"George C. Stephens is a Houston area real estate broker. He has been practicing real estate, both commercial and residential, for more than 23 years. In 1997, he formed deRaat Stephens, Inc. which continues to operate today doing business as ERA Stephens Properties since September, 1995.
Mr. Stephens is the immediate Past Chairman of the Houston Association of Realtors« ("HAR"), the largest local Realtor« association in the nation. He has served for the past six years on the HAR Board of Directors, and for the past four years on its Executive Committee. In 1998, GEAC/Interealty (HAR's MLS software vendor) funded and built a 27 station, state-of-the art training facility complete with 27 Gateway computers and proxima projector in HAR's headquarters building located at 3693 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas. To honor Mr. Stephens' local, state and national prominence as a technologically astute advisor dealing with Realtor« applications and for assisting Realtors« in achieving technological competence, the room was named by GEAC/Interealty the "George C. Stephens Technology Training Center".
Stephens received the coveted Realtor of the Year award from HAR in 1994. Mr. Stephens has also served at the state level of the Realtor« organization as a 1998 member of the Executive Board of the Texas Association of Realtors« ("TAR") Board of Directors. He was a member of its Board of Directors from 1992-1998, Chairman of the TAR Technology Task Force from 1995 through 1997, a member of the Texas Realtor« Association Information Network Management Team in 1997 and is currently a member of TAR's Budget and Finance Committee. He received the TAR 1998 Educator of the Year award in recognition of his course-writing and teaching skills.
His activities concerning the National Association of Realtors« ("NAR") in which he has been a member since 1982, reflect his local and state-related activities. He is currently a member of the NAR Board of Directors. He also serves on the NAR License Law Committee and has been involved in special meeting groups such as the 1998 NAR Strategic Plan Overview and the Future of the MLS meeting held in Chicago in April 1999.
The Texas Real Estate Commission ("TREC") appointed Mr. Stephens to the Texas Real Estate Broker-Lawyer Committee in 1993. In 1994 he was elected and continues to serve as its Secretary. The Broker-Lawyer Committee is a statutory committee charged with drafting and revising real estate contracts, forms and addenda promulgated for mandatory use by licensees by the TREC.
The Texas Real Estate Commission has certified Mr. Stephens to teach CORE Real Estate and Mandatory Continuing Education ("MCE") courses. He has authored several MCE courses dealing with The Internet, E-mail and the New Texas Contracts which have been approved by both the TREC and by the State Bar of Texas and which Mr. Stephens has taught on numerous occassions for MCE and MCLE classes.
George Stephens writes a weekly Consumer Resource column, "Ask George", for the Houston Chronicle, a twice-monthly column for Inman News Features entitled "Realty Tech Talk" and is a regular contributor to the Houston Association of Realtors NETWORK magazine with his "Technology Solutions" articles. He is internationally syndicated in various trade association journals through the Frog Pond Group and writes a weekly Technology In Perspective overview for RECON Intelligence Services (www.reconis.com) a Web site exclusively for members of the Realty Alliance.
Mr. Stephens provides consulting services to Stewart Title, RealEC™ (a cooperative effort between Stewart Title Guaranty Company and Fidelity National Title Company), VisualLink Wireless and PYX Capital, LLC."
