Name: Barlow, V. Keith
Title: Founder of Barlow Appraisal Associates
Texas A&M Class: 1976
Inducted: 2014
Biography:
Keith Barlow was raised on a farm and ranch operation near the northeast Texas Panhandle town of Perryton, in Ochiltree County. He received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from West Texas A&M University (formerly West Texas State University) in May 1974. During a senior Agricultural Economics course at West Texas, Keith learned about farm and ranch appraisal, and he also learned of a new Master’s Degree Program in Land Economics and Real Estate (the LERE Program) in the Agricultural Economics Department at Texas A&M University. The decision was an easy one – to mix an agricultural background with 4-H and FFA experiences, a B.S. in Agricultural Economics, and a Master’s Degree in Land Economics and Real Estate, with a profession in agricultural real estate.
Keith enrolled in the Master of Agriculture program at Texas A&M University in January 1975. After hearing Keith play guitar and sing, Dr. A.B. “Pat” Wooten decided that Keith needed to have an internship with the Real Estate Center during the Fall of 1975 and he served as teaching assistance for Dr. Ivan W. Schmedemann in the Spring of 1976. Keith graduated with his Master’s Degree in Land Economics and Real Estate in December 1976.
Keith worked for the real estate appraisal firm of Charles R. Rhodes and Associates in Amarillo from September 1976 to December 1978. He became an independent real estate appraiser in January 1979 and taught Rural Appraisal at West Texas State. Later, he became an independent contractor with Doane-Western, moving to Midland as office manager. In 1983, he opened Barlow Appraisal Associates which continues in operation today. Over the years, Barlow Appraisal Associates has operated with a staff ranging from one to seven appraisers and interns. Nearly all staff appraisers and all interns came from the LERE Program at Texas A&M.
Before leaving Amarillo, Keith completed the requirements for the MAI designation (Member, Appraisal Institute) of the Appraisal Institute, receiving the MAI Certificate in July 1982. He was elected President of the Texas Plains Chapter of the Appraisal Institute in 1987. He served on the Master’s Degree Program Committee of the Appraisal Institute, along with Dr. Ivan W. Schmedemann, from 1990 to 1994. During that time, Keith and Dr. Schmedemann helped the LERE Program of Texas A&M become recognized by the Appraisal Institute as a degree program providing the basic body of knowledge for the real estate appraisal profession, obtaining education credit to graduate students from the LERE Program in their advancement to the MAI designation.
In 1984, Keith received the ARA or Accredited Rural Appraiser Designation of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA). He served on the Board of Directors along with various officer positions with the Texas Chapter of the ASFMRA, and was elected Texas Chapter President in 1992. He attended the ASFMRA Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., and served on the ASFMRA Appraisal Education Committee from 1995 to 1997, and the National Relations Committed in 1998. He also worked with the ASFMRA Education Foundation at several national meetings, serving as District V Vice President of the ASFMRA from 2001 to 2003.
In 2008, Keith was awarded the designation of MRICS, which is a Member, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. That designation was upgraded in 2010 to FRICS or Fellow, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Keith has been active in the former LERE graduate student association which has provided continuing support and scholarships to the Graduate Real Estate Program at Texas A&M University. This organization was originally named the Association of Texas Real Estate Economists (ATREE), with the name later changed to the Society of Real Estate Professionals (STAMREP). Today, this group is commonly known as the Aggie Real Estate Network. Keith was a founding member of the group, serving on the Board of Directors from 1979 to 1980, President in 1981, and a subsequent term on the Board of Directors. This group has provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to graduate real estate students attending Texas A&M over the years. Keith attended the first unofficial meeting of this group in the Fall of 1977, and has attended every annual meeting since.
On a local level, Keith was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Midland from 2000 to 2007. He served as Vice Chairman and Chairman, as well as serving in various committees.
Keith and his wife of 31 years, Margie, live in Midland. Margie, a Certified Public Accountant, is an Accounting Manager with Parallel Petroleum.
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