The New England REALTORS® Committee Represents
Region 1 of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
NAR LEADERS FROM NEW ENGLAND
GILL WOODS
1995 NAR President
Holyoke, MA
Edmund G. “Gill” Woods, Jr., a REALTOR® from Holyoke, Mass., was the 1995 President of the National Association of REALTORS®. 1995 was a year of rapid technological advancement. As NAR president, Woods pushed for the National Association and its members to take advantage of technology to help meet consumer expectations and ensure the REALTOR® is the central source of information in a real estate transaction. While he was president, the ground-breaking REALTORS® Information Network was introduced, which soon evolved to become REALTOR.com.
Woods also led NAR as an advocate for homeownership and the real estate industry. He rallied REALTORS® in a winning fight to preserve the mortgage interest deduction when it was threatened by a tax reform package. “I’ve probably never been prouder to be a REALTOR® than I was this year when I saw what 750,000 REALTORS can do when they get together to protect, not just themselves, but the nation’s homeowners as well,” he said.
He and NAR also lobbied to cut capital gains taxes and supported laws that separated banks from real estate activities other than lending.
Gill was a multiple REALTOR® of the Year award winner and served as the Holyoke-Chicopee Board president in 1977-78. His committee work for the National Association includes many years as a member of NAR’s Board of Directors as well as work with the Public Policy and Strategic Planning committees. He is also a former director of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, and served as its president in 1984.
A third-generation REALTOR®, Gill’s grandfather opened a real estate office in Holyoke in 1905. As a youth Gill Woods used to hang around his parents’ real estate office in Holyoke. When he was 17 his busy father asked him to go to a nearby house that was for sale and open the door to allow prospects to walk through. The house sold.
Despite his accomplishments and heritage, Woods described himself as a typical broker who does the same things 750,000 other REALTORS® do.
SHARON MILLETT
1999 NAR President
Millett Realty, Auburn
BHG- The Masiello Group
Sharon Millett is the 1999 Past President of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), the world's largest trade association with 1.5 million members. She is the former Chair of the Fannie Mae National Advisory Board, former Co-Chair of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations, Past Chair of the Board of Regents of REALTOR University, and is a member of the REALTORS Political Action Committee's Hall of Fame, and is a Presidents Circle Member and Golden R Major Investor. Sharon was also the 1985 State President of the Maine Association of REALTORS, was the 1988 Regional Vice President of NAR, and served on the state licensing and regulation board, the Maine Real Estate Commission, for almost twenty years.
Always active in her community, Sharon has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of St Marys Regional Medical Center and St Marys Hospital, a member of the Board of Directors of Central Maine Health Corporation and Central Maine Medical Hospital, Trustee of Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine, and was named Citizen of the Year and awarded the key to the City of Auburn in 2007.
Sharon and her husband, Jerry Millett, founded Millett Realty shortly after they were married and moved to Auburn, not realizing then that it would be the start of three generations of Millett Realtors. Their two children, Tim and Trisha, joined them in the real estate business after college - and their eldest grandchild, Timothy became a commercial REALTOR after college.
Their businesses include residential and commercial brokerage, real estate development and property management.
RON PHIPPS
2011 NAR President
Phipps Realty - East Greenwich, RI
Ron Phipps, ABR, CRS, ePro, GRI, GREEN is a Broker licensed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He first became a REALTOR® in 1978 and has significant experience in Association Leadership. As the managing broker for Phipps Realty, Ron works with a talented multi-lingual team. Ron was the 2011 President for the National Association of REALTORS®. He has been involved all three levels of leadership: Local, State, and National. Ron has served the organization as 2003 Regional Vice-President, 2000 Rhode Island State President, and 1993 State-Wide Multiple Listing Service President. Acknowledgements include 2001 Good Neighbor Honorable Award Recipient; 1996 Omega Tau Rho and the 1995 Rhode Island REALTOR® of the Year.
Ron focused his craft predominantly on residential real estate with complimentary work in commercial real estate. The approach is hands on and consumer centric.
