Cultivating
JIM SMITH TAKES THE LEAD AS 2015 PRESIDENT OF
GEORGIA REALTORS®
BORN AND BRED IN MACON, JIM SMITH SEEMED DESTINED FOR A FUTURE IN SERVING OTHERS. FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BOTH HIS FATHER AND HIS GRANDFATHER, JIM OBTAINED HIS BROKER’S LICENSE IN 1983, JUST THREE YEARS AFTER RECEIVING A BBA IN REAL ESTATE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT FROM THE UNIVER- SITY OF GEORGIA. TODAY, JIM IS AN OWNER/BROKER WITH WILLINGHAM LOAN & REALTY CO., AND HIS BUSINESS FOCUS IS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.
Jim has served the REALTOR® organization ex -
tensively at the local, state and national levels. He has served as President of the Middle Georgia Association of REALTORS®
(MGAR) as well as the MaconMLS.
He served on numerous committees and helped to de- velop a sporting clay target shoot that benefits RPAC. Jim’s extensive service at the state level includes several years on the Forms Committee, serving as chair for both the Strategic Planning and REALTORS®
Political
Involvement (RPIC)Committees, and serving as a Re- gionDirector forGAR’s Region 6. Jim was also a grad - uate of the first GAR Leadership Academy class. At the national level, he has served as a Federal Political Coordinator and on both the Commercial Real Estate Committee and the Commercial Research Committee. Jim has been honored as REALTOR®
a LEGACY In the Q&A session here, Jim discusses his road to a
career in real estate, his goals for GAR, his outlook for 2015, and why he travels annually to Central America.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN REAL ESTATE? My ear- liest exposure to the business was riding shotgun with my dad, Lewis Y. Smith, or grandfather, Charles Smith, when I was very young. They were both real estate brokers and sometimes carriedme along with them when my mom was otherwise occupied. I actually attended my first board of REALTORS®
luncheon with my dad when I was still in
elementary school! My father and grandfather had a pro- found influence on my choice of real estate as a career. Many of the investors and developers that I became acquainted with through them played a major role as well. Both my father and grandfather also led the way for my involvement in the REALTOR®
association. My grandfather
was president of GAR in 1949 and dad was president of the Macon Board (now known as MGAR) in 1963-64. Of course they both served extensively on several committees for years, which is how they eventually reached their positions.
of the Year by
both MGAR and GAR (2010). Jim and Ann Smith have been married for 31 years.
Ann currently serves as the Spiritual Director for Mul- berry Street United Methodist Church in Macon. She holds a CPA, and occasionally teaches finance classes for REALTORS®
. Jim and Ann have two grown sons,
J. and Nick. Elder son J. is a copywriter in Los Angeles, while Nick is the creative director of the Wesley Foun- dation at Kennesaw State University.
8IGEORGIA REALTOR®
YOU HAVE CONSISTENTLY INVESTED IN RPAC FOR YEARS. WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT? I have seen effective lobbying by the REALTOR®
organiza-
tion make a real difference in legislation that affects our busi- ness and our pocketbook. Recently, GAR was a key player in legislation that has made it almost impossible for metal thieves to sell stolen air conditioning equipment, which helps to protect both commercial and residential property by making the stolen copper used from air conditioners un-sellable. We get an im- mense return on our investments in RPAC.
NOVEMBER I DECEMBER 2014
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