by Tara Merritt, President, MBA of Central Florida

Hello 2017! Hard to believe we are half way through our MBA year. Our Chapter is officially over our membership goal of 60, at 63! We also experienced triple digit attendance at our January meeting. The energy in our Chapter is electric, and we are excited to see the growth and support!

On November 14th we hosted a Social in downtown Orlando, and had 35 people attend. We raised money for MPAC and sock donations for Safehouse of Seminole. On January 11th we hosted FAMP of Central Florida, and got a 2017 Economic Forecast from Dr. Sean Snaith who is Director of the University of Central Florida's (UCF) Institute for Economic Competitiveness. He is one of our top requested speakers every year, and finally after a couple years of a conflicting schedule we got him! On February 1st FAMP of Central Florida hosted us at a different venue. We were nervous about a one month only venue change, but again, we sold out all 80 seats. Our speaker was Jean Wiles, Account Executive-Single-Family Sales & Relationship Management, with Freddie Mac. She provided insight into how to increase your origination's in 2017 using Freddie Mac Services: Home Possible Product, Loan Suite Advisor, and the upcoming Appraisal Alternatives including future Loan Prospector changes.

We are planning our largest meeting yet, and intend to sell out all 220 seats for our April meeting. Thanks to generous sponsors we are flying in from Chicago Nationally renowned and sought after Speaker, Terry Watson. We are partnering with our Women's Council of Realtors (WCR) Orlando Regional, and fingers crossed the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA). Terry teaches audiences how to improve relationships with both clients and consumers, close transactions more efficiently and work smarter, not harder. He promises we shall laugh til we snort. For our May meeting we are bringing in Attorneys and Underwriters to discuss the 1003 and HMDA changes ahead. Then we shall end our year with our annual installation with a twist. This year we are bringing back Mortgage Awards from years past. The subcommittee for this is hard at work, and we are excited to see how this goes.

At our meetings we continue to collect donations for Safehouse of Seminole who provide counseling programs, personal advocacy services, and emergency shelter for women and children and men surviving domestic abuse. We also have some events planned too! On April 7, 2017 from 6pm to 9pm we are hosting a family friendly bowling night. Then on April 29, 2017 from 8:30am to 2:30pm we plan to volunteer with Rebuilding Together Orlando who assist low-income homeowners with safe and healthy home repairs. We hope to get 15-25 volunteers so we can rehab our own house during this HUGE volunteer day they are hosting. Then on May 22, 2017 we are hosting our annual Golf Tournament at The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes.

   

by Doug Leever, President, MBA of South Florida

It has just been a great time of year for MBA of South Florida--- we had a great Luncheon in November with Christy Moss from Fannie Mae as our guest speaker-very well attended and once again a very good presentation!!

Also we are setting up our Annual Golf Tournament for May 5th- click here for the initial flyer for sponsorship's.

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by Becky Morris, President, MBA of Tallahassee

With spring fast approaching, the winter seems to have flown by. We have continued to have successful luncheons throughout the winter. In January, we had a presentation on Understanding the Contract and went over the differences of the FARBAR and the Tallahassee Board of Realtors contract. There are some definite differences that needed clarification for all parties involved in a transaction. It was a very successful meeting and we had great feedback. We are taking a break in February and will concentrate on our annual Bowling Tournament this month. This is our big MPAC Fundraiser so the teams are all geared up for a little friendly competition. In March, we will get back to the luncheons and have a number of guest speakers to explain how rate, yield, and margin all work together. It has been a very busy and exciting Winer and we are looking forward to spring and warmer weather.

by Michelle, Glass, Esq. President, MBA of Jacksonville

The MBA of Jacksonville kicked off their Winter season with our annual Golf Tournament on November 4, 2016, which was rescheduled from October due to the hurricane.This year the event was held at Deercreek Country Club.It was a fantastic day of sun and golfing fun. Randy Galloway did yet another phenomenal job organizing and chairing the event.We had a full slate of golfers and had the distinct pleasure of hosting several athletes from our chosen charity, Special Olympics of Florida. We even had one of the athletes on the Special Olympics golf team hitting tee shots. Each of our golf teams were given the ability to choose his tee shot for their own shot - this athlete could drive the ball!  We had 15 groups choose the tee ball from this very special athlete.  In addition to the golf athlete, we had another of the local athletes do a Special Olympics presentation at our awards ceremony. Lastly, we were able to raise and donate $4,000.00; which will be delivered to the North Florida Special Olympics counties (Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns) at our February meeting.

 

 

On Thursday, December 15, 2016, we held our annual FAMP and MBA of Jacksonville Christmas Holiday party and toy drive for Wolfson Children's Hospital at Hob Nob Restaurant. The toy drive has been putting smiles on children faces for the past 30 years. With great partners and sponsors the 2016 holiday event did not disappoint. The event reflects the positive contributions both the MBA of Jacksonville and the FAMP are making within the community. The toy drive was a great success as the smiles were being reflected on the kids and parents faces as chapter members delivered the toys. 

 

After the resignation of our Vice President, Brain Moss, at the end of last year, on January 13, 2017, the MBAJ Board voted at its first board meeting of the year to fill this position with Michael Celenza of Buckley Advisors.  Over the years Michael has been involved in MBA organizations in other states, but he is excited to increase his involvement with Florida by committing the next 2 ½ years to MBA of Jacksonville. We welcome Michael and look forward to working with him!

 

On January 19, 2017, the MBA of Jacksonville started the new year off by holding its first membership meeting of the year at Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant.  This was an evening event to support our Chapter and our Mortgage Political Action Committee.  The event was themed as "Support the Industry that has Supported you!"  There were discussions on the new incoming administration and  its impact on the economy as well as the housing industry. We are all interested in the administration's legislative priorities which might directly affect our industry, particularly those that relate to the Dodd-Frank Bill and the CFPB and had discussions around those topic while raising funds for a great cause.

If you are attending the upcoming Secondary Conference and would like to learn more at the luncheon please RSVP at [email protected].

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