Reflecting back to June 2, 1992, it makes me think: “Wow, That was a long time ago”.
I want to thank those who have wished me a “congratulations” on social media for my work anniversary. As I reminisce about how and where I met each of you, it reminds me of all the times we’ve had together. It also reminds me of how so much has changed since then.
At the beginning of my career that was all I had to focus on, but since then my life has become more full of friends and most importantly family. I’ve been happily married for 27 years and now I have two children who I’m extremely proud of.
My oldest child is 23 with her Masters from OSU and my youngest recently graduated high school.
As you can assume, after all these years my once jet black hair? Well, it isn’t black anymore (But at least it’s still there!).
A few other things have changed since I started at ADFITECH 28 years ago. For instance, cell phones were considered “bag phones,” the Internet did not exist, and neither did Automated Underwriting. We really had to do all those calculations with a calculator and real paper files. Now the mortgage quality control process is done with new technology and data is stored using a loan document management system.
About 27 years ago I attended my first Mortgage Industry conference. It was an MBA Quality Control Conference in New Orleans in 1993. That’s when I found out this industry really knows how to have fun! I still have friends I met at that conference, though many of them are retired now.
I can’t even count how many industry conferences I’ve attended since then and how many friends I’ve made during those travels and historical points in America I’ve witnessed during those conferences.
At the time of the bombing of the Murrah Building, I was attending an FHA Aggregate Escrow Accounting seminar. I was sitting with a group of FHA employees who would have been in the Murrah Building had it not been for the seminar. Unfortunately, many of their colleagues, friends, and family had stayed at the office instead of attending the seminar.
We lost so many good friends that day.
When the early 2000s came creeping up the greatest fear for the public was Y2K. Like many national scares, It came and went. What’s mind-boggling to me was the amount of time, effort, and money spent on a perceived problem that never occurred.
Another pivotal moment in history, unfortunately, was 9/11. I remember I was at the MBA Doc Custody Conference in Atlanta when everything happened. Everyone at the conference crowded in the hotel lobby and watched in shock as the buildings fell. It was a long quiet drive home for four of us in a small rental car.
It was daunting to know we had lost more good people to yet another tragedy.
In 2007, I traveled back to NYC 8 times on business. Then I went again in Jan 2008, because of the credit crisis. I didn't go back until 2010, and I shouldn’t have gone. The Secondary Mortgage Market was pretty non-existent even two years after the housing crisis.
I found myself in NYC once again in 2011 for a Secondary conference that May. I happened to be on Times Square that evening when it was announced Osama Bin Laden was captured. It turned out to be quite the celebration! It almost felt like it was New Year’s Eve.
The city and the country finally got a little justice.
Some have asked me after 28 years does it get a little boring? Not at all! Each day holds many new opportunities and experiences. I’m excited and hopeful for the future and what new innovations ADFITECH will create. I know we have been working on mortgage document management software to improve our already quality services and increase what we have to offer our clients.
As I ponder on these last 28 years, I’m sitting at the front desk of ADFITECH on my laptop. It’s my turn to be the company’s TSA (Temperature Scanning Agent) in this “stupid” new world we’ve all found ourselves in. I am anticipating the re-opening of Corporate Travel, so I can see you all on the road at a conference somewhere. We’ve got so much catching up to do!
I guess when I hit 30 years, I’ll have to add a section on how the rest of 2020 turns out
