could see that Elaine was exceptionally bright, personable, trustworthy, dependable, had excellent communication skills, and was highly motivated in every task she took on. She is down to earth, has a great sense of humor, is compassionate, patient, helpful, and supportive. Over time, I have also learned a great deal from her. Elaine provides services that are always "above and beyond," and she is committed to helping strengthen our community as well. For this reason, I have referred many people to her over the years. Most importantly, she is a wonderful human being.
