Client News
Fred C. Tucker, III, retires as president of F.C. Tucker Company
H. James Litten, longtime business partner and friend to become F.C. Tucker Company president and owner
INDIANAPOLIS – Today is a pivotal and positive day in the 92-year history of the F.C. Tucker Company. The company’s two leaders and sole owners are shifting their responsibilities to maintain leadership continuity and the company’s continued growth and success.
After 33 years of growing the F.C. Tucker Company into the state’s largest, Indiana-based residential real estate firm, Fred C. Tucker, III, president of F.C. Tucker Company, is retiring and selling his ownership interest to his longtime business partner and friend of many years, H. James Litten, president of F.C. Tucker Company Residential Real Estate Services.
Fred Tucker is officially retiring effective April 1, 2010, when Jim Litten will become president of the F.C. Tucker Company and assume responsibility for managing both Tucker’s Residential Real Estate Services and Tucker’s family of eight additional businesses (Home-Link Services, Title Services, L.L.C., Tucker Associates, Inc. (franchising), Tucker Insurance Agency, Tucker Mortgage L.L.C., Tucker Referrals, Inc., Tucker/Schrader Auction Company, L.P., and Tucker School of Real Estate (licensing)) and two strategic alliances (HMS Home Warranty and The Bryant Company (residential leasing and management)).
Fred C. Tucker, III, the third generation of Tuckers to run the company, following his grandfather, the founder, and his father, said, “When Jim Litten, David Goodrich and I bought the F.C. Tucker Company from my father and his partners in 1986, we wanted to strengthen and enhance the Company's position as the dominate real estate company in Indiana. Our strategy was to provide superior customer service, to develop our employees and sales associates, and to grow and mentor the leadership necessary to create long-term financial stability and growth for the company.
“Jim and I have grown the company to become the dominate real estate company in Indiana, and with this long-planned succession strategy, Jim Litten will provide the passion, drive and business intellect needed to carry F.C. Tucker Company to the next level. My grandfather and father would be just as pleased as I am.”
Under Tucker’s and Litten’s leadership, the F.C. Tucker Company has grown from $300 million in sales in 1986 to more than $2.2 billion in sales in 2009. The company now oversees 45 sales offices and more than 1,500 sales associates and employees throughout Indiana and in select markets in Kentucky.
H. James Litten said, “Fred Tucker has done so much to make the F.C. Tucker Company successful. When we bought the company from Bud Tucker, Fred’s dad, and his partners, the company provided brokerage services and insurance products. Fred’s focus on developing and growing F.C. Tucker Company’s full line of real estate services including mortgages, title insurance, a wide range of insurance products, auctioning and homeowner warranty products, created the one-stop shopping convenience experience for our customers and significantly boosted F.C. Tucker Company sales year after year.
“Fred also has been of great assistance in expanding Tucker’s reach throughout Indiana through the development and growth of a successful real estate franchise network of leading real estate companies. Moreover, Fred’s wise legal counsel and business savvy have afforded the strategic thinking necessary for the Tucker Company to thrive in today’s complex business environment.
“Over the course of his career with the F.C. Tucker Company, Fred can be proud of many, many business successes both at F.C. Tucker Company and in the real estate industry. But perhaps his most lasting legacy is his 'Golden Rule’ business philosophy – one which we at the F.C. Tucker Company intend to continue to live by.”
The community, too, has benefited greatly from Fred Tucker’s commitment to give back. His current civic endeavors, which Tucker intends to continue, include active involvement in Goodwill of Central Indiana as chairperson of the Goodwill Education Initiatives, Inc., the governing body of The Metropolitan High School; member of the board of directors and Education and Workforce Committee of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce; and board member and past chair of RESPRO, a national trade association concentrating on affiliated businesses.
Past service includes directorships with NBD Bank, N.A.; advisory board of Bank One; Anthem, Inc.; Indiana Sports Corporation; Jordan College of Fine Arts Board of Visitors, Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC); Indianapolis Rotary Club; DePauw National Alumni Association; St. Vincent’s advisory board, Junior Achievement of Central Indiana (past chair); American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis; Indiana Chamber of Commerce; Arthur Jordan Foundation; Alumni of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leaderships Services (past president); Lawrence Township School Foundation (past president); house corporation president and divisional vice president of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity; and trustee of the Indiana Association of Realtors PAC.
Tucker also served as the president of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors in 1995, where he continues his involvement through the Public Policy Committee, and served 15 years on the board of directors of the Indiana Association of Realtors.
“Fred’s has been my trusted business partner and friend for 40 years,” Litten said. I’ll miss him greatly, but certainly want to congratulate Fred as he begins enjoying the fruits of many years of hard work.”
Tucker said, “As I move forward, I am grateful to Jim for his friendship and partnership, and I am confident that he is the best person to lead the company forward to new and exciting successes.
“As a third generation Tucker, and on behalf of our family, we are grateful for the support and the friendship of our many F.C. Tucker sales associates and employees –both today and in the past. Each of our sales associates and employees has dedicated herself/himself to providing our customers with the very best in professional real estate services, and have perpetuated the Tucker name and ‘Talk to Tucker’ as a leading brand in our industry.
“Jim and I have been joined and supported by an excellent management team, and under Jim’s leadership, a vision for the future will be maintained and serve as a platform for future generations of leadership.”
Litten said, “Going forward, our strategic plan continues to serve the company well. We intend to grow annual sales and increase Tucker’s market share, as we did in 2009. We also plan to further expand the regional reach of the Company, now in two states – Indiana and Kentucky. We’ll accomplish our goals, as we always have, by providing superior service and one-stop shopping convenience for our customers.”
Litten joined F.C. Tucker Company as a residential sales associate in 1972 and quickly moved through the ranks of the organization before becoming an owner and president of Tucker’s Residential Real Estate Services in 1986.
In addition to his responsibilities with the F.C. Tucker Company, Litten serves as a Real Estate Commissioner for the State of Indiana, a position he has held for 19 years, including service as chair of the Commission for three terms.
Litten formerly served as a director on the Indiana Low Income House Trust Fund, director of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, co-chair of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Real Estate Business Magazine and director on NAR’s National Convention Committee. Litten is a featured speaker at a number of industry functions including annual conventions for both the National Association of Realtors and the Indiana Association of Realtors. In 2005 Jim was awarded the Distinguished Realtor of the Year by the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors.
# # #
With more than $2.2 billion in annual sales, F.C. Tucker Company is Indiana’s largest independently owned comprehensive real estate firm with 45 offices and more than 1,300 sales associates throughout Indiana and select markets in Kentucky. Less than 1 percent of all real estate firms have the longevity of F.C. Tucker. Founded in 1918, the company’s family of businesses includes a full range of real estate services—mortgages, title insurance, relocation services, a full line of insurance products, auctioning and homeowner warranty products. F.C. Tucker has earned a reputation for its exceptional service, experienced sales associates and “Golden Rule” commitment to its clients and employees.