With a five-page résumé listing everything from community activities to a longtime involvement in the real estate industry, he is well qualified to take the job. A familiar face in the local community, Gates is known for his past service as president of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce in 1987 and for his involvement in the Lions Club and the Los Gatos­Saratoga chapter of the American Red Cross.

As a Realtor for 32 years, formerly with Ridge Properties, Gates has been involved with the national, state and local associations of Realtors for more than 20 years. He has chaired numerous committees including professional standards, budget and finance, mediation and local government relations. He served as president of the Los Gatos­Saratoga District Board of Directors and was named Realtor of the Year in 1986.

In addition to his vast real estate industry expertise, Gates is a genuinely nice guy who is looking forward to a year where he hopes to highlight the important work accomplished by the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors on behalf of consumers. Some of the real estate issues he will focus on as president include housing affordability, mediation, technology, government relations and the preservation of property rights.

"I see us keeping on track for the coming year and making our association more user-friendly for both Realtor members and the public," Gates said. "We will be reaching out into the community to educate people about our services and to keep them in touch with what we have to offer."

Gates hopes to initiate educational seminars for community members on topics of interest such as finances, escrow and other real estate or real estate-related issues. The association is currently looking for larger headquarters that could serve as a training facility for Realtors, as well as a center for educational programs for consumers.

In addition to bringing the association's website up to speed and streamlining agreements for professional standards, Gates would like to develop a stronger ombudsman program as an enhancement to the association's mediation program.

"Mediation is a very valuable tool and I would like to develop an ombudsman program as a step before mediation. An ombudsman can nip things in the bud and take the air out of the balloon by solving problems before there is a lawsuit," Gates said.

Technology is another important focus of the association. "We've worked hard to get up to speed on technology and to help get Realtors more efficient in technology, especially since we are in the middle of an 'e-world' here in Silicon Valley," Gates said.

Government affairs and housing affordability are two issues Gates will place on the front burner. Last year the association established an ad hoc committee on housing affordability, and Gates plans to make it a new standing committee this year.

"There is a concern that kids can't even live in the neighborhoods where they grew up, and teachers, police and firefighters can't live in the communities where they work. We'll be working closely with the California Association of Realtors and looking at ways to address this issue at a local level as well," Gates said.

The association will also be forming cooperative alliances with nearby Realtor associations in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County to work with state, county and city officials on issues affecting consumers and real estate such as point of sale, retrofitting, granny flats and growth.

"We will be stressing local government relations committee activities and encouraging more Realtors to become involved in property issues so that we can respond to things at a local level. We'll also be raising funds for our political action committee and putting more emphasis on government affairs," Gates said. "Preserving property rights is the backbone of the industry, along with a focus on making sure people have access to affordable housing."

In addition, Gates said the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors will continue its charitable activities in the local community through its charitable foundation trust that provides grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships to high school students. He takes the association's ambitious to-do list in stride and credits "a good staff, strong committees and great leadership" for making his job easy.

Gates, who likes to read, hike and cook, is a man of action. He is also modest. "I'm just keeping the ship afloat and will just work to keep an already successful organization on track," Gates said as he described the coming year as president of the multifaceted Realtor group.

When Gates is not conducting association business or selling mountain properties, he can be found splitting wood at his own property in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he lives with his wife, Laine.

For more information, check out the website at www.silvar.org.