Charles McMillan*, a REALTOR® from Irving, Texas, was the 2009 President of the National Association of REALTORS®.
McMillan was a REALTOR® for more than 30 years, having entered the real estate field in the early 1980s after several years in the U.S. Air Force. For several years he was Director of Realty Relations and Broker of Record for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Dallas-Fort Worth, acting as the company's point person for regulatory and legal issues.
McMillan was considered a “members’ president” and said that whatever NAR does must be for the benefit of REALTORS®. He was also the first African American president in the National Association's history. During McMillan’s year in office, NAR won passage of an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, launched a Foreclosure Prevention and Response program, worked to improve the short-sales system, claimed victory in an eight-year battle to prevent banking conglomerates from entering real estate brokerage and property management businesses, and provided members with millions of dollars worth of free and discounted resources through the Right Tools, Right Now campaign.
Before serving as the President of the National Association of REALTORS®, McMillan was First Vice-President in 2007, and Regional Vice President for NAR Region 10 in 2001 and 2002. He served on the Board of Directors from 1994, and volunteered his time and expertise in a number of national committees, including chair of the Communications, Nominating, and State & Municipal Coordinating committees. He was also been recognized by NAR as an expert in the areas of agency, antitrust, misrepresentation, fair housing, and diversity.
For the Texas Association of REALTORS®, he held past positions of President, Chairman of the Executive Board, Chairman of the Legislative Management Team, Chairman of Budget and Finance, and Chairman of Legal Review. He is also Past President of the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®.
McMillan was named REALTOR® of the Year by members of the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® in 1992 and received the association’s REALTOR® Spirit Award in 1986. He was named Texas REALTOR® of the Year in 2000. He was a member of Omega Tau Rho, the Honor Society of the National Association of REALTORS® for outstanding accomplishments in the field of real estate.
McMillan had an active civic life and was a Life Member of the Texas Real Estate Teachers Association and an approved instructor by the Texas Real Estate Commission in real estate pre-licensing and mandatory continuing education courses. He was a past chairman of the Community Development Council of Fort Worth, the Tarrant County Affordable Housing Task Force, the Housing Subcommittee of Fort Worth, and a past director of the United Way of Tarrant County and of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
Charles McMillan peacefully passed away on November 9, 2017, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Source: National Association of REALTORS® Archives
Learn more about Charles McMillan:
The Right Man at the Right Time, (REALTOR® Magazine, Jan. 2009).
One Extraordinary Year, (REALTOR® Magazine, Nov. 2009).
* Deceased