2013 GFWAR Officers:
President: Clay Brants
Brants, Inc., REALTORS®
Clay Brants, president of Brants, Inc., REALTORS®, serves as the 2013 GFWAR president. He has served in a variety of leadership positions over the duration of his real estate career, including as GFWAR vice president / president-elect in 2012 and GFWAR secretary / treasurer in 2011. In addition, he has served two terms on the GFWAR Board of Directors and as commercial chair of the TREPAC committee in 1998. He is a member of CRS and served as the Society of Commercial REALTORS® Chair in 1997. Brants was the recipient of the 2006 REALTOR® of the Year Award and the 1998 REALTOR® Spirit Award. He also has served as president of the Steeplechase Club and has been involved in the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board, the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee for the Study of the Downtown Hotel and served for six years as an appointee for the City of Fort Worth, Council District 7.
Vice President / President-Elect: Carol Van Hook, GRI, ABR, CRS, CRB
Mira Vista REALTORS®
Carol Van Hook, broker / owner of Mira Vista, REALTORS®, serves as the 2013 GFWAR vice president / president-elect. She also has served as the 2012 GFWAR secretary / treasurer and has served multiple terms on the GFWAR Board of Directors and on numerous GFWAR committees and task forces. She has been a member of the Association since 1973 and was named GFWAR REALTOR® of the Year in 2005. Van Hook served as chair of the REALTOR® of the Year Committee in 2006, the MLS Committee in 2005 and the Education Committee in 2002. In addition, Van Hook is a past-president of CRS and served on the CRS Board from 2009 to 2010. Active in the community, Van Hook is on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth.
Secretary / Treasurer: Michael Langford
Orr & Associates Real Estate
Michael Langford, sales associate with Orr & Associates Real Estate, serves as the 2013 GFWAR Secretary / Treasurer. Langford is a 2010 graduate of the Texas REALTORS® Leadership Program and is currently serving his first year on the GFWAR Board of Directors. In addition, he served as chair of GFWAR’s Young Professional’s Network in 2012 and is currently serving as a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee. Langford was an Orr & Associates Real Estate Top Producer in 2009 and is a member of the Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce and the Burleson Area Tour Group. In addition, he is a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.
Immediate Past President: Johnny Bennett
JJ Bennett & Associates Realty Co.
Johnny Bennett, broker / owner of JJ Bennett & Associates Realty Co., serves as the 2013 immediate past-president. Bennett was the 2012 GFWAR president, the 2011 vice president / president-elect and the 2010 secretary / treasurer. In addition, Bennett served on the 2012 TAR Housing Initiatives Committee and is a graduate of the 2009-2010 Texas REALTOR® Leadership Program. He served GFWAR as the 2009 chair of the Education Committee and has served on the GFWAR Installation and Grievance Committees in the past. Also, he served on the 2010 TAR Citation Task Force. Bennett is an REO certified broker and a board member of the Texas Association of Real Estate Brokers. Also, he is a past president of the Southeast Tarrant County Optimist Club and a past president of the Fort Worth Association of Real Estate Brokers.
2013 GFWAR Directors:
Director: Andra Beatty, GRI, ABR, CUE, SFR
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Andra Beatty, GRI, ABR, CUE, SFR, REALTOR® associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, is serving her first term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Beatty is a graduate of the Texas REALTORS® Leadership Program and is currently serving as chair of the 2013 TREPAC Committee. In addition, Beatty is serving on the Texas Association of REALTORS® 2013 Political Affairs Committee. She has held the distinction as top listing agent, buyers agent and referral agent in her office for three years in a row. A true cowgirl at heart, Beatty served six years as an executive board member of the North Texas High School Rodeo Association and is a charter member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum.
Director: Cecilia Bratton, GRI, SFR, e-Pro
Bratton Real Estate
Cecilia Bratton, broker associate with Bratton Real Estate, will serve her first term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Bratton served as the chair of the 2012 GFWAR Housing Initiatives Committee, and she has served on the GFWAR Education Committee in the past. In addition, she has served on the Texas Association of REALTORS® Professional Standards Committee, and is a graduate of the Texas REALTORS® Leadership Program. She has served the past four years on the DFW NAHREP Executive Committee. In addition, she has received the DFW NAHREP REALTOR® of the Year award.
