What an outstanding NAMB National Conference we have planned. We have more than 1,300 registered, and all the exhibit booths and sponsorships are sold out. In addition, we have an outstanding group of speakers and functions, including how to create your own LinkedIn page before you leave the session. Everyone is guaranteed to enjoy themselves and we have many amazing prizes to be won. This event is everything that all the NAMB conferences used to be. I thank everyone who contributed to the success of this event, along with thanking the hard work of the Conference Committee. John Stevens did an excellent job and the entire committee is to be commended. Our new executive director of the event, Vincent Valvo, did a fantastic job and definitely got things moving. A great job by all!
Visit NAMBNational.com for the complete deails on this exciting event.
As all of you know, we will be having the 2013 NAMB Legislative & Regulatory Conference in March. We need to really start getting our grassroots up and going. So I am asking all of you to participate. We need each of you in each of your states to contact our Government Affairs Committee and tell them that you would be happy to represent NAMB with your representative or senator. We need to have a one on one relationship with our elected officials and the best part of this is you are a constituent and it makes it better with them. Your involvement is crucial to making our representation in this process effective. Who better to talk with them than someone who votes for them. So, get on board and help us help you. Contact John Hudson at
[email protected]. Take this big step to becoming involved, understanding what we are doing and become a big part of this grassroots effort. You will personally learn what we do and how we do it on the Hill. Do not waste any time … go out and find who your congressman or congresswoman is and e-mail the NAMB Government Affairs Committee and let them know you want to be part of the team.
NAMB is still working on their “News From NAMB” and we had our first issue in late October. The second issue should be out by the time that you get this edition. It is going to be a joint effort by the Communications Committee and the crew at National Mortgage Professional Magazine. At the time I am writing this, both parties are working very hard to get the next edition out to you. The purpose of this is to keep you up to date with all of the NAMB Committees and what they are doing. We have listened to you as a member and the request is to be more informative as to what they are doing in the committees and to get as much information as you can as a member.
As we near 2013, I want to challenge all of you to join NAMB to make a statement. Once again, we were reminded that it is a shame that our membership is only a fraction of the entire mortgage professional population nationwide. Many of you who are not members need to step up and become members. When we talk with members of Congress and the Senate, they find it very hard to believe that we have only 4.5 percent of all originators as NAMB members. With a total exceeding 110,000 originators and the cost of an NAMB Silver Membership at $50, they don’t understand. Frankly, I don’t either. I pay my dues as a Platinum Member each year because I believe in being informed and as a member, understanding what is going on in our business. That is the reason why I joined this organization in 1990. Yes ... I said 1990! I have been a member of NAMB for 22 years. Why you may ask? Because I believe that this association is about helping the mortgage professional. I also believe that as an association, we can make things happen.
The feeling and pride that I get every time that I speak with someone and knowing that as your president, I am working for you, to make sure that we have our livelihood to go to each and every morning. Each day, I do a juggling act to make the most of my time. I spend six to eight hours a day working on NAMB items and another three or four hours running my shop. And to be truthful, I love doing both. I get to meet with my customers and talk with them about what they want and how I can help them achieve those goals. But when I get an e-mail of phone call from a member, it almost the same as those people need something too.
So just a few more facts! All of the money that NAMB collects from its members from membership dues pays for our services to you as an NAMB member. These dues pay for our government affairs programs including lobbyists, it pays for information on Capitol Hill, it pays for overseeing membership, and most of all, it helps us maintain our relationship with you our member. No member of my Board of Directors, no committee chair or committee volunteer gets any money for the job they do. No salary … nothing.! It is purely personal to be part of the solution and have resolve. So take a few minutes, visit NAMB.org and join today. I promise you that it will be the best investment of a small amount of money that you will ever make. Let’s do everything we can to spur membership and get the total up to exceed 10,000. It all starts with you. It's time to get off the fence.
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by e-mail at
[email protected].
