Kent Dover

TRI-LAKES AREA — Kent Dover has been a resident of Hot Springs since 2000, but his Spa City connection goes back to his childhood when his parents had a condo on Lake Hamilton. Now his parents, his grandmother and brother also live here.

“It is a multifaceted resort area, where tourists come and decide to stay,” Dover said. “It has the pace of small-town life, but there is also culture and a quality of life that I enjoy as a downtown resident.”

The 38-year-old businessman likes his adopted hometown so much, he sells it to others, a piece at a time, as a Realtor. Dover, a real estate broker at ERA Rushing McAdams Polychron Realtors, is good at marketing his community, enough to be named Arkansas Realtor of the Year on Oct. 6 during the annual meeting of the Arkansas Realtors Association.

The award is given to recognize a Realtor’s business accomplishments; community service; activity in the local, state and national Realtor organizations; and adherence to the Golden Rule.

“I was very excited and honored to be chosen at our convention,” Dover said.

Becoming a Realtor was not at the top of the list of careers the England, Ark., native was thinking about while he was growing up.

His parents divorced when he was in the third grade, he said. His mother, Bobbie, married Philip Rushing.

“He is my dad,” Dover said proudly.

As a boy, Dover said, he was more interested in reading than in sports and was a good student.

“I read everything I could get my hands on,” he said. “When I was at my grandparents, I read the encyclopedia.”

Dover wanted to be a psychologist and earned a degree in the subject from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“I moved to Little Rock about a day after I graduated from high school,” Dover said. “I was ready to see the big city and see what it had to offer.”

He enjoyed his new home in the capital city, but in 1991, the residence came with somewhat of a distraction.

“It was Gennifer Flowers’ old condo,” Dover said. “One tabloid called all the time and asked if I knew her number. I told them I was just the next resident.”

Flowers allegedly had an affair with President Bill Clinton.

After graduation from UALR, he found psychology was not the career he had imagined.

“My first job was at UAMS (the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) as a research assistant working on grant projects,” Dover said. “I decided to go to graduate school and study business.”

Dover attended Texas A&M and earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

“By then my parents, who had gotten their real estate licenses earlier, had moved to Hot Springs and opened the office,” he said. “I came to work with them and started at the family business.”

Dover also earned a real estate license and started as a salesman. He earned the title of Realtor in 2003 and became a real estate broker in 2006.

Dover became active in his profession. He became president of the Hot Springs Board of Realtors and was active in the state and national organizations.

He also volunteered in his community. He worked with Habitat for Humanity of Garland County and is a patron of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Hot Springs. He also helped the Hot Springs Music Festival start using social media applications.

When presenting the Realtor of the Year Award to Dover, Mike Henry, president of the state Realtors association, cited Dover as a pioneer in using social media to promote his real estate business.

Dover’s work in social media was so impressive that HGTV (Home and Garden Television) featured him in a video for the cable network’s real estate site FrontDoor.com.

Dover said he got involved in using social media because of the changes the Internet brought to the real estate industry.

“Like in all industries, consumers wanted as much information and data as they can get,” he said. “Instead of real estate being hurt like the travel industry was, the Internet strengthened the need for the consumer to find more advice and information. They need to know more about neighborhoods, to find a good lender or title company. Consumers want answers, and if they don’t get it, they move on.”

When a person visits the website for the real estate firm where Dover is a broker, a message pops up offering to answer questions. He also uses a Facebook page, where he offers information about the Hot Springs area.

“I’m not really selling a house on Facebook,” Dover said. “I try to establish myself as an expert of Hot Springs and, oh, by the way, I can also sell you a house.

“Later on, when they are ready to buy, I’ll be there.”

Dover is always learning more about the community where he lives and works.

“I am a member of Leadership Hot Springs. I have gotten an opportunity to find out more about the history and culture of the city,” Dover said. “It is a great place, and I am proud to be a resident.”

Staff writer Wayne Bryan can be reached at (501) 244-4460 or @arkansasonline.com.