Jim Howard has served two terms as President of what is now AAGLA, and has been a director of the organization for over 40 years. Jim currently serves as Chairman of AAGLA's Legal Affairs Committee, and is a member of AAGLA's Nominating Committee.

 

Jim graduated from John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, and then earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from UCLA in 1954. In 1957, he completed the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company Graduate Engineering Training Program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked in the field of engineering sales.

 

In 1959, Jim purchased his first apartment building. After continuing to invest in real estate, he decided to leave the engineering field in 1965 and devote his full time to real estate and real estate investments.

 

As a Whittier Realtor he used the knowledge he acquired as an investor to assist others entering the investment field.

 

Jim specialized in commercial properties, leases, sales and apartment investments. After becoming an Investment and Exchange Counselor, Jim opened his own firm in 1970. He is the past President of West Coast Exchangors and served two terms as President of Los Angeles Metropolitan Exchangors, and was also a member of the National Society of Exchange as Counselors.

 

As a teacher, Jim holds a lifetime certificate as an instructor for the California Community College System, and taught Real Estate Exchanges and Taxation for many years at the Golden West and Rio Hondo Colleges. He also gave seminars on real estate exchanges, which were approved by the State of California for the 45 hours of continuing education required for real estate license renewal.

 

For 10 years he lectured nationally on how to build a fortune in real estate based upon the best selling book How I Turned $1,000 Into $1 Million in Real Estate In My Spare Time by William Nickerson.

 

Jim is the former President of the Whittier Rotary Club, and served as Chairman of the Free Enterprise Committee of the Whittier Chamber of Commerce for over 12 years.

 

He and his wife, Marjorie, live in Hacienda Heights. They have three married children and five grandchildren.