Our Team

While you will find the “Wingate Team” logo on our employee jackets, shirts, and hats, it is more than just a label. Our staff is a family of diverse appraisal and assessment talents. With an average tenure of 17 years we are especially proud of the experience our team offers. Whether an employee has a decade of data entry experience or dozens of years of valuation experience, each member of the Wingate Team is committed to delivering quality professional results. We accept nothing less.   

Don Thomas

In 1989, Don joined the Wingate Team as an appraiser trainee. Over the years he has developed professional skills as an appraiser, project supervisor, and state approved assessor. He now serves as the company President and COO.

He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and is a Virginia Certified General Real Estate Appraiser.  Over the years, he has estimated the value of a variety of properties and has qualified as an expert witness on a number of occasions. 

Being a lifelong resident of the Roanoke area, he and his family make their home in Salem, Virginia.  In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, woodworking in his shop, listening to music, and cheering for the Hokies.   

Mike Wingate

Mike graduated Cum Laude from Emory & Henry College in 1982 with a B.A. in Management. During his college summers he began working as a Data Collector and Appraiser Trainee for Wingate. In 1984 he came to work for the company full-time.

In 2015 he transitioned into his role as Vice President and CIO and is licensed as a Virginia Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser. He is well-versed in many CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) software systems and their databases, and trains and supervises Reassessment data entry personnel and assists locality staff with various computer hardware and software needs.

Other responsibilities are the design and printing of reports, property cards as necessary, notices of value, and Reassessment Books.