It’s been well over a month now that the 2022 Partner Conference wrapped up, but there is still quite a buzz about it among the myCUmortgage experts and at our headquarters. Personally, it’s been a relief identifying the source of this buzz… for the past several weeks, I thought there was a malfunction of some sort in my spaceship’s control panel, leading to its disassembly as I searched for a remedy to the problem. What a mess of wires, springs, buttons and levers.
There is a very good reason, however, for the sustained buzz of excitement around this year’s conference, as it featured the strongest and most beneficial agenda we’ve ever developed. Partners in attendance confirmed this through comments they made and, more specifically, giving the event sessions the overall highest ratings ever received!
Another part of the event that proved to be a lot of fun was the Annual Awards Luncheon, sponsored by HomeAdvantage®. The event featured many myCUmortgage experts presenting awards, a lot of mediocre mortgage-themed jokes and, most importantly, the winning partner credit unions and loan originators who were, after all, the true stars of the show.
A couple of weeks ago, myCUmortgage distributed a news release with all the winners, which you can READ HERE. While this is an excellent high-level overview of the awards and winners, it doesn’t drill down to the WHY these partner credit unions received the awards. So, to further honor these deserving partners and provide some potential tips and ideas from which other credit unions can benefit, I’m taking this opportunity to provide a little of the story behind each award and winner.
To kick things off, let’s look at this year’s volume winners. Note that ALL awards are based on activity from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
From an individual standpoint, 32 loan originators were recognized for closing 100 or more loans and helping nearly 4,500 members with homeownership—great job! From the partner credit union perspective, the following were the winners in their respective categories:
- Large Credit Unions: Desco Federal Credit Union in Portsmouth, Ohio
- Mid-Sized Credit Unions: Midwest Community Federal Credit Union in Defiance, Ohio
- Small Credit Unions: Beacon Financial Credit Union in Johnson City, Tennessee
Next, let’s look at all the individual partner credit union and loan originator recognitions.
Partner of the Year: This brand-new award is presented to a credit union that challenges myCUmortgage to continue to enhance our services in all areas of mortgage lending. This credit union defines the word “partnership,” collaborating with myCUmortgage to best serve the credit union community. This year’s Partner of the Year is Desco Federal Credit Union. One of our original three partners to beta test the new OpenClose Loan Origination System (LOS), they have been great at adopting change while navigating a rapidly evolving market.
Purchase Money Lender of the Year: This award recognizes a credit union for outstanding efforts and results in helping members buy homes. Despite some staff departures, this year’s winner restructured their team by identifying new talent within their organization, leading to new managers, loan officers and processing support. They had 74 purchases and 94 refis with a with 33% pull through rate. Congratulations to CME Federal Credit Union!
Originator of the Year: Recognizing a mortgage loan officer who has achieved outstanding results in numerous categories, this is one of myCUmortgage’s most prestigious individual awards. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Ana Petre from TopMark Federal Credit Union! Ana has excelled as a loan originator at TopMark, recently stepping in for a longtime employee which was no easy task. She has proven to be effective, efficient and knowledgeable, trusted by members to help them navigate the mortgage process.
Lender of the Year: This award recognizes outstanding overall efforts and results in helping members with homeownership. This year’s winner served as a beta for our new OpenClose LOS as well as continuing to be a solid producer year over year. They achieved a 42% pull through with originations and servicing, and they completed 54 purchase loans and 114 refis totaling 171 funded loans with a 27% pull through. Congratulations to Call Federal Credit Union!
Marketer of the Year: This year’s winner is VacationLand Federal Credit Union. VacationLand developed a marketing calendar that included mortgages, using a variety of media channels, including billboards and email. They also highlight their “Realtor of the Month” with a bio on their newly redesigned website. Their marketing initiatives resulted in 52 purchase loans and 41 refinances with a total of 55% closed loan purchases with a 60% pull through.
CU Select Partner of the Year: This award recognizes a CU Select level credit union for outstanding efforts and results achieved by developing and maintaining a clear market strategy. This past year, the winning credit union had 55 applications with 45 being purchase loans. They also had a 48.6 conversion ratio. Congratulations to Thrive Credit Union!
New Partner of the Year: This year’s winner is Brewster Federal Credit Union. The credit union has over 3,000 members and employs 10 full- and part-time employees. However, prior to their myCUmortgage partnership, they were not offering mortgages and had to send their members elsewhere for home loans. Since partnering with myCUmortgage in the fourth quarter of 2021, they have assisted seven members with homeownership and delivered that personal touch they are so proud of.
Government Partner of the Year: This award recognizes a credit union who has achieved outstanding results in their efforts around Government lending strategies. Congratulations to Ashland Credit Union—with FHA serving as their primary government product, they closed 21 government loans compared to 47 conventional.
myCUmortgage also presented BFG Federal Credit Union with the Susan Edwards Scholarship. Named after the late Susan Edwards, a former employee of myCUmortgage and fierce advocate for small credit unions, the scholarship is awarded annually to a smaller credit union that demonstrates excellence in assisting members with home ownership. The scholarship funds attendance to the myCUmortgage Partner Conference.
The final award presented during the luncheon was the Tim Mislansky Belief Award, honoring former myCUmortgage President Tim Mislansky. This is myCUmortgage’s highest honor, created to recognize an individual who follows TIm’s belief in the importance of living one’s values at home, at work and in the community. This year’s winner is Katelyn Fondaw from Lake Chem Community Federal Credit Union! Considering the gravity of this award, I’m going to do a separate post focused on Katelyn. Keep your eye stalks open and watch for that coming soon.
Congratulations to all the winners! It’s very evident why these partner credit unions and loan originators are leaders in credit union mortgage lending. Their mortgage knowledge and dedication to service truly makes a difference to their members and their Earth-based dwellings. And to have all these stars under the same roof at the conference was a sheer delight and the precise reason why the awards luncheon was a galactic success!
I only wish I could’ve enjoyed the fun firsthand. I was scheduled to present an award but got stage fright at the last minute—I’m a better blogger than public speaker. Maybe next year… where I’m counting on seeing all of you up on the stage with an award in hand!