F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors’ history goes all the way back to 1910. Eli G. Huber founded Huber Realty in that year. Being a Realtor in those days wasn’t easy. Financing was often hard to come by. And, showing property was even harder.

Take Mr. Huber’s first sale. It was a farm, located near Rockport, Indiana. Traveling from Evansville by horse and buggy, it took him all morning just to reach Rockport. He picked up his prospects and rode out to the property. It was dark by the time Mr. Huber had finished showing the farm. His prospects insisted he spend the night with them instead of traveling back to Evansville. He did and the sale was finalized the next day.

How times have changed. Automobiles soon replaced horses and buggies and the showing of houses became much easier. Huber Realty Company changed, too. In 1945, Eli’s son, Curtis E. Huber, joined the firm. It was just after the war, and army life had taught Curt Huber that standardized forms made business run more smoothly, but there were no standard forms in the real estate business. Listing authority, for example, was granted by a signed letter from the property owner. Curt Huber developed standard listing contracts, sales contracts, and a variety of other forms for use by Huber Realty Company.

With returning servicemen needing homes, the area’s housing market was booming. Other real estate companies began forming. One of those companies was Emge Realty Company, founded in 1946 by Norman J. Emge. Mr. Emge was an accountant and brought with him a strong work ethic and a commitment to professional ethics to his new business.

Emge quickly became a leader in the real estate business and in 1963 Norman’s son, Keith, joined the firm. A graduate of Northwestern University, Keith had majored in real estate and then served as a Naval Supply Corp Officer before joining the company, bringing with him not only knowledge and experience, but an understanding that the real estate business could not be concerned with just hometown interests. Like Curt Huber, Keith Emge realized the importance of an efficiently run business and the importance of learning from others. Keith became active in the Indiana Real Estate Commission and served as Vice-President. In 1984, Keith bought the company from his father.

In 1987, Huber Realtors became the first firm in Indiana to affiliate with the state’s largest independent Real Estate Brokerage, the F.C. Tucker Company, Inc. Huber Realtors then became F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors. In 1988, Kevin Eastridge joined F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors as sales manager. His banking background with an MBA in business prepared him well for the rapid growth the company would experience. Kathy Briscoe came to F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors from Don Cox and Associates in 1991 and partnered with Eastridge to purchase the company in 1992. With Briscoe’s background in education and a Masters from the University of Evansville and Eastridge’s banking experience, the two joined together to launch a new partnership in real estate.

The firm began to enjoy the advantages of association with a large regional broker. Expanded services included excellent training and continuing educational opportunities for sales associates, worldwide relocation services and professional advertising and marketing services. Besides, their main residential and commercial office in Evansville, F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors opened an office in Newburgh in 1994 and a third office was opened in Vincennes in 1997.

Emge Realty continued to grow, too. With several offices in Evansville, they expanded with an office in Newburgh, another in Mt. Vernon and provided real estate information and services from their Eastland Mall office.

Both F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors and Emge Realty became leaders in the real estate industry in Southern Indiana. Both companies are active in the Evansville Board of Realtors. Serving as president of the board and on various committees has kept Keith Emge, Kathy Briscoe and Kevin Eastridge all active members of the board. All three worked hard to promote excellence in service, and provided excellent training opportunities for sales associates. They have always encouraged their own real estate agents to become active in the community and at the state level. Both companies realized they had the same goals . . . to provide the best service for both their buyers and their sellers, to provide the best training for their agents, and to continue to work with the community to make Evansville, and Indiana, a better place to live.

The turn of a new century brought many new changes in the real estate industry. Just as Eli G. Huber saw the changes made by the availability of the automobile, F.C. Tucker/Huber Realtors and Emge Realtors both understood the changes computers would bring. They were the first companies in the area to offer technological support to their agents, offer Virtual Tours of their properties on the Internet and provide better service for their customers with information on every listing from the entire multi-list system on their web sites.

In February 2002, these two real estate companies joined together to become F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors. The tradition of integrity, excellence and service, established back in 1910 by Eli G. Huber and in 1946 by Norman J. Emge, continues today with Kathy Briscoe and Kevin Eastridge, as owners.. The name has changed, but the professional, personalized service Southern Indiana has come to know, has not. F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors . . . if houses could talk, oh, the stories they could tell . . . and they’d choose to Talk to Tucker.