Tad Gilster was raised in the Chicago area and earned a B.A. in English Literature from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He moved to Door County in 1974 and began his real estate brokerage career the following year. Tad has more than 40 years experience as a real estate broker. Prior to joining True North Real Estate in 2009, he founded several brokerage firms including The Gilster Company and Door County Horizons. He also maintains a consulting firm, A H Gilster Jr Real Estate Consulting. He has coordinated and/or marketed over a dozen real estate developments including Hidden Harbor Condominium, Strawberry Creek Estates, Half Mile Bridge Condominiums, Meadow Bluff Farm and Top of the Hill. Tad has focused on listing and selling some of the county’s finest residential and commercial properties. His consulting work includes project design, litigation advisory service, expert witness testimony and appraisal review. He has also been active in organized real estate. He was President of the Wisconsin REALTORS Association in 1988 and Regional Vice President of the National Association of REALTORS in 1991. He chaired over a dozen committees of the Wisconsin association and has chaired both the Risk Reduction and Resort Real Estate committees of the National Association. He was named Door County REALTOR of the Year in 1980 and Wisconsin REALTOR of the Year in 1994. An avid bluegrass musician, Tad is part of the Fish Creek-based band Highland Road. He is also an enthusiastic organic vegetable gardener and bicyclist. Tad finds the peninsula a unique blend of rural beauty and cultural sophistication. “Door County is at the top when it comes to that combination. Artists or not, it seems that everybody who makes Door County their home has an interest in some facet of the cultural scene here.”