June 2021 – Lisa Goldsmith
Dear WMBA Members,
As the warmth of summer inches ever closer…I am beginning to wrap up the responsibilities as your 2020-2021 WMBA President and relax into what comes next with the extra time I will have. With your permission, I would like to share some wisdom that I’ve acquired in this time and from our membership representation for this industry.
First, and foremost our industry’s future requires us to engage our leaders and our members and re-imagine what the WMBA means to our communities and our industry. Doing what we’ve always done will get us what we’ve always gotten. We are poised to take this association to a new level and a new future. Along with a diverse new generation of buyers, borrowers, and industry participants, we have a very strong group of leaders on our board. And, we need all of you reading this letter!
The pandemic has taught us so much about who we are as people, community, and industry. Never forget that our lobbyist retainer assured the incredible privilege and good fortune of being granted Essential Workers status in 2020. We were then poised to benefit from an abundance of unplanned opportunities, unprecedented loan volume, and astronomical income levels. Our member leaders recognized the opportunities and gave back by supporting WMBA in our cashflow crunch, by supporting our lobbyist retainer expenses, by inspiring each other with generosity and support. Let’s come together to capitalize on this abundance and all the opportunities!! Did I mention that we need all of you reading this letter!?!
As I close out the year, I have announcements and appointments to share: The only constant we know in this business is change, right?!? Our board is set to make the annual transition and we are changing in ways that we would not have imagined in 2020.
Board Appointments:
- Andy McDonough has made the personal decision to resign the Vice President/Incoming President role in favor of his documentary film career. All of us are excited for Andy and appreciate him for his professional approach to this decision and for his support as we manage his replacement. (BTW don’t miss his recently debuted movie, “Super Frenchie”, featuring extreme and ambitious skier/BASE jumper, Matteus Giraud.) Please join me in thanking Andy for his service to WMBA!
- To fill the position Andy’s resignation creates, these appointments are effective this month:
- Jim DeMarco will become our Vice President, and the Incoming President for WMBA 2021-2022 (Jim comes to this role through 8 years serving the WMBA including executive leadership; and his career in mortgage banking leadership, as well as being a new daddy. Join me in congratulating Jim on the new love of his life!).
- John Smith will become our Treasurer, and the Incoming Vice President for WMBA 2021-2022 (John brings credit union mortgage banking experience, and a wealth of board work with community organizations, to our Board). Let’s congratulation John on his new role as Director of Mortgage Lending with WSECU (soon to be a new member of WMBA)!
- Tony Fernandez will become a Board Director, and the In-coming Treasurer for WMBA 2021-2022 (Tony brings his expertise as the WMBA Membership Co-Chair, and his passion for giving back and contributing to the industry).
- And, for more exciting news, Kisha Weir is joining the WMBA Board as a Director for 2021-2022 (Kisha brings her leadership and brilliant teamwork experience as the Divisional Leader for Movement Mortgage, and congratulations to Kisha for the well-deserved promotion!).
- Please join me in welcoming and supporting our leadership group!
Our Annual Auction to benefit both WMBA and Habitat for Humanity was a success on many levels
- The virtual auction went off so successfully, it was almost a miracle…thanks to Mindy Aragon, who has been the glue and the strength of WMBA in 2020-2021!
- The income/expenses are balanced, the bidders have received their winnings, our beneficiary has been paid.
- This year we raised $28000 for Habitat and $19000 for WMBA
- We have committed to a partnership with Habitat and for annual auctions year-over-year going forward
Please don’t miss the upcoming Golf Classic, foursome registration is open! Joinoin us in the sun at the 2021 WMBA Golf Classic, July 14th !
We appreciate your membership, your support, and your contribution and are here to support you with the strength of our unified resources.
It is my honor and privilege to have this virtual podium and I appreciate every one of you who have read and considered these months of emails, announcements, and remarks!
Looking forward to seeing you all in-person soon!!
Thank you,
Lisa Goldsmith
President
Washington Mortgage Bankers Association
