Getting To Know You: Christy Thompson

by Chuck Roper 30. June 2014 09:17

Everyone’s got a past. But, of course, some are just naturally more interesting than others. Three area realtors opened up to Ladue News Magazine about how they got to where they are today, and how they transfer the skills they gained in previous careers to give them an edge in the real estate industry.

By Blaise Hart-Schmidt
Ladue News Staff Writer 

Christy Thompson
Janet McAfee Real Estate


IN HER ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER, Janet McAfee Real Estate agent Christy Thompson has done everything from FBI weapons-training to health care public relations to selling houses.

Thompson grew up in St. Louis, and received her bachelors in political science from Vanderbilt University. After graduating, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked in the FBI’s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, helping with press conferences and announcements.

The position came with plenty of unique opportunities, Thompson says. She stood on the White House lawn as president Ronald Reagan landed in Marine One, helped with press conferences related to Mafia sting operations, and even sat in on a meeting with Oliver North about the Iran-Contra.
  Eventually, she went on to work as a legislative assistant for California Rep.  Norman Shumway, but home was calling.

Thompson returned to St. Louis to get her law degree, and received her juris doctor in 1992 from Saint Louis University. “After law school, I was very involved in real-estate law,” she says. “Then I segued. My father is a physician, and I became interested in malpractice defense work. I wound up working for about eight years for SSM Healthcare, where I combined my press work and legal background in their public relations office.”
 

Thompson craved a career that would give her a more flexible schedule with her husband and son.  Again, her career took a turn—this time, back to real estate. She joined Janet McAfee as an agent in 2006, and specializes in the central corridor.  In addition to being full-time sales at the agency, Thompson still is a practicing attorney in contract negotiation; she works on a contract basis as in-house legal counsel for a St. Louis based software-as-a-service company.  “The two have worked together beautifully,” she says. “I wouldn’t be nearly as informed and proactive of an agent as I am if it weren’t for my legal training. It teaches you to think on your feet, and be analytical and persuasive...What I enjoy most is negotiations and helping my clients know that they got a deal. A lot of that is due to my training and my analytical way of looking at a problem. And I’m pretty darn persuasive when I want to be.”

To reach Christy:

Christy Thompson
314.974.6140
cthompson@janetmcafee.com
www.janetmcafee.com/christythompson 

 

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