I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season and was able to relax and recharge. Now is the time we focus on our goals and resolutions to make this year even better than the year before. I wanted to share with you some of my goals as your president in 2022.
Provide Resources That Appeal to All Aspects of Our Industry
This is a top priority of mine. The Iowa Mortgage Association is the best and most comprehensive resource for mortgage professionals in our state. However, I believe the perception is that it is only beneficial for the sales side of the business. While that is an extremely important aspect, I believe resources and trainings can be added to also help the growth of the operations side of our business. I will be working with our education committee and communication committee to work on ways to bring more value to our processors, underwriters and loan officer assistants.
Increase Membership
This seems like a no-brainer and is always a goal of our organization. In the past few years, we have seen many of our colleagues move to different companies or bring new companies to Iowa. These are untapped opportunities that all of us should be embracing. Our membership committee is hard at work on these but I believe everyone, regardless of whether you are on that committee, can help bring one new member into our organization. If you are going to an event, ask some peers at other companies if they are going as well. If they are not members, talk to them about the benefits or send them to me or anyone on our board and we would be happy to go through how the IMA can help them and their organization.
Increase Member Engagement
The past few years have been tough on all of us. Our Fall Conference was the first time many of us had been together as a group in two years. Now that we are (hopefully) going to see more in-person events, we want this to be an opportunity to network with your industry peers and learn and share best practices that can help shed light on the best parts of our business. The easiest way to be more engaged is to volunteer for one of our committees. We can never have too many people willing to help advance our priorities. Participation in local events as well as our statewide conferences are just a few additional ways to stay engaged throughout the year.
While these may be my goals, they can’t be accomplished by me alone. I hope all of you will join with me to make 2022 a year of great growth and success for the IMA!
Chuck Simmons
Motto Mortgage