President and CEO
Office: 207-373-1251

"To me, success is loving what you do and getting someone to pay you to do it, then making enough that you can give back.”

Jim Howard is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Priority Real Estate Group, LLC. He’s been involved in business since the age of 15 with experiences that ranged from operating gas stations to owning two motorcycle dealerships, franchise restaurants, video stores and commercial real estate. 

In 1993, Jim became a partner and Chief Operating Officer of Home Vision Video. He built and operated the 56 store video rental chain in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Under Jim’s leadership, Home Vision became the 10th largest privately owned video rental business in the country with annual sales of $30,000,000.

After selling Home Vision to Movie Gallery in 1996, Jim built and operated Video Galaxy, a 24 store video rental chain in Connecticut with annual sales of $16,500,000.

Following the sale of Video Galaxy, Jim became Vice President of Real Estate Operations for West Coast Video. He was responsible for overseeing all real estate for their 457 store video rental chain.

In 1998, Jim founded Priority Real Estate Group to invest in commercial real estate. Since then, he has grown the company from owning one property to having built, owned and managed a portfolio of $155,000,000 in commercial real estate. Priority Real Estate Group has consulted on and constructed over $450,000,000 of Commercial Real Estate in Maine and New Hampshire.

Mr. Howard has served as a board member for Topsham Development Inc. (TDI), the economic group responsible for the planning and development of the Town of Topsham, Maine; a board member of Parkview Hospital (Brunswick, ME); an advisory member for the Bank of Maine, and a Corporator for Androscoggin Bank. He was appointed by Governor John Baldacci as a member of the Traffic Commission for the redevelopment of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, and continues to consult for businesses and organizations throughout Maine.

Jim previously served 7 years on the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) board. He was the Chair of the Business Committee, and was appointed Treasurer in July, 2019.

Jim also oversees Priority Real Estate Group’s Community Development Program which is responsible for over $100,000 of annual donations to community organizations.

He resides in Topsham with his wife of 31 years, Sue, and their two children, Parker and Brooke. When he’s not working or with his family, Jim enjoys Cars, BBQ, and Bourbon.