executive profile

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.

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. During the course of his brokerage career, he has trained and/or managed scores of Door County real estate professionals. He has also coordinated and/or marketed over a dozen real estate developments including Hidden Harbor Condominium, Strawberry Creek Estates, Half Mile Bridge Condominium, Meadow Bluff Farm and Top of the Hill. His personal production exceeds $160,000,000.

He 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 Door County Board of REALTORS in 1978, 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.

Gilster has served on two Wisconsin Legislative Council committees and was a Governor’s appointment to the Wisconsin Strategic Growth Task Force. He has been a director of the Door County Green Fund for 8 years.

An avocational potter and bluegrass musician, he enjoys time in his clay workshop and plays in the Fish Creek-based band Highland Road. He is also an enthusiastic organic vegetable gardener and bicyclist.