Catherine B. Whatley, a REALTOR® from Jacksonville, Fla., was the 2003 President of the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR, The Voice for Real Estate®, is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Whatley, a REALTOR® for over 40 years, is principal broker-owner of Buck & Buck Inc., REALTORS®, in Jacksonville, Fla., a family firm established by her grandfather in 1907. She holds the professional designations of Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate, REALTOR® Institute (GRI) and Performance Management Network (PMN). Whatley is a third generation REALTOR®, and assumed ownership of Buck & Buck Inc., in 1985.
Whatley has provided dedicated service to the REALTOR® organization over the course of 25 years. She served on numerous national committees and forums and continues service to this day. She first served on the Board of Directors in 1996, and then from 1998-present. In 2002 she served as NAR’s president-elect and as first vice president in 2001.
During her NAR presidency, Whatley oversaw deployment of the HOPE Awards, a program that focused on increasing minority homeownership opportunities and hosted first National Summit for Housing Opportunities. Her work for the REALTOR® Party Action Committee proved instrumental in ensuring preservation of the divide between banking and commerce, and fair reform of the real estate settlement services regulations. She also instituted REALTOR® Safety Week to help protect real estate professionals on the job, which continues today as NAR’s REALTOR® Safety initiative.
Whatley also serves her state and local REALTOR® associations in numerous capacities. She was President of the Florida Association of REALTORS® in 1996 and was named Florida REALTOR® of the Year in 1998. In 1986 and 1993 she received Northeast Florida Association of REALTORS®‘ REALTOR® of the Year award. She is a long-time member of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, and was president of the organization’s Florida chapter in 1985. She is also a member of the board of directors of Move Inc., operator of NAR’s realtor.com® website, and served as an ethics commissioner for the state of Florida for several years.
Source: National Association of REALTORS® Archives
Learn more about Catherine B. Whatley:
Practitioner President: Meet 2003 President Catherine B. Whatley, (REALTOR® Magazine, Jan. 2003).
Your Achievements: Where Does the Time Go?, (REALTOR® Magazine, Nov. 2003).