On Dec. 30 at 5:49 p.m., Mark Hite published a photograph of the sun setting on the waters that border Key West, Florida, on his Facebook page. “The end of a beautiful day in North America,” Hite posted above the image of a horizon burning with hues of orange and yellow above a dropping ember, which he possibly captured from a vantage point near the condominium he owned there.
Two days later, Hite died unexpectedly at the age of 58.
The photograph tells two stories. The first is of Hite’s success as a Realtor, his occupation for the last 21 years of his life. From underpricing his own house when he tried to sell it as a “for sale by owner” during his waning days as a retail executive to leading a team of 16 agents and staff members as they closed 241 listings and tallied more than $71 million in sales in 2023, Hite soared to great heights in Chattanooga’s real estate market.
The photograph of the setting sun testifies to the monetary success Hite experienced as a result. However, the image also tells a story about Hite’s generosity.
Although Hite prospered, he didn’t hoard the fruits of his labors, but rather shared them liberally with others, including individuals and many charitable organizations. “If you want to have a successful local business, you need to reinvest in your community,” said Hite, who gave $200,000 to charities in 2022, in an interview that year with the Hamilton County Herald. “While you can look across the world and see many needy causes, you can also look through your window and spot the homeless people, the poverty and the unfair housing inequities in our communities – and we have a responsibility to help our neighbors.”
While perceiving how the Key West photo illustrates Hite’s heart for charity isn’t easy, Hite’s longtime housekeeper, Diana Winter, says she can’t look at it without collapsing into tears because of how it reminds her of his kindness.
“Most people would say, ‘She just cleaned his house, so she didn’t matter,’ but I did to Mark,” Winter says. “When he invited me to be his guest at his table for PINK after I survived breast cancer, I cried and cried. He also purchased my outfit and had special shoes made for me. He wanted me to feel like a person again.”
When Winter was diagnosed with heart failure in 2023, Hite sent her to his Key West condo and then texted her every day to tell her when to be at Mallory Square to watch the sun set.
“He loved the sunsets there,” Winter notes. “When I saw his photo on Facebook, I knew he was at peace and was in a place he cherished.”
Community servant
Many of the nonprofits to which Hite donated his time and expertise also expressed sadness in the wake of his death.
“Today, we celebrate Mark Hite, a true servant and community leader,” read a statement from Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area, where Hite was in his seventh year of board service when he died. “A leader like no other, Mark showed up for every home dedication and for every meeting. He’ll be missed, but his legacy will continue to inspire us as we work toward our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
The Rotary Club of Chattanooga reminded the public that Hite was more than a Realtor in its statement, which read, “It’s with great sadness that we share the passing of Rotarian Mark Hite. Mark was not only an active Rotarian, but one of the many reasons Chattanooga is the special place that it is. His commitment to nonprofits was legendary, and he was always thinking of ways to make a difference in the community he loved.’”
Chambliss Center for Children President and CEO Katie Harbison says Hite was a powerful advocate and friend of the agency, where he served as chairman in 2023.
“Mark was always the first to step up when he saw a need, and he made many of those gestures quietly. A true philanthropist, Mark gave generously of his time and money. This community has lost one of its best.”
Realtor Melodye Catherine Zimmerman met Hite in the 2000s and later served with him on the boards of what is now Cempa Community Care, which provides preventive and primary health care services, and The Launch Pad, a home for women recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction.
Zimmerman says Hite spearheaded many of the changes that transformed Cempa into a culturally-sensitive organization focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and praises his contributions to Launch Pad.
“Mark was knowledgeable, had great connections and gave a considerable amount of his time and talents to The Launch Pad. His loss is tough for the many people he championed.”
Real estate magnate
Hite served his profession with equal vigor. Soon after becoming a Realtor in 2002, he graduated from Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ Leadership Academy and later served on several of the association’s committees, including the Budget and Finance, Community Partnerships, Governmental Affairs, Grievance and MLS committees. Ultimately, Hite was elected to Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ board of directors and became its president – a role he filled in 2012 and 2017.
Hite also served as a director for Tennessee Realtors in 2016 and 2017. As part of his volunteer appointments, he participated in the state and national hill visits, during which he spoke with elected officials about issues impacting the real estate industry and private property rights.
Greater Chattanooga Realtors CEO and Executive Vice President Carol Seal says Hite used his marketing background to provide solid guidance on how the association communicates with its members and the public.
“Mark’s passion for following market trends was well-known among our members, and he was always willing to provide guidance when helping to raise funds for our community partners,” Seal also notes. “We’ll all feel the absence of his voice and influence in the Greater Chattanooga community.”
Hite served not only his profession but also his business when he assumed the moniker of Local Mark after an out-of-town Mark tried to pilfer local homes sales by placing ads on nearly every available billboard in Chattanooga in early 2022. During an interview with the Herald, Hite expressed his desire to defend not only his business but all local real estate agents against the incursion.
