Arthur B. Birtcher

Arthur B. Birtcher is co-chairman of the Birtcher Real Estate Group and Birtcher Anderson Realty, LLC, an investor, manager and developer of pension and private equities in U.S. Realty, and the Birtcher Real Estate Group, a 65-year-old full service real estate organization which has been located throughout the United States, Mexico and Asia.

Mr. Birtcher's family came to Orange County early in the 20th century. He has been involved in the historic Mission and parish since 1960, when, he noted, the town was home to only 750 residents. He recalled, "I came to the parish about the same time as Msgr. Paul Martin [pastor of the Mission 1976-2003] did, but we were both much younger men back then!"

He has long been active in the parish; in the mid-1980's, for example, he served as co-chairman for fundraising for the new parish church. Mr. Birtcher explained, "The Mission has been the spiritual center of my family's life for many years. We want to do our part to ensure its continued growth and preservation."

Mr. Birtcher is known for his real estate expertise and philanthropy, earning such awards as the NAIOP's U.S. Developer of the Year Award and the Anti-Defamation League's Real Estate Man of the Year. He has served on numerous boards of directors for universities, schools, hospitals, financial institutions, insurance companies, foundations and the Diocese of Orange. He is a Knight of Malta and the Holy Sepulcher, past director and current member of the Papal Foundation, and recipient of the Huntington Disease Society of America's Distinguished Leadership Award and the Bishop Tod Brown Award for Exemplary Business Integrity.

He's excited about the make-up of the Mission Preservation Foundation Board and the newly adopted 5-Year Strategic Plan: "We have a marvelous and diverse group of people, with varied backgrounds and approaches, and are headed in a direction which will help the Mission continue to be a treasured historical landmark."