WALKER McKAY
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President
Walker McKay measures professional success two ways: in what he has accomplished personally and in how he has helped others to succeed.
After graduating from Washington & Lee University, Walker McKay began his career in banking and real estate. While at Edens & Avant, one of the largest privately-held commercial real estate firms in the country, he was named Million Dollar Producer for five consecutive years. He continued his career at Asbill-Christopher Development, where he served as vice president. In 2000, he launched his own company, McKay Commercial Real Estate.
McKay began with zero clients and zero listings, and grew his company in just over two years to sell $4.5 million in commercial property largely in the Columbia area. His approach with his clients was consultative -- by his managing for those clients the complicated process of purchasing investment-grade properties on their behalf, from high-end recreational tracts to shopping centers and other investment properties.
Once himself a client at Strategic Partner, Walker McKay was personally selected and recruited by Bill McCrary, its founder and CEO in 2003 to serve as the company’s vice president and, eventually,as its president. Together, they have built Strategic Partner into a successful sales force development firm that has helped hundreds of companies and individuals in Columbia and Greenville to grow, expand, and reach their true potentials.
McKay has an inherent sense of responsibility and a desire to give back to Columbia, his hometown. He currently serves as vice president of the board of directors and provides mentoring to teenagers at St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing center for homeless families. In addition, McKay provides fundraising assistance to Children’s Garden, a daycare for homeless children developed by Volunteers of America (Carolinas). He is a past president of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School’s Alumnae Board and is both a graduate of, and a past board member of, Leadership Columbia. McKay has previously served as co-chairperson of the stewardship committee and on the vestry board of directors at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where he and his family are members. He is a member of the Columbia Rotary Club. Just for fun, Walker is one of the founders of the Vicious Bikers, a local bicycle club who ride early in the morning around Columbia.
McKay and his wife Sally have two sons, Walker III and James Mitchell.