Beyond work, Ron enjoys sports, travel, reading, music and art. He has completed the Florida Ironman; the Boston Marathon, The Chesapeake Bay Swim (4.4 miles), 14 Save the Bay Swims (1.7 miles) and the Escape from Alcatraz.
Ron is proud of his family: Susan, Matt, Christina, Ian, Nicole, Caite, Amadou, Nazaré, Maria, Soren, Rafael and Cecile.
TOM RILEY
2017-2018 NAR Treasurer
Riley Enterprises - Bedford, NH
Tom Riley, president of Riley Enterprises in Bedford, NH, has been a Realtor since 1981 and has served in innumerable national and state volunteer roles, including National Association of Realtors Treasurer in 2017-18 and NHAR President in 2011. All the while, he has remained a tireless member of two local boards in his home state – the Greater Manchester/Nashua Board and the NH Commercial Investment Board.
In addition to serving as the NHAR President, Riley sat on, and ultimately chaired, NHAR’s Building Investment Task Force, which spearheaded the move of the organization’s offices from Airport Road in Concord to its offices in the Capital Commons building in downtown Concord. He has also served NHAR as its Treasurer, a longtime member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, a Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) Trustee, and in 2019 he was honored as the New Hampshire Realtor of the Year.
Riley has earned the Omega Tau Rho Medal of Service and the Distinguished Service Award, as well as a place in the PRAC President’s Circle and the NAR RPAC Hall of Fame.
In his hometown of Bedford, Riley has a resume too long to print, but it includes serving as Chair of the Town Council, Conservation Committee, Budget Committee and Finance Committee, and in 2003 he was honored by the town for 30 years of service.
He has also been a member of many civic organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Lions Club, Manchester Hospice, Feed the Children, Bedford Animal Rescue League, Boys & Girls Club, Moore Center, 100 Club of NH and Appalachian Mountain Club. Riley is passionate about travel, including a hike of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010, and in fact he was unable to attend the Sept. 18 Realtor of the Year banquet due to his long-awaited, 500-mile pilgrimage over the French Pyrenees known as the Walk of Saint James.
KEVIN SEARS
2024 NAR President-Elect
Sears Real Estate - Springfield, MA
Kevin Sears (AHWD, C2EX) is Broker/Partner of Sears Real Estate, specializing in single-family brokerage and property management. He has served NAR in numerous capacities, including as a President’s Liaison in 2019 and as NAR Vice President of Government Affairs in 2017.
Kevin has been recognized as an RPAC Major Investor since 2004 and has been a “Golden R” investor and member of the President’s Circle since 2007. He has twice been inducted into NAR’s RPAC Hall of Fame. He also served as the long-time Federal Political Coordinator to Bay State Congressman Richard Neal (D-Springfield).
Kevin chaired an RPAC Disbursements Presidential Advisory Group in 2021. In addition, he served as Chair of the NAR RPAC Trustees in 2011 and 2015 and Chair of the REALTOR® Party Trustees for State and Local Campaign Services Committee in 2013. In 2016, he chaired the REALTOR® Party of the Future Strategic Planning Work Group. Also in 2016, he was NAR’s Vice President for Region 1, comprised of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® elected Kevin President in 2010. In addition to serving in leadership, Kevin has been a member of the MAR Board of Directors since 2000. In 2006, MAR named him REALTOR® of the Year and in 2015 he received the Milton H. Shaw Distinguished Service Award.
The REALTOR® Association of Pioneer Valley (Mass.) elected Kevin their president in 2005. He has chaired a number of the association’s committees and in 2006, the association named him their REALTOR® of the Year.
Kevin is also a champion for his community. In 2011, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed him as Chairman of the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons (the state’s real estate commission), a position he was reappointed to in 2016 by Gov. Charlie Baker.
In his hometown of Springfield, Kevin has been involved with the Rental Housing Association of Greater Springfield, the Forest Park Civic Association, the Springfield Rotary Club, the Cathedral High School Board of Trustees, the Chamber of Commerce, and is a Trustee of the Mason Wright Retirement Community.
Kevin received a B.A. in History from Providence College and earned his MBA from Western New England University.