Greetings Friends and Colleagues,
I hope this message finds you and your families well. As we head down the final stretch of 2021, the WMBA is excited to continue another year of providing our members with engaging, informative, and valuable events. For those who attended last month’s Pacific Northwest Lenders Conference, it was a great success, and many thanks to those who put in the time and work to organize. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Robert Lipston, Rose Marie David, and Mike Olden for their specific contributions! Thanks again!
I’m honored to be this year’s WMBA President and want to first acknowledge the many volunteers that make up our association’s Board and Committees, especially to last year’s President, Lisa Goldsmith. Lisa helped us navigate and adapt to the unprecedented times which included a shift from our traditional, in-person meetings to a virtual environment. At her leadership, we held some amazing events and at the same time, secured some very generous contributions from sponsors that enabled us to maintain our annual budget. I know can speak on behalf of our entire Board and membership when I say Lisa’s leadership, commitment, and vision were – and are – instrumental in our ability to stay on track with our goals. We extend our gratitude for her commitment to the WMBA.
As I look to continue Lisa’s efforts, I’m excited to work with this year’s Executive Team made up of John Smith as our VP, Tony Fernandez as Treasurer, and Jeanne Sprague as our Secretary. Along with our Board and Committees, we are committed to providing you – our members – meaningful events for what we believe are 3 of the WMBA’s primary objectives: Education, Inspiration, and Legislation. To achieve these goals we provide regular events focused on an educational theme designed to help inspire you and your business to learn, grow and adapt to our continued, evolving industry. We hand-pick speakers and panelists that will add value to you, both personally and professionally.
From a legislative standpoint, our organization invests in our future by securing a lobbyist in Olympia working directly on your behalf to ensure our collective interests are maintained. When we say invest, we mean it both literally and figuratively! Jessica Fortescue has been the WMBA’s paid lobbyist for many years now working directly with our local and state legislators, building working relationships with these key decision-makers, and reporting back to us on the critical legislation that might otherwise slip through the cracks. You may recall last year when the “stay-at-home” orders were handed down, Jessica (and the WMBA) played an instrumental and critical role to ensure our industry was considered “essential.” This effectively allowed all of us to continue our work and ensured our livelihoods were maintained during the pandemic. I think it’s fair to say, this example alone is worth the investment and what your membership dues go towards funding.
Our next event held on Tuesday, Oct. 19th will be virtual and again focused on providing you content that is educational and practical. Our “Modern Mortgage Advisors” panel will be hosted by the one and only, Dave Savage, featuring two dynamic industry panelists: Dan Keller and Addy Nett. Both have taken new and innovative approaches to their business and will share their stories. All are encouraged to sign up now on the WMBA website: https://wa-mba.org/events/modern-mortgage-advisors-clarity-content-and-tech/
Lastly, I want to champion a message left behind by another (2x!) past WMBA President, Robert Lipston. One of Robert’s core messages is always: “we have 1 voice, and 2 feet.” Our success and future in this industry are strengthened by a unified voice, but we have two feet to move forward. Please join me and the rest of the WMBA by moving forward together using your voice to share our message, and through your participation in our association events and legislative efforts. Our success counts on each and every one of you!
I look forward to another great year together!
Thank you,
Jim DeMarco
President
Washington Mortgage Bankers Association
