The Kentucky REALTORS® Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Josh D. Summers as its new Chief Executive Officer. The Board met on June 6th to approve the hiring of the new CEO with an effective date of June 16th. Mr. Summers will be taking the helm during Kentucky REALTORS® centennial year. He arrives as the Commonwealth has experienced phenomenal growth in the real estate market with signs of a more challenging market ahead. He brings a wealth of experience in association management and leadership.
Josh comes to Kentucky from The Villages, Florida, where he served as the CEO of The Realtors® Association of Lake & Sumter Counties in Florida for three years. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer for Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® in Destin, Florida. He has also held the positions of MLS Director and Government Affairs Director with the Central Panhandle Association of Realtors®, serving on multiple Florida Realtors® Committees as well as the National Association of Realtors® Committees.
Josh is a native Floridian and spent his early years on his family farm raising cattle, riding horses, and learning the importance of a strong work ethic from a young age. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, he began his career in the real estate development and management industry. At 23, he moved into a leadership position in a property management firm focused on affordable, workforce, and student housing across the country.
Josh values spending time with his wife, daughters, family, and friends. He enjoys playing golf and traveling, and he says he is looking forward to learning more about the culture of Kentucky. “I am excited and humbled to have the opportunity to be in Kentucky and serve our membership while leading this association”, he said. “KYR is an incredible organization with a reputation of providing for their members and giving back to the community they value so deeply. I am excited to serve our members, brokers, Association Executives, and industry professionals.”
CEO search committee chair, Al Blevins, says that the process of searching for a new senior executive was fulfilling, and he was pleased to present such a well-rounded candidate to the board. “Josh is a proven leader and brings extensive real estate association management experience with him”, he said. “When President Inman shared his goal of making KYR one of the top five associations in the country, Josh’s immediate response was, ‘Being top 5 is good, but I would rather we shoot for being number one’. I look forward to Josh leading our membership and staff to great success.”