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2004 Awards! |
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GAMB Bestows Awards
& Recognition at January Luncheon The event was emceed by 11-Alive News Reporter, Duffie Dixon, the wife of GAMB Director Doug Dixon of IndyMac Bank. Having more than 15 years of on-air television experience, some of the highlights of Duffie's career include working undercover with Federal Drug Agents, starting the first ever morning show in Eastern Idaho, and carrying the Olympic torch for the 1996 Olympic Games. GAMB 2005 President Bob Long assisted Duffie with the ceremonies.  Broker of the Year: Ronnie Rose of Affordable Mortgage. Ronnie graduated from Auburn University in 1962 with a B.S. in Industrial Management. After college, he entered a management training program at Golden Flake Snack Foods as Assistant District Manager, and rose successively through the ranks to become Sales Manager. His accolades mimicked each jump in position, with every District, Division and Region he entered becoming #1 in the company while under his management. Ronnie was hired away by Tomıs Foods in 1978, where he continued to rise until he became General Manager, responsible for $112 million in sales, a $30 million expense budget, 800 distributors operating 1,500 routes, and 125 employees. He sat on the Board of Directors of the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) from 1982-84, and was PLMAıs Export Committee Chair from 1985-87. Ronnie entered the mortgage business in 1999, opening Affordable Mortgage in Columbus with daughter-in-law Renee Rose, who had 16 years of mortgage experience. Not surprisingly, Affordable has experienced steady growth since its inception, and has qualified as a GAMB Top Gun Top Producer Company for the past two years. Before joining GAMB, Ronnie organized meetings for mortgage professionals in Columbus to discuss legislation that threatened his new industry, paying for the groupıs expenses out of his own pocket. He called on state legislators himself, then joined GAMB and its Legislative Committee to lend his help. After a few GAMB Board Members attended one of his Columbus meetings, Ronnie was invited to be GAMBıs Columbus Liaison. Today he is GAMBıs Treasurer, Legislative Chair, and Columbus Liaison, and he formerly served as Secretary and a Board Member. In 2003, he succeeded in getting U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop to speak to his Columbus group and, by the end of the meeting, Rep. Bishop agreed to send a letter to HUD Sec. Martinez in support of the mortgage broker community on the proposed RESPA rule. In addition to college, Ronnie completed Dale Carnegieıs Leadership, Sales, and Management Courses, then taught as a Dale Carnegie Graduate Assistant. He also took Earl Nightengaleıs Leadership Courses, and attended Wharton School for various business and mortgage industry classes. Ronnie is a member of the Alabama Association of Mortgage Brokers, Rotary, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and is on the Board of Directors of his Homeowners Association. He is an avid Nascar race fan, and enjoys photography, from old black and whites to the digitals of today. He has been married for 41 years to Pat and has two adult sons, Ronnie Jr. and Dale. 
Affiliate of the Year: Drexel Beck of Franzen and Salzano. Upon graduating from the University of Alabama in 1973, Drexel joined the Georgia Department of Banking & Finance as an examiner, and became accredited as a Certified Financial Examiner in 1979. He was appointed Assistant Deputy Commissioner in 1993, responsible for the day-to-day supervision of all commercial banks, bank holding companies and credit unions operating in the Northeast and Southeast Districts of Georgia. In 1997, he was appointed Director for Mortgage and Corporate Divisions, handling the daily supervision of all personnel in the Mortgage and Corporate Divisions. He is Past State Chairman for the Georgia Society of Financial Examiners, a national organization that tests and accredits bank and insurance examiners, and has served as an instructor in the education and training division of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Recently retiring from the Department after 30 years of service, Drexel is now Certified Examination Manager and Lending Analyst for the Atlanta law firm of Franzen and Salzano. He prepares clients for state and federal regulatory examinations, responds to administrative actions and examination findings, conducts fraud investigations, trains in regulatory compliance and fraud prevention, and responds to investorsı compliance inquiries. An active member of GAMB, Drexel has been very involved with GAMBıs Legislative Committee, and he has often served as a speaker at the and at various GAMB legislative seminars. He also teaches the stateıs pre-licensing course for the GAMB Educational Foundation. Drexel resides in Dunwoody.  Volunteer of the Year: Jim Somers of Fidelity Mortgage Loans & Investments. Jim Somers. A native of New York City, Jim attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, graduating in 1990 with a degree in Criminology and a minor in Business. He was employed by Hess Oil after college, and his work for Hess allowed him to experience living in the Virgin Islands for a period of time. Jim entered the mortgage profession in January of 1993 as a loan originator, then opened his own mortgage brokerage company, Fidelity Mortgage Loans & Investments, in 1997. He initiated his relationship with GAMB by becoming active in the start up of a GAMB Northeast Chapter in the Gainesville and Cumming area, and served as Chapter President. Jim became GAMB Secretary in 2001, and served as one of Georgiaıs two National Association of Mortgage Brokers Delegate Council Representatives from July 2001-June 2003. He was GAMB Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair in 2002, served as GAMB President from January-May 2003, then as GAMBıs Immediate Past President and Nominating Committee Chair. An active member of the GAMB Legislative Committee and the Georgia Mortgage Brokers Political Action Committee, Jim has devoted a great deal of time to working on legislative issues on behalf of the Association. In January 2003, he created GAMBıs Charitable Events Committee, helped to coordinate four charitable fundraising events in 2003 as its Chair, and has just committed to chairing the committee again in 2005. Jim is a Charter Member of the Chattahoochee Rotary Club, is an active member of the North Fulton Business Association and the University of South Florida Alumni Association, and he attends and teaches Sunday School at Northpoint Community Church. He and his wife, Julie, work together to make Fidelity Mortgage a success. They reside in Roswell with their daughters, Karina and Kylie, and their English mastiff, Magnum. An avid pro and college football fan, Jim looks forward to the day when his alma mater makes its way to the top rankings in the Big East. In addition to annual awards, GAMB Presidents Choice Awards were bestowed upon Mark Baker of NB Funding; Nancy Bowman and Kyle Greene of Morris Hardwick Schneider; and Cathie Knight of Cathie Knight & Associates. Appreciation gifts and pins were presented to GAMB's Industry Partners: Bank of America; BayRock Mortgage Corporation; Capstone Institute of Mortgage Finance; First Franklin Financial Corporation; Franklin American Mortgage Company; Freddie Mac; IndyMac Bank; Morris Hardwick Schneider; Option One Mortgage Corporation; and SouthStar Funding, LLC. The association's 2004 Board, Committee Chairs and Liaisons were thanked for their service, and GAMB's 2005 Board, Committee Chairs and Liaisons were recognized, with GAMB 1993 President Johnny Wade of Prime Capital Group performing the installation of the GAMB 2005 Board. "The association looks forward to another ambitious year," said President Bob Long. "I hope all of you will get involved in helping to move our group forward in 2005." |
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