Gary Thomas, Vice President and Liaison to Government Affairs

Gary Thomas, a REALTOR® in Orange County, CA, is the 2009 Vice President and Liaison to Government Affairs for the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR, The Voice for Real Estate®, is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million REALTORS® involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

A second-generation REALTOR®, Thomas is the CEO and founder of Altera Real Estate. He has been in the business for more than 30 years and has served the industry in countless roles.

At the national level, Thomas served as the 2004 regional vice president for Region XIII, covering California, Hawaii, and Guam. He has served on NAR’s Board of Directors since 1995. In that time, he has chaired numerous committees: Federal Taxation in 2006, Research in 2003, Commercial Real Estate Research in 2003, the State Leadership Forum in 2002, and Business Issues in 2000. He also served on several Presidential Advisory Groups like the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Housing Opportunities Advisory Board, Insurance Task Force, Smart Growth, the MLS of the Future, and Gateway.

In 2001, Thomas served as president of the California Association of REALTORS® and has sat on its Board of Directors since 1985. In 2004, he chaired CAR’s Nominating Committee as well as the Executive Committee in 2001, Regional Chairs in 2000, and Strategic Planning and Finance from 1998-1999.

He has chaired several taskforces including the MLS Taskforce from 2005-2008 and the Lock Box Task Force from 2002-2003.

He served as chairman of the board of Real Estate Business Services, a subsidiary of CAR from 2006-2008, and his state peers named him “REALTOR® of the Year” in 2001.

Active in his community, Thomas was named the 2001 March of Dimes Hero.

He has a business management degree from Woodbury University and has been married to Frances for 42 years with 5 children and 14 grandchildren.