Meet the 2026 EPBR Leadership Team, Cultivating Legacy in the Eastern Panhandle
- marysol64
- Apr 27
- 5 min read
Trade-association leadership rotations rarely make headlines. But the 2026 officer slate at the Eastern Panhandle Board of REALTORS® tells a story worth telling, one about how a 580-member organization grows its own leaders, hands the baton with intention, and treats every year as a chance to build on the last.
The theme set by 2025 President Angela Horner was simple: cultivate legacy. A year later, watching that legacy take shape in the people now leading EPBR, it's a theme that's earning its keep.
Here's who's at the table for 2026.
The 2026 EPBR Officers
Erin Alter (President) - Erin came up through the EPBR ranks as a director, secretary, and active committee volunteer, including the forms committee. She served as 2025 President-Elect and now steps into the presidency for 2026.
Gerry Williams (President-Elect.) - Gerry chairs the Community Service Committee and served as 2025 Vice President. In 2026 he moves into the President-Elect seat, on track to lead the board next year.
Jackie Dayhuff (Vice President) - Jackie steps into the VP role for 2026, joining a leadership team that has been planning together since long before the gavel was passed.
Nancy Williams (Treasurer) - Nancy continues in the treasurer role, bringing the institutional memory that keeps the board's finances steady through every transition.
Dawn Dodson (Secretary) - Dawn continues as secretary, the keeper of the record across multiple administrations.
Angela Horner (Past-President) - Angela's 2025 presidency set the tone for everything happening now. As Past-President in 2026, she remains an active voice on the leadership team and a mentor to the officers stepping up behind her.
You can see photos and contact information for each officer on the EPBR Staff page.
A Vision Built on "Cultivating Legacy"
When Angela Horner introduced her vision as 2025 President, she summed it up in two words: cultivate legacy. She put it this way:
"My theme this year was to cultivate legacy. Within our board, and especially within our leadership team, which also includes Nancy Williams as treasurer and Dawn Dodson as secretary, they bring a lot of wisdom and experience to us. Where they have been leaders in the past, helping us lean on that legacy, hopefully we cultivate what they've done. Honoring that, but then supporting what we have in our present, and building on that in the future."
It's a posture that defines how EPBR transitions year to year. New officers step in not as replacements but as inheritors, building on what's been done, listening to the past leaders still in the room, and adding their own chapter.
The 2026 rotation is the clearest proof of that vision in action. Erin, Gerry, and Angela served together in 2025; in 2026, they're still serving together, just with different titles. The legacy keeps being cultivated.
Leadership Is About Influence, Not Title
A line that surfaced repeatedly across the 2025 leadership conversation has carried into 2026:
"Leadership is not about the title, it's about the influence that we have."
For EPBR, that means a renewed focus on presence, engagement, and growth, equipping leaders with the tools, training, and resources to serve members well, and creating a culture of collaboration, accountability, and innovation across every committee.
It's also a reminder to members that you don't need an officer title to lead at EPBR. Every member who chairs a committee, teaches a class, mentors a new agent, or shows up to volunteer is exercising the kind of influence the leadership team is talking about.
Community Service: Quality Over Quantity
Gerry Williams, who chaired the Community Service Committee in 2025 and continues to shape its direction in 2026, has been pushing the committee toward a different kind of impact:
"One of the biggest changes we're making is to incorporate ways that you can give with your time, not just finances or donating. What does that look like? Visiting the VA and spending time with our veterans locally. We want to open up a variety of opportunities. We've always done that, but we're putting a little more emphasis on quality versus quantity, so we can have a broader impact and really put a lot of thought into what we're doing."
That philosophy has shaped a calendar of community service work that spans all three counties EPBR serves, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan, and emphasizes presence and relationships alongside fundraising. Members looking to get involved can volunteer through EPBR anytime.
Education That Sets EPBR Apart
One of EPBR's quiet competitive advantages is the depth of its education program. The board has more accredited instructors than nearly any other in West Virginia, and the leadership team is consistently focused on keeping the program strong.
"In our area, we have several instructors which most areas don't have. There are only a few boards in the state that have as many instructors as we do, we're very, very blessed. And they're really good instructors too."
That depth shows up in the lunch-and-learn series, the annual CE event, the partnerships with the West Virginia Real Estate Commission to keep members current on regulatory changes, and the designation tracks, ABR®, CRS, GRI, CCIM, CIPS, and more, that EPBR supports throughout the year.
There's also a strong preference for in-person learning that the leadership team has been intentional about preserving:
"Doing it in person is so much better than doing it online. I don't just learn from the instructor, I learn from the people around us. That's half the battle. You're in a room with folks encountering the same thing as you, and you're having real conversations."
The full schedule of upcoming events is always posted on the EPBR site.
How Members and Communities Can Get Involved
The 2026 leadership team has been open about wanting to bring more members closer to the work. A few of the doors that are open:
Visit a brokerage office: Officers and directors are available to come to brokerage meetings and networking events to share what EPBR does and answer questions. Reach out through the EPBR contact page to set one up.
Join a committee: Six standing committees, Building, Community Service, Education, Legislative/RPAC, Programs, and Public Relations/Web, welcome new volunteers year-round.
Attend an event: Lunch-and-learns, CE classes, and the annual continuing education day are open to all members and built around real-world member needs.
Get involved at the state level.: EPBR has been increasingly intentional about creating pathways for local members to take on leadership at the West Virginia Association of REALTORS® level.
A Year of Building Forward
If there's a thread running through the 2026 leadership team, it's this: we are not starting from scratch. We are continuing something. The treasurer and secretary have been here for years. The Past-President is still at the table. The President-Elect has been preparing alongside the President for two years already. The newest officer, Vice President Jackie Dayhuff, joins a team whose vision and values have been articulated, lived, and carried forward.
Cultivating legacy, it turns out, is not a slogan. It's the actual mechanism by which EPBR keeps its work strong year after year.
If you're a REALTOR® or affiliate who wants to be part of it, learn more about EPBR membership or get in touch with the board. And if you've been on the sidelines, the 2026 team has a clear invitation: come drop in. Bring someone from your office. The door is open.
Comments