1504 5th Avenue West
Hendersonville, NC 28739
Appointed by the General Assembly
July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023
Thomas M. “Tom” Apodaca graduated from Western Carolina University in 1980 with a
degree in business administration. A resident of Hendersonville, he served on the
WCU Board of Trustees from 1997 until 2002, when he was elected to the North Carolina
Senate representing District 48.
Mr. Apodaca became known as a highly effective senator during his 14 years in office, which included time as chairman of the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee and Rules Committee. He was instrumental in WCU receiving $1.4 million to expand its engineering program to the Asheville‐Hendersonville area, a development that university officials considered critical to the economic development of the region. He also was a prime mover behind legislation that created the “NC Promise” tuition plan, which reduced the cost of tuition at WCU and two other University of North Carolina System institutions.
Mr. Apodaca’s efforts in office also included supporting legislation that aided the state’s educational system, including bills to strengthen digital learning environments in public schools, support programs for children who are hearing‐ impaired, improve budget flexibility for public schools, increase veterans’ access to state higher education institutions, and expand the UNC System’s e‐commerce infrastructure.
Mr. Apodaca’s service to WCU includes membership on the board of the WCU Endowment Fund from 1999 through 2002. Soon after joining the Board of Trustees, he created a scholarship fund at the university in memory of his grandmother.
After his graduation from WCU, Mr. Apodaca went on to a career as an entrepreneur involved in bond insurance, real estate investment and a travel agency. He is now founder and managing partner for Vista Strategies, a firm with offices in Hendersonville and Raleigh that specializes in government relations, corporate consulting, strategy and economic development.