Director: Phyllis Brown, CRS, ABR
Virginia Cook, REALTORS®
Phyllis Brown, CRS, ABR, REALTOR® associate with Virginia Cook, REALTORS®, is serving the second year of her second term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Brown served as chair of the 2009 TREPAC Committee and has volunteered on the GFWAR Governmental Affairs, Professional Standards and Installation Committees in the past. She is a graduate of the 2008 GFWAR Leadership Class and is active in the Tarrant County CRS, serving as the 1997 president and 1996 vice president.
Director: Jaci Coan, CRS
RE/MAX Trinity
Jaci Coan, CRS, broker / owner of RE/MAX Trinity, is serving another term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. In addition, Coan is the Region 3 TREPAC trustee and FORPAC trustee and has served on several GFWAR committees in the past including the Executive, Business After Hours, TREPAC, Governmental Affairs and Christmas Luncheon committees. She is a graduate of the Leadership GFWAR class and received the 2009 Marie & Dayton Sheridan REALTOR® Spirit Award. RE/MAX International presented Coan with the 2010 RE/MAX United States Broker / Owner of the Year Award and RE/MAX of Texas presented Coan with the 2009 RE/MAX Texas Broker / Owner of the Year Award. Coan is an active volunteer with Children’s Miracle Network and Komen for the Cure. In 2009, she was presented with the “Miracle Maker” Award by Children’s Miracle Network.
Director: Barbara Debenport McMasters, ABR, GRI, SRES, RMP, CMS
Genesis Masters Real Estate and Management Services
Barbara Debenport McMasters, ABR, GRI, SRES, RMP, CMS, broker / owner with Genesis Masters Real Estate and Management Services, is serving on the 2013 Board of Directors as a presidential appointee. Debenport McMasters served as the GFWAR president in 2000, the GFWAR vice president / president-elect in 1999, and the GFWAR secretary / treasurer in 1998. In addition, she has served as the 2007 GFWAR chair of the governmental affairs committee and as the 2007 chair of the Texas Association of REALTORS® Property Management Committee. Debenport McMasters was presented with the GFWAR REALTOR® of the Year in 2001 and the GFWAR Distinguished Service Award in 2007. Active in the community, she is a member of the Fort Worth Woman’s Club, Fort Worth Dinner Dance Club and the Fort Worth Garden Club.
Director: Jim Makens
The Makens Company
Jim Makens, broker / owner of The Makens Company, is serving another term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Makens is active in the Society of Commercial REALTORS®, having served as chair of the organization in 2005 and as chair of the SCR Golf Committee in 2006. He was presented with the SCR Charles D. Tandy Commercial REALTOR® of the Year Award in 2007. Currently, he is chair of the North Richland Hills Economic Development Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors for H.E.L.P., a non-profit, faith-based mission providing food, supplies and education to tribes of Nigeria, Africa.
Director: J.R. Martinez, GRI, ABR
Kenneth Jones Real Estate
J.R. Martinez, REALTOR® with Kenneth Jones Real Estate, is serving the second year of his first term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Martinez was the 2011 chair of the GFWAR Housing Initiatives Committee and is a member of the Business After Hours Committee. In addition, Martinez is a past-president of DFW NAHREP and has served as a NAHREP national board member. He has received the DFW NAHREP Eagle Award, has served on the City of Fort Worth Building Standards Commission, and is a recent appointee to the Fort Worth Independent School District’s Board of Trustees.
Director: Jo Ann Royer, GRI, CRS
Williams Trew Sotheby’s Int’l
Jo Ann Royer, broker associate and director of relocation and urban developments for Williams Trew Sotheby’s International, is serving her second year of her term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Royer served as the chair of the GFWAR Education Committee in 2011 and has served on the GFWAR Christmas Luncheon Committee, Professional Standards Committee and MLS committee. She is a member of the North Texas Relocation Professionals, Associated Businesses of the Cultural District and the Texas Relocation Network. Royer has held a real estate license for over 30 years and is a Certified Relocation Specialist and a Global Mobility Specialist.