“I believe this community values people who live locally, work locally and contribute to the community,” Hite said.
After word of Hite’s death reached his fellow Realtors, many of them took to social media to express their dismay at the loss.
Darlene Brown, who served as Hite’s managing broker at Real Estate Partners after he left Keller Williams in 2020, said his death left the staff and agents at the firm heartbroken.
“We’ve experienced a great loss that will be felt deeply within our company, across our real estate industry, and throughout our city for a long time,” Brown wrote in a public statement. “I’m reminded of Mark’s unwavering standard of excellence and desire to make a meaningful impact where it was needed most. I hope we all enter 2024 with a similar mindset. It’s what Mark would want.”
Tricia Heider, a listing agent with The Mark Hite Team, says Hite impacted her life in positive ways.
“His excitement and encouragement made me want to not just sell a home but to also change someone’s life, while his enthusiasm and ability to make a difference in peoples’ lives inspired me to become involved in his charities,” Heider says. “Mark was kind and generous, and there will never be another person like him.”
Beth Kincade Janis, who has been a member of Hite’s team since 2017, composed a Facebook post that read as though Hite was able to read about how well she regarded him.
“I looked up to you not only as a boss but also as a mentor and a safe haven. I never would have made it in this business without your help and encouragement. You were one of the kindest, most uplifting humans I’d ever met, and you had a work ethic no one could match. I’m thankful for everything you taught me and will be forever grateful for the lessons I learned.”
Before real estate
Hite grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, and once described his upbringing as “typically Southern.”
“Daddy worked in a coal-fired plant, and mother worked in magazine distribution,” Hite said in a 2017 interview with the Herald.
Hite attended college at the University of Kentucky, where he intended to study broadcast journalism. After he decided he wasn’t pretty enough for TV, Hite considered print journalism. While he enjoyed writing, he wanted to find a more lucrative line of work.
Unsure about where to turn, Hite took a career assessment test. He said the results surprised him. “It said I should be a mortician, a minister or in sales,” Hite said in 2017. “The first two are honorable professions, but sales was a better fit for me.”
After earning a degree in marketing, Hite spent 15 years in retail. During his last eight years in the business, he worked for Saks, which moved him to Chattanooga in 1999.
While living in the Scenic City, Hite made friends outside of work, found a church he liked and started to enjoy where he was living, so when Saks told him it was time to move again, Hite found a way to stay: real estate.
The door to Hite’s second career opened when he put his house on the market as a FSBO. Although a shrewd business executive, Hite did what many people do when they try to sell their own home: he underpriced his property.
Hite was still unaware of his mistake when Realtor Melba Pack brought him a buyer. When the home inspector found a problem, the buyer wanted Hite to pay for the repairs.
By this time, Hite knew he’d be leaving money on the table if he sold his house at the price he was asking, so he read the fine print on the contract before agreeing to the buyer’s demands. While pouring over the details of the document, he realized he could legally terminate the deal because of the dollar limit Tennessee had placed on homeowner repairs.
Intending to halt the sale and then put his house on the market at a higher price, Hite told Pack he wouldn’t be selling to her buyer. Melba, however, encouraged her buyers to pay for the repairs.
“They did, and I sold the house to them,” Hite recalled.
Impressed, Pack told Hite he should consider becoming a Realtor. Although Hite couldn’t see himself being in direct sales, he agreed to meet with Pack’s broker at the time, Mike Givens of Prudential. Givens agreed to bring Hite on. Five years later, Hite joined Keller Williams to revitalize his business, and the rest, as he said in 2017, was history.
Saying goodbye
As the community Hite served continues to honor him with hundreds of expressions of gratitude and grief on his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MarkHiteTeam), a voice from outside the realms of real estate and philanthropy has emerged to declare her sorrow upon hearing of his death: Anna Duggins Rodgers, who dated Hite many years ago, and who has provided another window into the heart of the person Chattanooga has lost.
“I’ll never forget the respect you gave me during the five years we dated,” Rodgers wrote on Facebook. “Few young women had the privilege of dating someone who prayed with them at the end of every phone call and every date, or of spending Sunday afternoons reading Scripture together. You taught me so much, and I’ll be forever grateful to you.”
On Dec. 26 – four days before photographing the sun setting off the shores of Key West – Hite posted what will serve as his final message to his vast circle of friends, family and associates on Facebook. It read, simply, “Today is a good day to be kind.”
As the sun sets on a life well regarded, it’s end of a beautiful day in Chattanooga. But Rodgers concludes her tribute by suggesting tomorrow will be beautiful, too, and people will continue to be kind, because of the impact Hite had on his community and the lives of its residents.
“True to the man you always were, you left the world a better place,” Rogers wrote. “Thank you for the blessings and all the beautiful memories.”