Chris Polychron, a REALTOR® in Hot Springs, Ark., was installed recently as 2015 president of the National Association of REALTORS® at the association’s Board of Directors meeting during the 2014 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.
Polychron has been a REALTOR® for 25 years and is an executive broker with 1st Choice Realty, specializing in residential brokerage. Polychron has served on NAR’s Board of Directors since 2002, and was 2005 regional vice president for Region IX, serving Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. He has served on numerous national committees, was the first Member Mobilization chair in 2008 and was a liaison to State and Political Issues in 2009. Polychron was president of the Arkansas REALTORS® Association in 2003, Arkansas’ REALTOR® of the Year in 1996 and president of the Hot Springs Board of REALTORS® that same year.
Thomas Salomone, a REALTOR® from Coral Springs, Fla., is the 2015 president-elect. He is a second-generation REALTOR® and broker/owner of Real Estate II. Salomone has been a REALTOR® for 38 years and serves as a member of NAR’s Executive Committee and on the newly appointed Corporate Investor Council. He has served on several national committees, was director of NAR’s REALTOR® Party Activities in 2012, and was 2007 regional vice president for Region V, serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Salomone was president of the Florida Realtors® in 2003 and was Florida’s REALTOR® of the Year in 2005.
Bill Brown, a second-generation REALTOR® from Oakland, Calif., is the 2015 NAR first vice president. He has been a REALTOR® for more than 35 years; he is the founder of Investment Properties, a division of the family real estate business founded by his father, William H. Brown, in 1964 and focuses on the sale of existing apartment buildings to both institutional and private capital investors. Bill has served in numerous positions at the local, state, and national levels, including as an NAR Director since 1991, the 2004 Chairman of the RPAC Trustees, a Liaison in 2005 and 2011, and the 2012 Regional Vice President for Region 13, comprised of California, Hawaii, and Guam.
Michael McGrew, a REALTOR® from Lawrence, Kan., is the 2015 NAR treasurer. A REALTOR® for nearly 30 years, he is the CEO/Chairman of McGrew Real Estate. McGrew was 2014 treasurer and 2013 vice-chair of the Finance Committee and has served on NAR’s Board of Directors for nine years. He was president of the Kansas Association of REALTORS® in 1998.
Mike Ford is 2015 NAR vice president. He is a broker/owner of Coldwell Banker Heritage Homes in West Memphis, Ark. Ford is a long-standing member of NAR’s Board of Directors, having served since 1994. In 1997, he was NAR’s regional vice president for Region IX, representing Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Ford has chaired numerous committees, including RPAC Trustees Fundraising, Issues Mobilization, and Political Communications. He was the RPAC Major Investor Liaison in 2012. In 1997, he was NAR’s regional vice president for Region IX, representing Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Ford is a member of the REALTOR® Political Action Committee Hall of Fame.
Charlie Oppler is also 2015 NAR vice president. Oppler has been a REALTOR® for more than 30 years and is CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. He has served on NAR’s Board of Directors since 2003. Oppler has chaired the REALTOR® Party Coordinating Committee twice and the RPAC Trustees Committee and served on three of NAR’s Presidential Advisory Groups. In 2005, he served as NAR’s regional vice president for Region II, representing New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Oppler was also president of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® in 2004.
NAR’s 2015 regional vice presidents are:
Thomas Riley, Bedford, N.H., Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont); Max Gurvitch, Brooklyn, N.Y., Region II (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania); Brenda Small, Washington, D.C., Region III (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia); Sandra O’Connor, Greensboro, N.C., Region IV (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee); Dean Asher, Orlando, Region V (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands);
Beth Foley, Holland, Mich., Region VI (Michigan and Ohio); Sheryl Whitehurst, Peoria, Ill.., Region VII (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin); Jeff Nelson, Sioux Falls, S.D., Region VIII (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota); Brian Jones, Pittsburgh, Kan., Region IX (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma);
Bill Jones, Temple, Texas., Region X (Louisiana and Texas); Linda Rheinberger, Las Vegas, Region XI (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming); Dan Wagner, Billings, Mont., Region XII (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington); and Steve Goddard, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Region XIII (California, Hawaii and Guam).
For more information, visit www.realtor.org.