Director: Betsy Senter, CRB, CRS, GRI
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Betsy Senter, CRB, CRS, GRI, managing broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, is serving the second year of her term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. With over 40 years of sales experience and more than 30 years of management experience, Senter is well-versed when it comes to Fort Worth real estate. She has served as a director of both GFWAR and the Texas Association of REALTORS® in the past and has helped lead her office in becoming the number one office in 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2008 out of all of Coldwell Banker – Dallas / Fort Worth’s 19 offices. In 1999, 2000, 2002-2003, 2005-2010, Senter earned membership in the prestigious President’s Council, Coldwell Banker’s top 20 percent of managers in the United States.
Director: Donnie Sherwood, MAI, SR/WA, FRICS
Integra Realty Resources
Donnie Sherwood, managing director of the Fort Worth office of Integra Realty Resources, is serving the second year of his first term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Sherwood has been an appraiser of all types of property since 1978 and is qualified in Federal and Texas State Courts as an expert on real estate values. He is an active member of both the International Right of Way Association and the Appraisal Institute and was the Appraisal Institute Central Texas Chapter President in 1989 and served as president of IRWA Chapter 36 in 1998. He is a past-chair of the Society of Commercial REALTORS® and was the 2011 recipient of the Charles D. Tandy Commercial REALTOR® of the Year Award presented by SCR. In addition, he is a member of the National Faculty of the Appraisal Institute and the International Right of Way Association and has authored “Skills of the Expert Witness” and “Reviewing Appraisals for Eminent Domain” for IRWA. He served as the vice president of United Methodist Men for the Central Texas Conference in 2011 and is active in various mission projects both in the local area and in Mexico and Africa.
Director: Tony Sims, MPM, RMP
Specialized Property Management, Inc.
Tony Sims, RMP, REALTOR® associate with Specialized Property Management, is serving the second year of his second term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. Sims will serve a two-year term as TAR Regional Vice President of Region 3 beginning in January 2013. He served as the chair of the GFWAR TREPAC Committee in 2011 and as chair of the Property Management Forum Committee in 2009. In addition, he served as president of the local NARPM chapter in 2010 and as mayor of Edgecliff Village from 1982 to 1984.
Director: Mary Jo Thomas
Brants, Inc., REALTORS®
Mary Jo Thomas, REALTOR® associate with Brants, Inc. REALTORS®, is serving on the 2013 Board of Directors as a presidential appointee. Thomas served as the GFWAR president in 1994, the GFWAR vice president / president-elect in 1993, and the GFWAR secretary / treasurer in 1992. In addition, she has volunteered to serve as the 2013 GFWAR Neighborhood Revitalization chair. She has been engaged in real estate counseling, appraisal and brokerage since 1974 and was presented the Omega Tau Rho Award by the National Association of REALTORS® in 1989. Active in the community, Thomas has served on the City of Fort Worth Zoning Board, the Tarrant Appraisal District Appraisal Review Board, the City of Fort Worth Tax Equalization Board, the Suicide and Crisis Center Board and was a graduate of Leadership Fort Worth in 1996.
Director: Leigh York, GRI, ABR, CRS
CENTURY 21, Judge Fite Company
Leigh York, broker associate with CENTURY 21, Judge Fite Company, is serving her first term on the GFWAR Board of Directors. York is well-versed when it comes to the REALTOR® Association. She served as president of the Greater Metro West Association of REALTORS® in 2004, chaired the Texas Association of REALTORS® Professional Standards Committee in 2012 and was a director of the National Association of REALTORS® in 2010. She was a 2011 graduate of NAR’s National Leadership Academy and is currently serving on the REALTORS® Property Resource Advisory Board. The Granbury Association of REALTORS® presented York with the REALTOR® Spirit Award in 2008 and the Greater Metro West Association of REALTORS® presented her with the REALTOR® of the Year Award in 2004 and the REALTOR® Spirit Award in 2000. In addition, York serves on the GFWAR governmental affairs, installation and bylaws committees and was a Texas Association of REALTORS® Regional Vice President in 2010 and 2011. She also has been active in Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Tarrant County.
